BBC Publishes Report On Impartiality
The BBC has published a new report on safeguarding its impartiality in the 21st century, together with extensive research on audience expectations and perceptions of impartiality.
The report is the result of a project first commissioned by the BBC Board of Governors in conjunction with BBC management in November 2005 to identify the challenges and risks to impartiality.
The report, From Seesaw to Wagon Wheel, contains 12 guiding principles to inform the BBC’s approach to ensuring impartiality in the face of rapid technological and social change.
Richard Tait, BBC Trustee and chairman of the steering group which oversaw the project, said: “New technologies and changes in society have given rise to a spread of opinion which goes way beyond the traditional divide of left versus right. These new complexities need to be clearly recognised to ensure the BBC’s impartiality is sustained.
“We know that audiences demand and value impartiality as essential to the BBC’s independence. They particularly value impartiality in news, and they recognise its importance in other programme areas.
“But BBC audiences believe that impartiality should not lead to political correctness. The BBC agrees and one of our new principles makes clear that impartiality is no excuse for insipid programme-making. Providing space for controversial and passionate writers and contributors of all kinds will ensure impartiality is an antidote to political correctness.
“This project, the research and the report shows that to safeguard impartiality in the 21st century, the BBC must strive to provide the full breadth of views in all their complexities so that a complete picture is offered to audiences to make up their own minds. Achieving this requires commitment and a sophisticated approach to match the public’s differing expectations for each genre. For programme-makers and journalists, this is a creative opportunity because it means bringing extra perspectives to bear, not limiting horizons or censoring opinion.
“This project signals a new, more open approach to achieving impartiality at the BBC. It is not intended to prescribe definitive solutions or an impartiality template but aims to stimulate further discussion throughout the BBC and so bring impartiality to the forefront of the production process.”
Mark Byford, BBC deputy director-general, said: “Impartiality is a core value for the BBC which is non-negotiable and central to its relationship with licence fee payers. We recognise that, as audience behaviours change and the media landscape develops rapidly, the BBC has to keep asking itself how best to safeguard impartiality in this digital age. The new audience insights from this study of external research and the guiding principles will help us do that.”
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