What are the key areas for improvement identified in the BBC review?

The review highlights the urgent need for the BBC to improve its measurement and portrayal of class, and to better connect with working-class audiences outside of London and the South East.

How does the BBC's diversity focus compare across different characteristics?

The review found that the BBC tends to concentrate diversity efforts on race and disability, with less attention paid to geography and class.

What recommendations were made regarding presenters and contributors?

The review recommended that the geographical background of presenters and contributors should be monitored as a diversity characteristic and that commissioners should be held accountable for this.

Home / Arts and Entertainment / BBC Review: Class & Geography Focus Urgently Needed

BBC Review: Class & Geography Focus Urgently Needed

30 Jan

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Summary

BBC needs to urgently measure class on and off-air.
Geography and class receive less attention than race or gender.
More focus is needed on working-class audiences outside London.

BBC Review: Class & Geography Focus Urgently Needed

A comprehensive review has identified urgent priorities for the BBC, emphasizing a need for greater focus on class and geographical representation. The report suggests that while the BBC has become more inclusive and authentic in its portrayal of UK communities, significant steps are still required.

Key areas for improvement include a more thorough measurement of class representation both on and off-air. The review noted that geography and class have been given considerably less attention compared to race, disability, and gender representation. This imbalance needs to be rectified to ensure a more authentic connection with all audience segments.

Furthermore, the review stressed the importance of better connecting with working-class audiences and those residing outside of London and the South East of England. It recommended monitoring the geographical background of presenters and contributors as a diversity characteristic and holding commissioners accountable. The report also indicated that portrayals of working-class communities sometimes rely on themes of poverty and crime, with an absence of positive role models.