Capital thoughts

The BBC Board certainly got value for money from its Independent Thematic Review of Portrayal and Representation of the UK in BBC Content; 79 pages of cascading thought from Anne Morrison and her scribe Chris Banatvala, plus a ponderous research document.  

Anne, 66 (Richmond Lodge, Belfast and MA English Lit, Churchill College, Cambridge) was with the BBC for 33 years 3 months, joining as a General Trainee in 1981. Anne gets a lot off her chest, and  identifies many problems - the biggest is that despite the Huge Stragetic Davie Shift Out Of London, everyone thinks the BBC is run by and for Londoners - and she agrees.  

Among her recommendations: 

Using existing data, the BBC should keep track of presenters’ ages on an annual basis with the aim of achieving a better gender balance across the age groups over time and, in particular, to ensure older women can have careers as long as their male counterparts.

BBC News should focus on achieving a 1½:1 male-to-female ratio among ‘expert’

contributors (reflecting UK society).

There should be renewed focus across the BBC on achieving gender balance in programmes for contributors, presenters and reporters.

The BBC should pursue a stronger representation of black journalists across its platforms.

The BBC should aim for an organic and authentic approach to diversity rather than it looking forced or tick box.

Consistent with the BBC’s Across the UK project and to connect better with UK audiences, more senior editorial staff, including TV genre commissioners, should be located outside London. We believe that the BBC would represent and portray the whole of the UK more successfully if at least half of the BBC’s senior TV genre commissioners lived and worked closer to those communities across the nations and regions who are currently disengaged with its content, appointing where possible those who are rooted in the location, not commuting to it. The genres which bear most strongly on UK portrayal and representation and have the greatest impacts on audiences would be the most appropriate to move to these locations.

Network Radio not based in Salford should also move elements of its commissioning out of London over time.