Multicultural Broadcasting: concept and reality Report edited by Andrea Millwood Hargrave Director of the Joint Research Programme Broadcasting Standards Commission and Independent Television Commission
British Broadcasting Corporation Broadcasting Standards Commission Independent Television Commission Radio Authority
November 2002
Contents
1 Summary 1 1.1 Audience Attitudes 1 1.2 Industry Attitudes 4
2 Background 9
3 Audience Attitudes towards Multicultural Broadcasting 13 3.1 The Place of Mainstream Broadcasting 13 3.2 Specialist Broadcasting Interests: Radio 17 3.3 Levels of Representation in Mainstream Television 20 3.4 Tokenism, Stereotyping and Other Broadcasting Issues 29 3.5 The Future of Multicultural Broadcasting: Audience Views 39
4 Industry Attitudes towards Multicultural Broadcasting 43 4.1 What is Multicultural Broadcasting? 43 4.2 Multicultural Broadcasting Now 51 4.3 The Issue of Programme Genre 61 4.4 Multiculturalism:Guidelines and Policies 68 4.5 Employment and Multiculturalism 74 4.6 The Future of Multicultural Broadcasting: Industry Views 86
5 Advertising and multiculturalism 89 5.1 Audience Attitudes towards Representation in Advertising 89 5.2 TheView from the Advertising Agencies 90
Appendices 1 Minority Ethnic Group Representation on Terrestrial television 97 2. Research Sample and Methodology 109 3. Industry Examples of Multicultural Output 113 4. British Broadcasting Corporation 118 5. Broadcasting Standards Commission 119 6. Independent television Commission 120 7. The radio Authority 121
1 Summary
The research examined attitudes towards multicultural broadcasting held by the audience and by practitioners in the radio and television industries. Additionally, attitudes towards multiculturalism within advertising were explored briefly. Participants who took part in the qualitative audience research were drawn from the audience at large, including minority ethnic groups, while a sample of practitioners was interviewed qualitatively. A further sample took part in an online survey.1
1.1 Audience attitudes Levels of representation In group discussions, participants from minority ethnic groups agreed that there had been an increase in the levels of representation of ethnic minorities within mainstream broadcasting over recent years. Nevertheless, they still saw the need for greater representation, both of their own communities as well as other minority groups.
Participants said it was important to be represented in mainstream broadcasts, be they radio or television, because they were considered to be the most influential of the media. Specialist services, while important to the communities they served, could not address this general need to be ‘seen’.
The reasons for wanting increased and better representation in mainstream broadcasting included: