Post by Teddy Bear on Jun 25, 2007 16:25:03 GMT
The Apprentice is no substitute for real business coverage
"The City, in general, is given little airtime and yet it is one of our economy's great success stories. We seldom hear much about the City other than the size of bankers' bonuses"
Deborah Hargreaves
Monday June 25, 2007
The Guardian
The abiding image of business on TV remains that of a bearded gruff bloke stabbing at the camera and barking: "You're fired." But Alan Sugar's boardroom is far removed from the daily dealings in most of Britain's executive suites. Business leaders grumble repeatedly about the unrealistic and adversarial view of the corporate world fostered by programmes such as The Apprentice.
Similarly, the BBC's focus on business stories through the prism of consumer complaint creates the view that the broadcaster is hostile towards companies. We are all guilty of working up a row to embellish a story, but does the carping about bank charges always have to follow the news that HSBC has made record profits? A more sophisticated look at where the bank makes its money would show that most of it comes from overseas nowadays.
A recent review of the BBC's approach to business led by economist Sir Alan Budd found too much emphasis on consumers and little on the wider aspects of corporate life. We are all investors through our pension funds and many of us have jobs at quoted companies, but these are given short shrift.
The consumer focus is not necessarily deliberate. These stories produce better TV pictures and are easier to tell. But the review panel also found pockets of ignorance at the BBC. There is indeed a great deal that producers and researchers could learn about business. Many have spent their entire working lives at the corporation and have little first-hand experience of the City.
The review veers between criticism of the BBC's preoccupation with the consumer and protest that some of its interviews with business leaders are too sycophantic. The interrogation of Bill Gates about Microsoft's new Vista operating system in January was positively gushing.
It is easy to carp about the BBC's coverage. It is challenging enough to make business issues compelling for a newspaper audience, let alone give them the broad appeal demanded by TV. It is also difficult to persuade business people to appear on TV - although they are less shy of the radio.
But the BBC has a mission to educate as well as entertain. The Ten O'Clock News on BBC1 makes a brave attempt to cover economic issues, although it sometimes strains to make the pictures fit the story. On the other hand, the BBC's website ignores many business stories and is only intermittently updated.
What is missing on TV is the incisive documentary about important business issues. Where, for example, is the BBC's investigation into the private equity industry and its reflection of the unions' long-running campaign? This was covered on the Ten O'Clock News last week after industry leaders had appeared in front of a Commons select committee, but little time had been devoted to it before then.
The City, in general, is given little airtime and yet it is one of our economy's great success stories. We seldom hear much about the City other than the size of bankers' bonuses. But with a bit of creative thinking, the BBC could produce an imaginative series about the City's increasing world influence and the changing nature of financial markets.
Instead, the BBC has concentrated its efforts on reality-style programmes like The Apprentice and Dragons' Den. I am a great fan of both, but they are no substitute for proper commentary.
The public can be sceptical about the role of business and corporate leaders. That is, in part, fostered by the media. If we could get a little more understanding of business among the ranks of the BBC, then we might be able to have a grown-up debate about this important aspect of British life.
· Deborah Hargreaves is the Guardian's business editor
"The City, in general, is given little airtime and yet it is one of our economy's great success stories. We seldom hear much about the City other than the size of bankers' bonuses"
Deborah Hargreaves
Monday June 25, 2007
The Guardian
The abiding image of business on TV remains that of a bearded gruff bloke stabbing at the camera and barking: "You're fired." But Alan Sugar's boardroom is far removed from the daily dealings in most of Britain's executive suites. Business leaders grumble repeatedly about the unrealistic and adversarial view of the corporate world fostered by programmes such as The Apprentice.
Similarly, the BBC's focus on business stories through the prism of consumer complaint creates the view that the broadcaster is hostile towards companies. We are all guilty of working up a row to embellish a story, but does the carping about bank charges always have to follow the news that HSBC has made record profits? A more sophisticated look at where the bank makes its money would show that most of it comes from overseas nowadays.
A recent review of the BBC's approach to business led by economist Sir Alan Budd found too much emphasis on consumers and little on the wider aspects of corporate life. We are all investors through our pension funds and many of us have jobs at quoted companies, but these are given short shrift.
The consumer focus is not necessarily deliberate. These stories produce better TV pictures and are easier to tell. But the review panel also found pockets of ignorance at the BBC. There is indeed a great deal that producers and researchers could learn about business. Many have spent their entire working lives at the corporation and have little first-hand experience of the City.
The review veers between criticism of the BBC's preoccupation with the consumer and protest that some of its interviews with business leaders are too sycophantic. The interrogation of Bill Gates about Microsoft's new Vista operating system in January was positively gushing.
It is easy to carp about the BBC's coverage. It is challenging enough to make business issues compelling for a newspaper audience, let alone give them the broad appeal demanded by TV. It is also difficult to persuade business people to appear on TV - although they are less shy of the radio.
But the BBC has a mission to educate as well as entertain. The Ten O'Clock News on BBC1 makes a brave attempt to cover economic issues, although it sometimes strains to make the pictures fit the story. On the other hand, the BBC's website ignores many business stories and is only intermittently updated.
What is missing on TV is the incisive documentary about important business issues. Where, for example, is the BBC's investigation into the private equity industry and its reflection of the unions' long-running campaign? This was covered on the Ten O'Clock News last week after industry leaders had appeared in front of a Commons select committee, but little time had been devoted to it before then.
The City, in general, is given little airtime and yet it is one of our economy's great success stories. We seldom hear much about the City other than the size of bankers' bonuses. But with a bit of creative thinking, the BBC could produce an imaginative series about the City's increasing world influence and the changing nature of financial markets.
Instead, the BBC has concentrated its efforts on reality-style programmes like The Apprentice and Dragons' Den. I am a great fan of both, but they are no substitute for proper commentary.
The public can be sceptical about the role of business and corporate leaders. That is, in part, fostered by the media. If we could get a little more understanding of business among the ranks of the BBC, then we might be able to have a grown-up debate about this important aspect of British life.
· Deborah Hargreaves is the Guardian's business editor
