Post by Teddy Bear on Feb 13, 2011 19:28:14 GMT
I'm including this piece just to highlight the sheer idiocy of the BBC mindset.
'The Archers' has been running for over 60 years since 1950 and originally billed as "an everyday story of country folk" though the BBC recently changed it to a "contemporary drama in a rural setting". It is the longest running soap drama in history, so you can be sure the BBC would love to be able to use it to further their agenda in any way they could. So now, instead of reflecting what has been, and what one might expect to be, life in a small farming village in middle England, some ex BBC executive has suggested it should include black and ethnic characters.
Won't be long before a mosque goes up there if the BBC can.
Can you still be wondering whether or not the BBC is truly doing their best to undermine the best values and traditions of our society? The crazy thing is we pay them to do it.
'The Archers' has been running for over 60 years since 1950 and originally billed as "an everyday story of country folk" though the BBC recently changed it to a "contemporary drama in a rural setting". It is the longest running soap drama in history, so you can be sure the BBC would love to be able to use it to further their agenda in any way they could. So now, instead of reflecting what has been, and what one might expect to be, life in a small farming village in middle England, some ex BBC executive has suggested it should include black and ethnic characters.
Won't be long before a mosque goes up there if the BBC can.
Can you still be wondering whether or not the BBC is truly doing their best to undermine the best values and traditions of our society? The crazy thing is we pay them to do it.
Archers and Today should have more ethnic voices, says former Radio 4 controller
The Today programme and The Archers should have more voices from black and ethnic backgrounds, according to the former controller of Radio 4.
By Jonathan Wynne-Jones, Media Correspondent 9:00PM GMT 12 Feb 2011
Mark Damazer urged BBC executives to make the station more representative of Britain's population and expressed regret at not achieving a greater level of diversity while he was there.
He said it "makes sense" to have more ethnic characters on the Archers and warned that Radio 4 will have failed if it has not improved the range of voices in the next five years.
His comments come after the BBC Trust called on the station to do more to appeal to ethnic minorities, as well as younger listeners and those in the north.
Its report sparked anger from listeners, broadcasters and politicians, who branded the Trust's suggestions 'ludicrous' and 'patronising'.
Today presenter John Humphrys said: "Radio 4 is not too white, too middle class or too old."
Mr Damazer, however, said he agreed with accusations that Radio 4 was "too white", although he stressed that employing more black and Asian presenters and actors would not guarantee an increase in listeners among those communities.
He said it should not be done as a gesture of "tokenism", but to recognise talent that has been overlooked for too long.
"I have long felt we need more black and Asian voices on the network so it is more representative of the UK today," he said.
Mr Damazer, who left the BBC last year after rising to become one of its most senior executives, revealed he had drawn up a list of ethnic presenters to monitor and groom towards the end of his time as controller.
"I should have done this earlier and we should have pushed for a greater spread of black and ethnic voices, but I don't want anyone to be decapitated for the point of a token gesture.
"It would be desirable and fitting to see a black or Asian presenter doing Today, but it's got to be done on merit and I don't think any of the main news shows should lose anyone who is currently presenting."
He stressed that Radio 4 should not deliberately target the ethnic audience, but acknowledged it would help to have its most high-profile shows better reflect the changes in British society.
"As the Archers develops, it would make sense to have characters from more diverse backgrounds," he added.
"It would be inauthentic to have a large number of black or Asian characters on the show as this is Ambridge, not Herne Hill, but there may well be a way of making changes that is authentic to the drama.
"Usha [Gupta] was created to meet this issue, but it was done in a way that was true to the show."
Usha Gupta became the first Asian character to appear in The Archers when she arrived in Ambridge in 1991.
Other ethnic minority characters to have featured are Lucas Madikane, a black South African married to Kate Aldridge, Amy Franks, the mixed race daughter of the local vicar, and her Jamaican grandmother, Mabel Thompson.
Usha’s aunt and brother have also appeared.
However, there has never been any non-white presenters on the station's flagship news programmes such as Today, the World at One or PM.
Mr Damazer pointed out that he had promoted Ritula Shah to present the World Tonight, but said he had not gone far enough in overseeing a change in the make-up of voices on the network.
"We made progress and identified a list of people it worth keeping an eye on, but I'd probably only give myself a middling 2:1.
"We're trying to groom a new generation and that is starting to be felt, but it will be a shame if there aren't more black and Asian voices on Radio 4 in the next five years."
Although the former BBC boss said he was not surprised by the Trust's recommendation for Radio 4 to appeal to a younger, more diverse audience, he warned that targeting specific listeners would not work.
The BBC's governing body said it focused too heavily on white, middle-class listeners from London and the south East, referring to figures showing that 25 per cent of listeners came from this area compared with only 17 per cent of those in the north and north east.
Around 10 million people listen to Radio 4 each week, which has seen its audience share grow over recent years.
The Today programme and The Archers should have more voices from black and ethnic backgrounds, according to the former controller of Radio 4.
By Jonathan Wynne-Jones, Media Correspondent 9:00PM GMT 12 Feb 2011
Mark Damazer urged BBC executives to make the station more representative of Britain's population and expressed regret at not achieving a greater level of diversity while he was there.
He said it "makes sense" to have more ethnic characters on the Archers and warned that Radio 4 will have failed if it has not improved the range of voices in the next five years.
His comments come after the BBC Trust called on the station to do more to appeal to ethnic minorities, as well as younger listeners and those in the north.
Its report sparked anger from listeners, broadcasters and politicians, who branded the Trust's suggestions 'ludicrous' and 'patronising'.
Today presenter John Humphrys said: "Radio 4 is not too white, too middle class or too old."
Mr Damazer, however, said he agreed with accusations that Radio 4 was "too white", although he stressed that employing more black and Asian presenters and actors would not guarantee an increase in listeners among those communities.
He said it should not be done as a gesture of "tokenism", but to recognise talent that has been overlooked for too long.
"I have long felt we need more black and Asian voices on the network so it is more representative of the UK today," he said.
Mr Damazer, who left the BBC last year after rising to become one of its most senior executives, revealed he had drawn up a list of ethnic presenters to monitor and groom towards the end of his time as controller.
"I should have done this earlier and we should have pushed for a greater spread of black and ethnic voices, but I don't want anyone to be decapitated for the point of a token gesture.
"It would be desirable and fitting to see a black or Asian presenter doing Today, but it's got to be done on merit and I don't think any of the main news shows should lose anyone who is currently presenting."
He stressed that Radio 4 should not deliberately target the ethnic audience, but acknowledged it would help to have its most high-profile shows better reflect the changes in British society.
"As the Archers develops, it would make sense to have characters from more diverse backgrounds," he added.
"It would be inauthentic to have a large number of black or Asian characters on the show as this is Ambridge, not Herne Hill, but there may well be a way of making changes that is authentic to the drama.
"Usha [Gupta] was created to meet this issue, but it was done in a way that was true to the show."
Usha Gupta became the first Asian character to appear in The Archers when she arrived in Ambridge in 1991.
Other ethnic minority characters to have featured are Lucas Madikane, a black South African married to Kate Aldridge, Amy Franks, the mixed race daughter of the local vicar, and her Jamaican grandmother, Mabel Thompson.
Usha’s aunt and brother have also appeared.
However, there has never been any non-white presenters on the station's flagship news programmes such as Today, the World at One or PM.
Mr Damazer pointed out that he had promoted Ritula Shah to present the World Tonight, but said he had not gone far enough in overseeing a change in the make-up of voices on the network.
"We made progress and identified a list of people it worth keeping an eye on, but I'd probably only give myself a middling 2:1.
"We're trying to groom a new generation and that is starting to be felt, but it will be a shame if there aren't more black and Asian voices on Radio 4 in the next five years."
Although the former BBC boss said he was not surprised by the Trust's recommendation for Radio 4 to appeal to a younger, more diverse audience, he warned that targeting specific listeners would not work.
The BBC's governing body said it focused too heavily on white, middle-class listeners from London and the south East, referring to figures showing that 25 per cent of listeners came from this area compared with only 17 per cent of those in the north and north east.
Around 10 million people listen to Radio 4 each week, which has seen its audience share grow over recent years.