BBC: an organisation under challenge Ivor Gaber Professor of Political Journalism, University of Sussex (and former BBC journalist/producer/editor) Key Ongoing Challenges Facing BBC ➢ The changing media landscape – online/offline ➢ The changing audience ➢ Conservative Government – licence fee & beyond ➢ Brexit & Corbyn –disappointing its ‘friends’ ➢ Broadcasting to one nation or many? Most Used News Brands UK 2019 Most Trusted News Sources UK 2019 The BBC ‘mission’ and Coronavirus ➢ Inform ➢ Educate and ➢ Entertain BBC News During Coronavirus ➢ The BBC News Channel reached a total of 11.7m viewers across the entire week, which was 70 per cent higher than its average for 2019 and the channel’s biggest week since 2015. ➢ BBC TV News at Six had an average audience of 5.2m adults between Monday to Friday, 27 per cent higher than its average for last year. ➢ BBC TV News at Ten had an average of 4.1m adults, 22 per cent higher than 2019. BBC News at One and BBC Breakfast were also more than ten per cent up on last year’s figures. BBC Most Trusted for Coronavirus News ➢ The BBC has become the most-trusted news brand on coronavirus, with 61% of respondents selecting it as a reliable source of information from a list of media brands ➢ 53% of British adults are using BBC News more than before Covid-19 hit the UK – more than double the proportion of people for any other channel. Havas Media Group. (sample1500) Do you think the overall quality of media coverage of Coronavirus is...? Total % Men % Women % Under 44s Over 44s Good 41 37 45 30 49 Bad 25 31 20 37 19 Neither 25 23 26 25 25 9 8 10 8 6 YouGov 6th April, Sample size 2037 Trust in the Media UK/US Compared Key Ongoing Challenges Facing BBC ➢ The changing media landscape – online/offline ➢ The changing audience ➢ Conservative Government – licence fee & beyond ➢ Brexit & Corbyn –disappointing its ‘friends’ ➢ Broadcasting to one nation or many? Fake News and Coronavirus Contact [email protected].