BBC’s Digital Might Scares The Old World

The Guardian reports on the combined pressure UK newspaper groups have put on the British government to limit the support for the BBC’s growth in the digital arena.

Associated Newspapers fears that BBC expansion of local services will affect its local newspapers and websites, while News International worries that BBC plans to launch a rival version of its community website, MySpace.com.

Meanwhile, Alex Steffen points to a speech by BBC head Mark Thompson on their “Creative Future”:

There are two reasons why we need a new creative strategy. Audiences are changing. And technology is changing. … Technology which empowers those audiences, transfers control from us to them, lets them consume what they want, when they want, lets them create content, lets them participate.