First Minister Alex Salmond has called for the Scottish Parliament to be given a regulatory role over the country's broadcasters, including the BBC.
First Minister Alex Salmond has announced the setting up of a commission to look into Scottish broadcasting output.
Mr Salmond said the move was necessary to reverse what he called a "dramatic" reduction in BBC spending in Scotland.
He called for the Scottish Parliament to be given powers over the area, currently reserved to Westminster.
The first minister stressed the parliament should not have control over editorial content.
Mr Salmond also raised the prospect of a separate BBC six o'clock news programme for Scotland.
But he said MSPs should have similar powers over broadcasters to the Westminster government.
The commission will be chaired by BBC Scotland's former head of news and current affairs, Blair Jenkins.
Mr Salmond is due to make the demand in a speech at the National Museum of Scotland on Wednesday.
Mr Salmond said the group would be set up quickly and would comprise industry expertise.
The first minister's announcement came after he said it was necessary to reverse what he called a "dramatic" reduction in BBC spending in Scotland.
The SNP has led a long-running campaign for a separate Scottish-produced national and international news bulletin, commonly referred to as the Scottish Six.
The SNP has led a long-running campaign for a separate Scottish-produced national and international news bulletin, commonly referred to as the Scottish Six.
Any self respecting parliament should have some regulatory role over the health of its broadcasting industry Alex SalmondFirst minister Send us your views
Speaking to BBC Scotland ahead of his speech, Mr Salmond said expenditure by the BBC in Scotland had fallen sharply over the last few years, leading to a "point of crisis" being reached.
He added: "Instead of hitting the aspiration of a 9% contribution to the network in Scotland we are now down to arguably 3% from 6% a few years ago.
"The BBC as I remember it is the British Broadcasting Corporation, not the English Broadcasting Corporation.
"Any self respecting parliament should have some regulatory role over the health of its broadcasting industry.
"If for example the Scottish Parliament had powers over broadcasting in the same way the UK Parliament does at the present moment does anybody seriously believe we would have seen the rapid diminution and marginalisation of the expenditure in Scottish broadcasting that we have seen in the last few years?"
Mr Salmond said he believed creating a vibrant television and radio network was crucial to the cultural and social wellbeing of the whole country.
He accused broadcasters of failing to respond to the "cultural explosion" brought to Scotland by devolution.
'Moving in reverse'
He added: "There should have been a response which saw more broadcasting, more content, as part of the general cultural explosion which has taken place across the artistic community.
"Instead of that, broadcasting is moving in reverse in Scotland. That situation cannot be tolerated - up with this we will not put."
Labour's Scotland Office Minister David Cairns MP criticised Mr Salmond's comments.
He said: "The argument for the so-called Scottish Six is so old it belongs in the very museum that Alex Salmond is making his speech in.
"We already have an award-winning dedicated Scottish news bulletin, made in Scotland by Scottish journalists - it's called Reporting Scotland.
"Scottish viewers currently enjoy an hour of international, UK and Scottish news every evening from the most respected broadcaster in the world.
"Alex Salmond's plan will deliberately reduce the amount of international and UK-wide news on BBC Scotland in order to push ahead with his plans to break up Britain. The truth is Scots are not as parochial as the SNP would like to think."
