Post by Teddy Bear on Jun 18, 2008 16:39:52 GMT
A third of viewers say BBC news is not relevant to where they live
By Nicole Martin, Digital and Media Correspondent
More than a third of television viewers do not believe that BBC news and current affairs programmes are relevant to where they live, according to a report.
The study, commissioned by the corporation's governing body, found that 37 per cent of licence-fee payers across the UK do not feel that national news bulletins such as the Six O' Clock News adequately inform them about events in their own country.
The findings, published by the BBC Trust, are at the centre of a major review of the corporation's current affairs programming and news coverage of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
The Trust commissioned the study after viewers living in the devolved nations complained that BBC programmes concentrated too heavily on events in England, and were too "London-centric".
Anthony King, professor of Government at Essex University who wrote the study, warned that viewers might threaten to withhold the licence fee if the BBC did not wake up to the "new world of devolution" and cover the UK in a "less metropolitan, less Westminster-centred way".
He drew on research by Cardiff University, which analysed the BBC news over four weeks last year and found that a fifth of reports relating to devolution were "vague and confusing".
The team also found that of 136 stories about health and education broadcast over that period, not a single one dealt with issues outside of England, even though policies differ in the nations.
Researchers also monitored all 50 episodes of the BBC's flagship current affairs programme Panorama last year and noted that none made any reference to devolution or devolved issues.
While Scotland was mentioned "quite frequently" on the national news during the Scottish elections last May, almost no mention was made to the elections for the Welsh National Assembly.
Overall, 45 per cent of people living in Scotland and 40 per cent in Wales thought that the BBC's national news coverage was not relevant to where they live.
Prof King said it was "pressing" that the BBC addressed the problems immediately.
"It should not be merely a nominal priority but an operational priority for the network to direct its attention to the new UK, to ensure that it is accurately reported and to enrich its coverage," he said.
"The BBC is largely funded by licence-fee payers across the United Kingdom. Their willingness to go on paying the licence fee will depend in part on whether they feel the UK-wide BBC is delivering an output that adequately reflects the diverse UK of the 21st century."
Sir Michael Lyons, the chairman of the trust, admitted that the BBC was "falling short of its own high standards" and was "not meeting properly its core purpose of helping to inform democracy".
"We know from our wider work that affection for the BBC drops the further people live from London and this is in part because they do not see their lives adequately reflected on the BBC," he said. "The BBC understands that it has got to work harder to meet the needs of all licence fee payers, not least because the BBC is paid for in equal measure by people wherever they live in the UK."
He declined to rule out the possibility of Scottish Six, a Scottish-produced 6pm bulletin which would replace the existing BBC Six O' Clock News in Scotland.
The Trust has given Mark Thompson, the BBC director general, until the end of next month to produce an "action plan" on how it plans to improve news coverage of the nations.
The BBC management said in a statement that it recognised that the corporation "must remain in step with the changing face of the UK".
By Nicole Martin, Digital and Media Correspondent
More than a third of television viewers do not believe that BBC news and current affairs programmes are relevant to where they live, according to a report.
The study, commissioned by the corporation's governing body, found that 37 per cent of licence-fee payers across the UK do not feel that national news bulletins such as the Six O' Clock News adequately inform them about events in their own country.
The findings, published by the BBC Trust, are at the centre of a major review of the corporation's current affairs programming and news coverage of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
The Trust commissioned the study after viewers living in the devolved nations complained that BBC programmes concentrated too heavily on events in England, and were too "London-centric".
Anthony King, professor of Government at Essex University who wrote the study, warned that viewers might threaten to withhold the licence fee if the BBC did not wake up to the "new world of devolution" and cover the UK in a "less metropolitan, less Westminster-centred way".
He drew on research by Cardiff University, which analysed the BBC news over four weeks last year and found that a fifth of reports relating to devolution were "vague and confusing".
The team also found that of 136 stories about health and education broadcast over that period, not a single one dealt with issues outside of England, even though policies differ in the nations.
Researchers also monitored all 50 episodes of the BBC's flagship current affairs programme Panorama last year and noted that none made any reference to devolution or devolved issues.
While Scotland was mentioned "quite frequently" on the national news during the Scottish elections last May, almost no mention was made to the elections for the Welsh National Assembly.
Overall, 45 per cent of people living in Scotland and 40 per cent in Wales thought that the BBC's national news coverage was not relevant to where they live.
Prof King said it was "pressing" that the BBC addressed the problems immediately.
"It should not be merely a nominal priority but an operational priority for the network to direct its attention to the new UK, to ensure that it is accurately reported and to enrich its coverage," he said.
"The BBC is largely funded by licence-fee payers across the United Kingdom. Their willingness to go on paying the licence fee will depend in part on whether they feel the UK-wide BBC is delivering an output that adequately reflects the diverse UK of the 21st century."
Sir Michael Lyons, the chairman of the trust, admitted that the BBC was "falling short of its own high standards" and was "not meeting properly its core purpose of helping to inform democracy".
"We know from our wider work that affection for the BBC drops the further people live from London and this is in part because they do not see their lives adequately reflected on the BBC," he said. "The BBC understands that it has got to work harder to meet the needs of all licence fee payers, not least because the BBC is paid for in equal measure by people wherever they live in the UK."
He declined to rule out the possibility of Scottish Six, a Scottish-produced 6pm bulletin which would replace the existing BBC Six O' Clock News in Scotland.
The Trust has given Mark Thompson, the BBC director general, until the end of next month to produce an "action plan" on how it plans to improve news coverage of the nations.
The BBC management said in a statement that it recognised that the corporation "must remain in step with the changing face of the UK".