A FUTURE FOR PUBLIC SERVICE TELEVISION CONTENT AND PLATFORMS IN A DIGITAL WORLD

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CHAPTER EIGHT TV: A DIVERSE ENVIRONMENT? “We’re just trying to redesign the face of British TV” (Idris Elba’s speech to Parliament, 18 January 2016) 102
Television and diversity We have earlier argued that television is a crucial means through which we come to know ourselves and to learn about the lives of others and that public service television, in particular, should provide ample opportunities for dialogue between and within all social groups in the UK. Success for a commercial broadcaster is predicated on reaching the most desirable demographics or on attaining sufficiently high ratings; to the extent that commercial television does facilitate this dialogue and does address all social groups, it is more of a happy accident. For public service television, on the other hand, adequately communicating with and representing all citizens is not a luxury but an essential part of its remit. Issues of diversity – based on the recognition that the population consists of multiple and overlapping sets of minorities – are therefore central to the continuing relevance (or impending irrelevance) of any public service media system. This is far from a new proposition in relation to broadcasting. More than 50 years ago, the Pilkington report insisted that catering for minorities was not an optional add-on or indeed a capitulation to special interests but a vital part of broadcasting’s responsibility to serve all citizens. “Some of our tastes and needs we share with virtually everybody; but most – and they are often those which engage us most intensely – we share with different minorities. A service which caters only for majorities can never satisfy all, or even most, of the needs of any individual.” 295 Some 15 years later, the Annan committee also agreed that broadcasting could no longer conceive of its audiences as in any way homogeneous; contemporary culture, it argued, “is now multi-racial and pluralist: that is to say, people adhere to different views of the nature and purpose of life and expect their own views to be exposed in some form or other. The structure of broadcasting must reflect this variety.” 296 Broadcasting, it famously asserted, should be “opened up” 297 in order both to promote the most diverse range of experiences and perspectives and to more effectively communicate with a changing population. As we argued in Chapter 2 in relation to the very idea of public service media, if television in the 21st century is to retain legitimacy and relevance, then it has little option but to recognise the desire of all social groups to be listened to and to be properly represented. This is especially the case when, for example, devolution, inequality, immigration and the establishment in law of ‘protected characteristics’ – such as age, disability, gender, race, sex, sexual orientation and religion – have further weakened the idea of the UK as a ‘singular’ space in which we all face the same challenges and share the same dreams. Public service television – and this is no easy task – has somehow simultaneously to recognise our common interests and to serve the needs of different minority and under-represented groups. 295 Sir Harry Pilkington, Report of the Committee on Broadcasting 1960, London: HMSO, 1962, p. 16. 296 Lord Annan, Report of the Committee on the Future of Broadcasting, London: HMSO, 1977, p. 30 297 Ibid., p. 16. 103
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A FUTURE FOR PUBLIC SERVICE TELEVIS
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Contents Foreword by David Puttnam
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To instruct democracy, if possible
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Welcome Television is leading a cha
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CONTENT AND PLATFORMS IN A DIGITAL
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PSB channels 71.9% All other channe
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Why television matters Television i
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1982 1990s 2012 The BBC-ITV duopoly
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Time for action Today’s policymak
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Basic principles At the core of pre
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The multichannel revolution Perhaps
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Page 51 and 52: The BBC For most people, the BBC is
Page 53 and 54: CONTENT AND PLATFORMS IN A DIGITAL
Page 67 and 68: Channel 4 If the BBC is the most im
Page 71 and 72: Only 8% of Channel 4’s total spen
Page 79 and 80: ITV and Channel 5 The focus of atte
Page 85 and 86: The changing face of ITV 1993-2002
Page 91 and 92: New sources of public service conte
Page 101: CONTENT AND PLATFORMS IN A DIGITAL
Page 107 and 108: THE PEOPLE SHOULD BE TELEVISED If t
Page 115 and 116: Nations and Regions Public service
Page 129 and 130: Content diversity One of the key wa
Page 135 and 136: Sports content now accounts for som
Page 145 and 146: Talent development and training In
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Conclusion Television is changing.
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Recommendations General The UK’s
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Appointing the BBC board Sir David
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APPLICATION OF THE NOLAN PRINCIPLES
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BAFTA members’ survey delivered i
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Public service broadcasting, public
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Inquiry events Do we still need pub
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Acknowledgements Inquiry Report Con
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A FUTURE FOR PUBLIC SERVICE TELEVISION CONTENT AND PLATFORMS IN A DIGITAL WORLD

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