Many constituents are already employed in the media industry and with the BBC moving more departments up to media city the number of constituents engaged either directly or indirectly in the media sector and supporting businesses will continue to increase. With this in mind I have for several months been making arrangement to undertake what they call a Fellowship – in media and broadcasting – through the auspices of the Industry and Parliament Trust (IPT). The Industry and Parliament Trust is a registered charity which is dedicated to promoting mutual understanding between the worlds of business, industry and commerce for the public benefit.
MP’s and peers from all parties are encouraged to spend time in different sectors to learn about business in much greater depth than is normally possible. My placements will be with various media companies from across the sector and last Tuesday I had my first briefing session with ITV. I will in due course be spending time with STV , BBC possibly C4 and a smaller independent production company. There is a commitment on the part of the Member to undertake 18 days of placements with host organisations but these are spread over a period of around one and half years so there is plenty of opportunity to fit the days in with my other commitments.
