| Chris Forrester, on 06-10-2008 |
 Stephen Carter has had an illustrious UK media career, and has just been made a Life Peer (he’ll probably be called Lord Carter of Notting Hill, or NTL, or Ofcom or some such). He’s to be the UK’s new broadcasting minister.
Most recently, since January this year, he has been an informal –
although highly criticised - advisor and chief of communications
strategy to the UK’s Labour government. Gordon Brown, and the Labour
government generally, now have their lowest-ever approval ratings.
But in a major reshuffle of senior government positions Stephen Carter
has emerged as a minister. Not bad for a non-elected “politician”.
Because of his non-elected status he will be made a life Peer in the
(non-elected) upper house of the UK’s government. And his “promotion”
follows what most observers see as a wholly failed experiment.
However, his elevation to the Peerage is a spectacular rise for any UK
media player, especially in one so young. When he was appointed in 2003
to run media and telco regulator Ofcom he was – in the words of
left-leaning newspaper The Guardian – “an unemployed 38-year-old whose
last job was presiding over the bankruptcy protection proceedings of
NTL”.
His time at Ofcom was described as “spineless” by one critic in January
this year, although he did ensure that the water bottles on the meeting
room tables were branded Ofcom.
At NTL Carter reported to Barclay Knapp, president and CEO. NTL went
belly up in a spectacular $18bn Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Carter left NTL
in 2002, and his brief stay at NTL earned him a £1.7m payoff that
included a £600,000 bonus. Not a bad reward for a bankrupt operation.
A previous colleague at ad-agency J Walter Thomson described Carter as
“a bit scary”. Nevertheless, Carter rose to the top at JWT in rapid
fashion, helped by success with accounts like Kellogg’s corn flakes, to
MD at age 30, and CEO at 32. Carter was hired as COO at already
troubled UK cable company NTL in 2000, and managed the Chapter 11
situation already mentioned, leaving barely 18 months later at the end
of 2002.
He is described as a hard working family man, who can clearly “talk the
talk”, although one comment made in April this year described him as
“the most boring man I ever met”. But he seemed to strike a chord with
other media types who “swarmed around him as if he were some TV
celebrity. No one would want to hang out with a dullard like that, if
it wasn't clear even then that he had influence.”
Carter has now formally been appointed as Minister of State for
Communications, Technology and Broadcasting. He will also serve within
the Department of Culture, Media & Sport as well on the Prime
Minister's new National Economic Council.
JWT 1986-2000 CEO
NTL 2000-2002 COO
Ofcom 2003-2006 CEO
Brunswick PR 2006-2008 CEO
UK Government 2008
© Rapid TV News 2008
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