The internet is obviously an increasingly powerful influence. But where television still just about unites, the web fragments. When social media does manage to deliver a collective experience, it’s remarkable how often it revolves around tv content. Television still has greater power than any other creative medium to influence public attitudes. And yet it is increasingly characterised by the lack of places in which mainstream audiences can engage with provocative, non-conformist ideas. If our most universal and influential medium fails to challenge and provoke, if a fear of offending the audience begins to proscribe creative freedoms, then I believe the danger to our broader cultural life is clear. Our society will become less democratic. Less enlightened. Ultimately, less free. - Ewan McIntosh