The government is to convene a new thinktank to confront the rapid pace of media change as part of a wide-ranging overhaul of the way the sector is regulated, it emerged yesterday.Setting out his broadcasting vision for the first time, the culture secretary, James Purnell, revealed that he and business secretary John Hutton would recruit senior figures from inside and outside the government to inform media policy. The move was seen as a subtle shot across the bows of the powerful media regulator, Ofcom, which has been accused by some of acting more as policymaker than regulator.Mr Purnell is understood to be keen to make it clear to the regulator that ultimate responsibility for media policy decisions – such as the future of the licence fee and of Channel 4 – lies with government.
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