"I would hope and expect broadcasters learned a lot from the 2014 referendum and that there would be a greater degree of self-awareness in how the campaign is reported. So I think on balance we can hope that will happen and pressure should be applied to make sure that broadcasters are reporting the [next Scottish independence] referendum fairly," Jenkins said, adding that a second Scottish independence referendum could be held as early as in May or June 2018.
Jenkins, who was the chief executive of Yes Scotland, the official pro-Scottish independence campaign in 2014, and who has been honored by the Queen for his services to broadcasting noted that although he was optimistic broadcasters would report a future independence referendum more evenly there were little signs the UK print media would move away what he described as "propaganda."
"It’s obviously clear that the newspapers that served as essentially propaganda outlets for the No campaign last time, the Daily Express and the Daily Mail and a couple of others, they won’t change. They will be in full-on propaganda mode again and that’s just one of the things you have to factor in," Jenkins explained.
The television executive’s comments came ahead of plans by the pro-independence Scottish National Party (SNP) which is expected to publish details this week of a new consultation on draft legislation that could allow for a second Scottish independence referendum to be held.
On Thursday, Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said the bill for a second independence referendum would be published in a week and that the referendum might be held before the end of a two-year negotiations process on Brexit, which is expected to start in March 2017.
On June 23, the United Kingdom held a referendum in which 51.9 percent of voters, or 17.4 million people, opted for the country to leave the European Union. Sturgeon has been a vocal critic of London's handling of the EU membership referendum, with the majority Scottish voters against quitting the bloc.
