tag:theconversation.com,2011:/id/topics/bbc-3648/articlesBBC – The Conversation2024-03-26T10:13:14Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2253942024-03-26T10:13:14Z2024-03-26T10:13:14ZThousands of Irish viewers boycott licence fee after presenter salary scandal – what this says about the future of public broadcasting<p>The future of free-to-air publicly funded television is currently under the microscope in Ireland, Great Britain, Australia and Canada. And it seems as though each country is struggling with answers about where funding will come from, whether the public needs it, and if it should survive.</p>
<p>This dilemma has been brought into sharp focus in Ireland because, for the past nine months, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/jun/23/rte-suspends-director-general-over-payments-to-presenter-ryan-tubridy">a scandal</a> has engulfed the Irish public broadcaster, RTÉ. </p>
<p>It began with allegations of secret payments by its previous management to its star presenter Ryan Tubridy to boost his salary. RTÉ accepted the findings by accountancy firm Grant Thornton regarding the payments. In June, it issued <a href="https://www.irishtimes.com/media/2023/06/27/responsibility-for-ryan-tubridy-extra-payments-lay-with-dee-forbes-rte-says-in-statement/">a statement</a> claiming: “No member of the RTÉ executive board, other than the director general [Dee Forbes], had all the necessary information to understand that the publicly declared figures for Ryan Tubridy could have been wrong.” Since this time, Forbes has been too ill to answer questions in public about these payments. </p>
<p>RTÉ is partly funded by advertising and commercial interests and partly by the government. The scandal has pitched its present management before the <a href="https://www.breakingnews.ie/ireland/full-rte-board-to-be-invited-before-media-committee-next-month-1517706.html">Dáil’s media committee</a> on live television and has led to <a href="https://www.irishtimes.com/media/2024/02/13/tell-us-your-story-why-did-you-stop-paying-the-tv-licence-fee/">123,000 more households refusing to pay the licence fee</a> than in the previous year, resulting in a loss of almost €22 million (£19 million). </p>
<p>In an annual survey by business consulting group CX Company in October 2023 RTÉ dropped to the <a href="https://www.rte.ie/news/business/2023/1003/1408590-rte-take-trust-hit-in-latest-customer-experience-report/">bottom of a league table</a> of trusted brands. The new RTÉ director general Kevin Bakhurst is working hard to right the ship, but his plans for the immediate future <a href="https://www.rte.ie/news/ireland/2023/1113/1416297-taoiseach-rte/#:%7E:text=RT%C3%89%20plans%20to%20reduce%20staff,region%20of%20%E2%82%AC40%20million.">include 400 redundancies</a>.</p>
<p>Irish public service broadcasting struggles are happening at the same time as other similar broadcasters are working out if they have a future. </p>
<p>In the UK the BBC has taken massive hits to its budget over the past few years – including having to use licence fee money to pay towards the World Service and to finance <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-60014514">free licence fees for the over-75s</a>. The government had previously paid for these licences but it then transferred the <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-48583487">estimated £745 million cost</a> to the BBC. </p>
<p>Tight budgets have meant cuts to programming, including to current affairs programme <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/media/2023/nov/30/bbc-under-fire-after-flat-out-bad-decision-to-make-big-newsnight-cuts">Newsnight</a>. The licence fee system itself <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/media/2022/jan/16/bbc-licence-fee-to-be-abolished-in-2027-and-funding-frozen#:%7E:text=The%20BBC%20will%20have%20to,fee%20abolished%20completely%20in%202027.">may not last</a> for much longer.</p>
<p>In Australia, where payment for the public service broadcaster ABC comes directly <a href="https://www.infrastructure.gov.au/media-communications-arts/national-broadcasters/australian-broadcasting-corporation-abc#:%7E:text=The%20Australian%20Government%20funds%20the,the%20ABC%20on%20programming%20matters.">from the government</a>, there have been repeated charges of political interference in its reporting, <a href="https://www.afr.com/companies/media-and-marketing/the-audience-problem-waiting-for-the-abc-s-new-supremo-20231215-p5erue">appointments and funding</a>. A series of blistering <a href="https://www.afr.com/companies/media-and-marketing/the-audience-problem-waiting-for-the-abc-s-new-supremo-20231215-p5erue">cuts of 15% since 2014</a> culminated in December 2023 in the axing of the popular current affairs programme The Drum. </p>
<p>Over at the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC television and Radio Canada), there have been decades of cuts to staff and resources. Like RTÉ it is a hybrid company, funded partly by the government and partly through advertising. </p>
<p>Its major challenge is its geography as it operates within the highly competitive North American broadcasting sphere and its mix of programming has less appeal than it had in the past. It has pledged <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/cbc-radio-canada-layoffs-budget-1.7048530">to cut 10% of its workforce</a> and axe some programming to answer its current funding crisis.</p>
<p><strong>Main sources of news in Ireland 2021</strong></p>
<p>So what is the point of public service media? In Ireland, economist and journalist David McWilliams in the <a href="https://www.irishtimes.com/opinion/2024/03/02/we-are-witnessing-the-death-throes-of-rte-i-say-this-with-a-heavy-heart/">Irish Times </a> claims that “we are witnessing the death throes of RTÉ” mainly because people’s media habits are evolving and “no amount of political special pleading is going to change this”. </p>
<p>Similar arguments are being made in Australia. According to the <a href="https://reutersinstitute.politics.ox.ac.uk/sites/default/files/2023-06/Digital_News_Report_2023.pdf">Reuters Digital News Report 2023</a>, the ABC remains the most trusted media service (66%), but, according to the <a href="https://www.afr.com/companies/media-and-marketing/the-audience-problem-waiting-for-the-abc-s-new-supremo-20231215-p5erue">Australian Financial Review</a>, less than two in three Australians interact with it each week.</p>
<p>While young people may increasingly pay attention to <a href="https://reutersinstitute.politics.ox.ac.uk/sites/default/files/2023-06/Digital_News_Report_2023.pdf">social media and influencers</a>, they still return to trusted news online for big stories and emergencies. </p>
<p>In 2021, during the height of the pandemic young people even watched television news programmes, with the <a href="https://fujomedia.eu/site/assets/files/1925/15651_dnr_2021_web.pdf">Reuters’ Digital News Report Ireland 2021, </a> showing figures for 18-24-year-olds going up 13 percentage points on the previous year. However, this turned out to be a momentary blip in watching scheduled TV at the time it was broadcast and the following year this figure <a href="https://fujomedia.eu/site/assets/files/1926/20220613_dnr-2022_final_web-version_dmb.pdf">dropped back ten percentage points.</a></p>
<h2>Is trust enough?</h2>
<p>The true importance of public service media isn’t its popularity but its trustworthiness and its availability. All of these broadcasting services mentioned here top the Reuters Digital News Report’s ranking for the most trustworthy brands in their respective countries. </p>
<p>According to the European Broadcasting Union the <a href="https://www.ebu.ch/about/public-service-media">core values of public service media</a> are “universality, independence, excellence, diversity, accountability and innovation”. The EBU seeks ways to keep public service media sustainable and in public ownership and Ireland and Great Britain are signed up members of this group. </p>
<p>But another point of attack against these kinds of broadcasters is their timidity towards governments in power. </p>
<p>Goldsmiths, University of London, academic <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/1527476418760985?journalCode=tvna">Des Freedman argues</a> that the public service model, as demonstrated by the BBC isn’t necessarily “the most effective means of holding power to account” due to “structural and institutional factors that constrain the BBC’s journalism”. However, so far, nobody has come up with a concrete plan “to secure distinctly public forms of communication that are independent of both state and market”. </p>
<p>Reform would seem to be the only way forward – to seek public payments, but in a fairer way than the blunt licence fee. <a href="https://www.euractiv.com/section/politics/news/finland-divided-over-keeping-public-broadcasting-tax/">Finland provides an excellent example</a> of a country in which you pay for public broadcasting in relation to your pay packet. In an ideal scenario, this revenue stream would be kept separate from government interference, as would appointments to management positions. </p>
<p>Public service media should not just chase the most attractive demographics, instead, they must serve all their nation’s communities. Innovation should be the guiding principle to keeping digital services up to speed and trustworthy at a time when AI may lead us all into confusion. </p>
<p>With the <a href="https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2022/10/how-to-address-disinformation/">surfeit of disinformation</a> and misinformation on the internet and social media, trust has to be earned every day. Transparency, independence and honest communication are the old-fashioned values that public service media – in particular RTÉ – need to demonstrate. With new Reuters’ data on trust published in June, this will be a key test of whether RTÉ programming can still win the trust of the public.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/225394/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Professor Colleen Murrell receives funding from Ireland's regulator Coimisiún na Meán to research and write the annual Reuters Digital News Report Ireland.</span></em></p>Countries around the world are debating whether free-to-air television has a future.Colleen Murrell, Full Professor in Journalism, Dublin City UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2254612024-03-21T00:35:03Z2024-03-21T00:35:03ZThe demise of TVNZ’s Sunday spells the end of long-form current affairs – just when we need it most<p>The imminent demise of TVNZ’s <a href="https://www.nzonscreen.com/title/sunday-2002/series">Sunday</a> program demonstrates the TV current affairs genre in New Zealand is on its last legs. The death knell was sounded back in 2015 when <a href="https://www.nzherald.co.nz/entertainment/sarah-baker-serious-news-deserves-platform-on-nz-television/Q4OQN3TZMQOE3UR25EAXEYFNHA/">TV3 axed</a> its nightly <a href="https://www.nzonscreen.com/title/campbell-live-2005/series">Campbell Live</a> program, but this latest cut appears to spell the end. </p>
<p>Coupled with the earlier announcement that Warner Bros. Discovery will be <a href="https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/mediawatch/audio/2018927944/discovery-warners-to-close-newshub-in-june">shutting down its Newshub operation</a> in June, the end of Sunday also represents a turning point for New Zealand’s broadcast media.</p>
<p>While it could be argued Sunday has not been as hard-hitting as past TV current affairs programs, these terminal signs still matter. All up, the <a href="https://thespinoff.co.nz/pop-culture/08-03-2024/all-the-local-current-affairs-shows-were-set-to-lose-in-2024">proposals mean</a> 20 hours of news and current affairs television per week will go from local screens.</p>
<p>In particular, long-form television current affairs has been a vital part of the overall broadcast news menu. It has allowed deeper analysis of events and issues, and often made news in the process. Its disappearance is a watershed moment in New Zealand media.</p>
<h2>The birth of TV current affairs</h2>
<p>The origins of long-form TV current affairs can be traced to Britain in 1953, when the BBC launched <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b006t14n">Panorama</a>. Within a few years, the show was tackling the 1956 Suez crisis, setting the tone for stories of national and international importance. </p>
<p>Interviews would take time, and context was given in complex stories. It was all part of the BBC’s public service broadcasting remit, set out in its <a href="https://www.bbc.com/aboutthebbc/governance/mission">charter</a>, to “inform, educate and entertain”. </p>
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<a href="https://theconversation.com/with-the-end-of-newshub-the-slippery-slope-just-got-steeper-for-nz-journalism-and-democracy-224625">With the end of Newshub, the slippery slope just got steeper for NZ journalism and democracy</a>
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<p>Panorama was joined by other programs – notably ITV’s <a href="http://www.screenonline.org.uk/tv/id/457900/index.html">World in Action</a> and Channel 4’s <a href="https://www.channel4.com/collection/dispatches">Dispatches</a> – which established the form and function of TV current affairs. </p>
<p>Such programs helped audiences understand current events, and often held politicians and the powerful to account. To take just one example, World In Action’s investigations in the 1980s helped expose what happened to the so-called <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2022/mar/26/why-the-birmingham-six-story-must-not-be-forgotten">Birmingham Six</a>, one of the UK’s worst miscarriages of justice.</p>
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<h2>60 years of investigations</h2>
<p>TV current affairs arrived in New Zealand with <a href="https://www.nzonscreen.com/title/compass-1964/series">Compass</a> in 1963, not long after the still-running Four Corners debuted on the Australian Broadcasting Corporation in 1961. Compass was followed by <a href="https://www.nzonscreen.com/title/gallery-1968/series">Gallery</a> in 1968. </p>
<p>This was the beginning of rigorous political interviews. These programs provided the opportunity for New Zealand stories to be told and seen from a New Zealand perspective. </p>
<p>By the 1970s, the local TV current affairs roster was well established, often dealing with controversial issues such as police brutality, industrial disputes and antiwar protests. The roster was later fleshed out with shows such as Foreign Correspondent and <a href="https://www.nzonscreen.com/title/eyewitness-1978/series">Eyewitness</a>.</p>
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<p>From the late 1980s, however, New Zealand broadcasting was progressively deregulated and commercialised. TVNZ became a “<a href="https://teara.govt.nz/en/state-owned-enterprises">state-owned enterprise</a>”, directed to run like a business and turn a profit. Ultimately, a program’s success relied not only ratings, but also on whether it earned more than it cost to make. </p>
<p>The commercial era saw the rise of a new kind of personality-driven TV current affairs: the nightly <a href="https://www.nzonscreen.com/title/holmes-1989/series">Holmes</a> show and the weekly 60 Minutes and 20/20 (local versions of international franchises).</p>
<p>Critics viewed the trend towards softer and often tabloid material as representing a wholesale loss in quality. But quality long-form current affairs still survived in the form of <a href="https://www.nzonscreen.com/title/frontline-1988/series">Frontline</a> and its successor, <a href="https://www.nzonscreen.com/title/assignment-1995/series">Assignment</a>.</p>
<p>That era lasted into the early 2000s. Sunday picked up the long-form mantle in 2002, replacing the local version of 60 Minutes. </p>
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<h2>New model needed</h2>
<p>As broadcasting grew more commercial, <a href="https://openrepository.aut.ac.nz/items/c18800d0-f6d2-498c-a441-89c1c30dc02c">research has shown</a> coverage of more serious subjects declined. At the same time, “infotainment”, human interest, celebrity and entertainment news increased. </p>
<p>But free-to-air broadcasting has been operating under economic constraint for decades now. With its advertising model broken by the digital economy, and viewers migrating to streaming services, expensive long-form current affairs formats have been harder to justify financially.</p>
<p>Public funding for current affairs, mostly via <a href="https://www.nzonair.govt.nz/about/our-funding-strategy/specialist-current-affairs/">NZ On Air</a>, has supported Māori and Pacific-focused programs The Hui (TV3) and Tagata Pasifika (TVNZ), as well as weekend interview show Q+A (TVNZ).</p>
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<p>The Hui, in particular, has investigated important issues such as abuse in state care. But with its fortunes tied to Newshub’s, the show’s future is also uncertain.</p>
<p>While the economics of TV current affairs are changing rapidly, the kinds of issues needing coverage are more urgent than ever – climate change and the impact of artificial intelligence, to name just two.</p>
<p>According to TVNZ, closing Sunday is still <a href="https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/mediawatch/audio/2018929249/tvnz-axing-fair-go-sunday-two-news-bulletins">only a proposal</a>. If there is any room for negotiation, then, the broadcaster should seriously consider any viable alternative.</p>
<p>One option might be to retain a core team of investigative journalists and to develop a new model to deliver their stories, perhaps online and through the TVNZ+ digital platform. Because to lose what remains of TV current affairs will be a serious loss to journalism and to New Zealand.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/225461/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Sarah Baker does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Current affairs TV began over 60 years ago in New Zealand. The end of the long-form format leaves local journalism greatly diminished.Sarah Baker, Associate Professor, Communication Studies, Auckland University of TechnologyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2218232024-02-19T17:10:09Z2024-02-19T17:10:09ZSpitting Image at 40: the story of the show is surprisingly influenced by Thatcher<p>Spitting Image, first broadcast in February 1984, is famed as an <a href="https://theconversation.com/spitting-image-the-puppet-satire-that-captured-thatchers-britain-107241">iconoclastic satire</a> of 1980s political and popular culture. Its grotesque puppet caricatures became so well known that they could cement a person’s image in public consciousness: Margaret Thatcher as a domineering bully, Sarah Ferguson a snorting Sloane ranger, a grey-skinned John Major joylessly chomping a plate of peas.</p>
<p>Thatcher may have provided the show with its star turn, but her government’s policies were also influential in bringing the programme to air, as well as its eventual demise. The story of Spitting Image is a surprisingly – and accidentally – Thatcherite one.</p>
<p>Spitting Image had unusual origins for a popular TV show. It began with the partnership of artists <a href="https://www.cartoons.ac.uk/cartoonist-biographies/k-l/RogerLaw.html">Roger Law</a> and <a href="https://www.fluckoriginals.co.uk/aboutpf">Peter Fluck</a>, also known as “Luck and Flaw”. They specialised in three-dimensional caricature models, which were photographed for news outlets across the world.</p>
<p>To provide additional income, the pair decided to make these models move. Though Fluck and Law would not have called themselves entrepreneurs, they were keen to expand the operation in ways that would have made Thatcher happy.</p>
<p>At a feted “original lunch” in 1982, designer <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/global/2020/dec/31/martin-lambie-nairn-obituary">Martin Lambie-Nairn</a> suggested a television show as a vehicle for Fluck and Law’s caricaturing. They formed an independent company with US-based satirist <a href="https://variety.com/2021/film/people-news/tony-hendra-dead-this-is-spinal-tap-1234923058/#!">Tony Hendra</a>, comedy producer <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2009/apr/11/interview-john-lloyd-comedy-producer">John Lloyd</a> (who had approached Fluck and Law to animate their caricatures for his hit BBC show Not the Nine O’Clock News) and freelance current affairs producer <a href="http://www.jonblairfilms.com/about-us">Jon Blair</a>. </p>
<p>It was unclear, though, how to translate this wealth of knowledge, experience and enthusiasm into making and selling a TV show.</p>
<p>This was understandable, since, at this time, most British TV was made in-house, either by the BBC or within the ITV network. Independent television production was a cottage industry and indies had little access to airtime.</p>
<p>Spitting Image would need to be made with a major broadcaster, but most commissioners were unwilling to take this expensive risk. Charles Denton of Central Independent Television (CIT) was the exception. He was looking for opportunities to change the image of CIT, which was largely known for light entertainment.</p>
<p>Spitting Image was offering something different: it was innovative, provocative, eye-catching.</p>
<p>After a successful 20-minute pilot produced in June 1983, Denton enthusiastically commissioned Spitting Image to begin in 1984. It became a rare example for its time of a co-production between ITV and an independent production company.</p>
<h2>The enterprise zone</h2>
<p>After teething troubles, Spitting Image grew into hit for CIT. There was huge demand for the puppets, which were manufactured in “the world’s first caricature sweatshop”, as Law jokingly described it in a <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p01ln0tw">1985 documentary</a>. </p>
<p>The workshop was in London’s West India Dock (now Canary Wharf) one of the government’s newly founded “<a href="https://researchbriefings.files.parliament.uk/documents/SN05942/SN05942.pdf">Enterprise Zones</a>”, which gave tax incentives and relaxed regulations for redevelopment. These aided the refurbishment of the Spitting Image “factory”.</p>
<p>Spitting Image became a ubiquitous part of 1980s popular culture. The puppets appeared on a wide range of merchandise, including <a href="https://archive.org/details/spittingimagegia0000unse/mode/2up">books</a>, <a href="https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/9644/spitting-image">board games</a>, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZzTioHGQgeA">records</a> and <a href="https://www.worldcollectorsnet.com/whats-it-worth/spitting-image-pet-hates-toys-information-price-guide/">toys</a>. </p>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">The Spitting Image Margaret Thatcher puppet in action.</span></figcaption>
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<p>Spin-offs boosted the reputation of the show, though arrangements were ad hoc, and the creative team were ambivalent about them, keen to avoid selling out.</p>
<p>The international success of the series helped to boost its reputation. Not only did it win awards such as the International Emmy in 1986, but it would be imitated around the world, for example as <a href="https://www.canalplus.com/canalplus-story/les-guignols/">Les Guignols de L’Info</a> in France or <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fmdEiL6Avv0">Kukly</a> in <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00pg5pn">Russia</a>. Its success in international sales led in 1989 to it winning a Queen’s Award for Export Achievement.</p>
<p>Political objections to the Thatcher government notwithstanding, Spitting Image was heralded as one of the commercial success stories for the UK TV industry at this time. Its annual turnover was reported at over <a href="https://www.cartoons.ac.uk/cartoonist-biographies/s-t/RalphSteadman.html">£2 million in 1986</a>. </p>
<h2>The show’s decline</h2>
<p>Thatcher’s resignation in November 1990 deprived Spitting Image of its main character. But her government’s television policy had already sowed the seeds for the series’ demise.</p>
<p>Thatcher saw the TV industry as <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-22120480">bloated, bureaucratic and dominated by unions</a>. She called ITV the “<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/media/2009/mar/04/how-itv-got-where-it-is-today">last bastion of restrictive practices</a>” in 1987. Her overall aim was to marketise broadcasting by introducing greater competition. The prize of a privatised BBC eluded her.</p>
<p>Legislation was <a href="https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1990/42/contents">passed in 1990</a> that required the BBC and ITV to commission 25% of its programming from independent production companies. Uncertainty about how this would work caused costly delays in commissioning decisions in the early 1990s, which led to difficulties for Spitting Image Productions.</p>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">Trailer for the Britbox revival of Spitting Image.</span></figcaption>
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<p>Licenses to run (and profit from) regional ITV franchises were now awarded to the highest cash bid. ITV companies became more explicitly profit-oriented, and programmes were under greater pressure to deliver audiences to advertisers. This coincided with a recession in 1990 and 1991, which depressed demand for advertising and raised operating costs thanks to inflation.</p>
<p>By the early 1990s, Spitting Image’s ratings were in decline. Most of the original creative team had left. Other ventures, such as a Madame Tussauds-style Rubberworks exhibition or children’s <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0164306/">TV show The Winjin’ Pom</a>, had not generated much needed extra income. The final series aired in 1996.</p>
<p>Spitting Image has since been revived. In 2020 and 2021 it was brought back as exclusive content for the streaming service Britbox, and then in 2023 as a musical staged in Birmingham and London.</p>
<p>But it is as a silly, rude, satirical <a href="https://www.bfi.org.uk/features/spitting-image-still-biting-after-all-these-years">vision of the 1980s</a> – and a unique product of a changing television industry – that it will be remembered.</p>
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<p><em>Looking for something good? Cut through the noise with a carefully curated selection of the latest releases, live events and exhibitions, straight to your inbox every fortnight, on Fridays. <a href="https://theconversation.com/uk/newsletters/something-good-156">Sign up here</a>.</em></p>
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<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Hannah Andrews received funding from The British Academy and Leverhulme Trust. </span></em></p>Thatcher provided the show with its star turn, but her government’s policies were also influential in bringing the programme to air.Hannah Andrews, Associate Professor in Film and Media, University of LincolnLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2227972024-02-08T13:21:29Z2024-02-08T13:21:29ZSix Nations future on terrestrial TV uncertain – what are the implications for rugby and its fans?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/574016/original/file-20240207-20-835kh3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=38%2C0%2C4252%2C2813&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The Six Nations Championship is classified as a 'category B' tournament by the UK government. </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/rome-italy-0502-olympic-stadium-guinness-2258290119">Marco Iacobucci Epp/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The Six Nations Championship always serves plenty to excite stadium and television audiences. But the high-octane drama risks being overshadowed by off-field events that could also threaten the principles of public service broadcasting.</p>
<p>As a televisual event, rugby is thriving. <a href="https://www.digitaltveurope.com/2024/02/01/rugby-world-cup-2023-most-viewed-rugby-event-ever-with-1-33bn-viewing-hours/">Viewing figures</a> for the Rugby World Cup in 2023 were 19% higher than the 2019 tournament, and 30% higher than in 2015. Free-to-air Six Nations games <a href="https://www.statista.com/statistics/1441433/tv-viewers-six-nations-uk/">regularly draw</a> between 3 and 4.5 million viewers in the UK. Globally, an estimated <a href="https://www.sixnationsrugby.com/en/m6n/news/get-set-for-championships-biggest-year-yet">121 million</a> people tuned in to the 2023 tournament. </p>
<p>So, it’s surprising that the Six Nations is classified by the UK government’s Department for Culture, Media and Sport as a <a href="https://researchbriefings.files.parliament.uk/documents/SN00802/SN00802.pdf">“category B”</a> tournament. This means it can be sold to anyone, providing that free-to-air broadcasters are given access to highlights or delayed coverage. </p>
<p>Meanwhile, for “category A” events like the FA Cup final and the Olympic and Paralympic Games, full live coverage must be offered by free-to-air terrestrial broadcasters. Recently, a bid to move the Six Nations into category A was <a href="https://www.itv.com/news/wales/2024-01-23/bid-to-make-six-nations-free-to-air-rejected-by-uk-government">rejected</a> by the UK government.</p>
<p>The BBC and ITV have had the rights for the Six Nations since 2003, but that could change. Rugby’s governing bodies need more money, and free-to-air channels are feeling the financial pinch. On top of that, more and more people are opting for streaming services in general. So, when the current broadcasting deal ends in 2025, the Six Nations could very well end up behind a paywall. </p>
<h2>Financial woes</h2>
<p>Money – or the lack of it – is the important factor here and Welsh rugby especially is experiencing the effects more than most. It faces a <a href="https://www.walesonline.co.uk/sport/rugby/rugby-news/raft-wales-internationals-face-huge-28239366">stark future</a> both on and off the field, with players leaving Wales for more money and salary caps being introduced for those who stay. </p>
<p>While there’s a <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-politics-68152933">consensus in the Senedd</a> (Welsh parliament) for the Six Nations to remain free-to-air, the Welsh Rugby Union (WRU) has warned it would <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-politics-68168728">“struggle to survive”</a> without a competitive bidding scenario involving Sky, Amazon Prime and others. </p>
<p>Some Scottish politicians concur with the Senedd, adding a further constitutional dimension. The <a href="https://www.thenational.scot/news/24093322.six-nations-paywall-threat-sparks-calls-broadcast-powers-scotland/">SNP’s Gavin Newlands</a> recently reiterated calls for broadcasting to be devolved so that the Six Nations remains free-to-air. </p>
<p>There are precedents for rugby moving to a subscription service too. The 2023 Autumn Internationals were only accessible on Amazon Prime, and between 1997 and 2002, England’s home games were shown exclusively on Sky Sports. </p>
<p>But that raises concerns about affordability, especially for those fans already finding attending matches too expensive. For stay-at-home supporters, even the “home comfort” option of watching on TV might become too costly.</p>
<p>According to former BBC executive and now WRU executive director of rugby, <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-politics-68168728">Nigel Walker</a>, this “tension and competition at the market” is essential for rugby’s survival. The Irish Rugby Union has also previously warned about the <a href="https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/irfu-tackles-minister-over-six-nations-on-free-to-air-tv-s3ssx5lcp">“substantial financial damage”</a> to rugby if the Six Nations was classified as free-to-air.</p>
<h2>Lessons from cricket</h2>
<p>Free market proponents point, for example, to how Sky’s long-lasting commitment to cricket has led to <a href="https://www.broadcastnow.co.uk/broadcasting/the-tech-being-used-by-sky-sports-at-the-ashes/5183118.article">innovation and technical advances</a> such as multiple cameras and data-rich, TV-friendly statistical analysis. It results in a quality of coverage that the BBC or ITV might struggle to match with more meagre budgets. </p>
<p>But test cricket offers a cautionary tale. It found a surge of new fans during Channel 4’s captivating coverage of the epic 2005 Ashes, with the final day of the fourth test drawing <a href="https://www.isportconnect.com/the-house-view-why-cricket-needs-free-to-air-tv-to-make-the-most-of-the-ashes/#:%7E:text=The%20last%20time%20the%20England,Fourth%20Test%20at%208.4%20million.">8.4 million viewers</a>. When Sky secured the rights a year later, this fresh audience vanished. </p>
<p>The 2023 Ashes saw <a href="https://www.skysports.com/cricket/news/12123/12907082/the-ashes-2023-sky-sports-breaks-records-in-edgbaston-opener-with-highest-viewing-figures-for-a-test-match">peak viewing figures</a> of just 2.12 million. Having hauled in millions of new enthusiasts, <a href="https://theconversation.com/england-win-mens-cricket-world-cup-in-a-last-ball-thriller-now-will-the-country-see-more-matches-on-free-tv-120302">cricket</a> failed to keep them watching.</p>
<p>If rugby does succumb to the paywall, there are serious implications. Perhaps as an inevitable consequence of a captive audience, subscription prices might increase as “market forces” prevail. </p>
<p>And if televised rugby lit a fire in the belly of an emerging generation of players, there’s a chance a paywall could just as easily extinguish it. This is especially relevant in Wales, where <a href="https://www.statista.com/statistics/1445179/six-nations-popularity-countries/">51% of the population</a> stated that they had an interest in the tournament, versus only 26% in England.</p>
<p>For Wales, where rugby players are often revered as heroes, the cultural implications are also considerable. The players are role models who help cement a common sense of nationhood and cultural identity. Will their power to inspire future generations fade if fans can’t afford to watch them? Possibly not, but making rugby less accessible may stifle the enthusiasm of emerging talent.</p>
<p>And there is a further conundrum regarding the very nature of public service broadcasting. According to legislation, one <a href="https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2003/21/section/264/2011-06-15">principle</a> of broadcasting in the public interest is that it should “satisfy a wide range of different sporting and other leisure interests”. </p>
<p>For many, public service broadcasting principles might seem a dispensable fragment of an increasingly complex jigsaw, but they should not be dismissed lightly. The protective standards and quality they provide, and the inclusivity they ensure, were not necessarily conceived with rugby in mind. But losing them to the pursuit of bigger paydays would be a significant blow to the cultural and social fabric that sport weaves within society.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/222797/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>When Six Nations’ broadcasting deal with the BBC and ITV ends in 2025, there are fears the tournament could move to a subscription service.Richard Thomas, Professor of Journalism, Swansea UniversityIwan Williams, Senior Lecturer in Media, Swansea UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2209672024-01-12T17:09:30Z2024-01-12T17:09:30ZBBC’s The Traitors: how unconscious biases can impact who you think is guilty<p><em>This article contains spoilers for the first five episodes of season two of The Traitors.</em></p>
<p>Subterfuge, betrayal, murder and money abound in the BBC hit series The Traitors, now in it’s second season. It’s no surprise that it has become a huge hit. </p>
<p>The basic premise of the show is that you have “the faithful” and “the traitors”. The game hinges on everyone presenting themselves as a faithful, but with the knowledge that there will be at least one traitor among them. </p>
<p>If the faithful manage to identify all traitors then they will share the £120,000 jackpot. However, if by the end of the game there are any traitors left, they will steal the jackpot from the faithful.</p>
<p>Once a day there is a “round table” discussion where players discuss who they think may be a traitor and vote to banish someone. This is particularly important given that each night the traitors can “murder” a faithful, who does not return to the game the following day. </p>
<p>However, this process is unlikely to rely solely on logical reasoning or tactical scheming. Implicit biases will always rear their heads. </p>
<p>A <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/9780470939376.ch25">cognitive bias</a> is a change in judgement based on characteristics or traits. Sometimes people are aware of their biases, so psychologists refer to these as explicit. However, most of the time people are unaware, and we refer to such biases as implicit. </p>
<p>Looking back to season one of The Traitors, many contestants were sceptical of a player called Tom because he was a magician, a job that is designed to deceive people. This ultimately led to him being banished from the game, despite being one of the faithful. This would be an example of explicit bias because the contestants admitted they made their decision based on Tom’s job. </p>
<p>Another contestant called Maddy pursued a vendetta against fellow player Wilf. However, this never gained support from the rest of the group as it was only based on her getting a “bad vibe” from him, despite her being correct that Wilf was a traitor. This could be an example of implicit bias, as Wilf’s popularity with the group appeared to save him from being banished right until the final hurdle.</p>
<p>Implicit biases like these can influence us in everyday life and, by definition, we are not aware of it. Here’s how they may be influencing decision making in the latest season of TV’s ultimate game of deception.</p>
<h2>Handsome traitors</h2>
<p>At the round table, aspersions are cast, guilt apportioned and suspicions aired. Every trait, behaviour pattern and word uttered is unpicked as the group try to work out who might be one of the traitors among them. Research shows there are things about a person that might make people think they are more or less guilty.</p>
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<p>Take 22-year-old Harry, a conventionally attractive white man. His looks are a fortunate trait for Harry, as attractive people are often judged as having more <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S2212144715300107?casa_token=PWXbZ5f_6U0AAAAA:xQr2nG44lXXO-3i36Gni-9S5BYgm1JZnl6Xk-N1L4cqgcZKW3gisYdy8wxgf_UV886DWK7AuOg4">positive characteristics</a> such as intelligence and kindness. This is sometimes referred to as a “halo effect”. It may have helped make him the perfect traitor – he has sailed through the first five episodes undetected. </p>
<p>By contrast, Ash, a 45-year-old Asian female who was less conventionally attractive, struggled to deflect accusations from the rest of the group and was recently banished. Members of “the faithful” have questioned Ash over her interest in people’s votes during the round table events.</p>
<p>Granted, Ash was a traitor and we only saw a snapshot of the day’s events but, looking at the group’s reasoning, it is unlikely that she asked anything that others hadn’t. They were all there to find traitors or to masquerade as faithfuls looking for traitors. Harry had probably asked similar questions.</p>
<p>However, implicit biases involving <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.2466/pr0.1999.85.3.1051?casa_token=Y1tNOncKN24AAAAA:61I-H-rZfTm0DQ1mKcTorx1vlLfmPZkSGZke5MyftEcU3MKyXV5y3s-lgOfddT3wonBvY55b4SqWKw">age</a>, <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0022103120303607?casa_token=lZLp9dhPMeAAAAAA:E6MRC0xgHR3QKdOoSTkWKDi1Hk7f1Dt_lngAYlOsQffxa43Y4Zt4ZpK27pLFMJEx2YUYOBEoJio">sex</a>, <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0277953617303039?casa_token=02iTTwYjoc4AAAAA:mUm12vParcDHdRM2s5gSx92Rww144KHR-YiFMz9_jr_UKYsqKdPW8uKNa7OTC0llormHtalD180">ethnicity</a> and attractiveness could all have contributed towards Harry’s safety and Ash’s undoing.</p>
<h2>Popular traitors</h2>
<p>In episode three, another traitor named Paul was voted the most popular member of the group. Popularity has long been associated with <a href="https://bpspsychub.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.2044-8260.1979.tb00339.x">attribution bias</a>, which is the tendency to explain a person’s behaviour by their character rather than based on events that have happened. </p>
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<p>Likewise, <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/9781119202400.ch23">affinity bias</a>
is the tendency to favour people who share similar interests and experiences with us (who we have an affinity with). So being a popular, favourable character has perhaps protected Paul to a certain extent.</p>
<p>In episode four, contestants Zack and Jaz questioned Paul due to his calm and collected demeanour, claiming that this may be indicative of a traitor – an explicit bias. Luckily for Paul, the implicit biases mentioned seemed to save him.</p>
<p>Quite often in The Traitors, once someone’s name comes up at the round table, it is very difficult for them to defend themselves and suspicion spreads through the group. We have seen this herd mentality when banishing faithfuls Sonja and Brian, and when the group piled on traitor Ash. </p>
<p>However, when it comes to Paul, accusations seem to fall on deaf ears, and another contestant has even defended him, stating: “100% I think Paul is a faithful. 100%.” So, it could be that the implicit attribution and affinity biases have saved Paul, for now at least. </p>
<p>Whether we like it or not, by definition we are unaware of numerous cognitive biases that can influence our decisions profoundly. Sometimes they can help us, as we saw with Harry and Paul, and sometimes they can go against us, like we saw with Ash. The Traitors is just a game, but it is probably worth bearing in mind that these biases also exist in the real world and influence our decisions every day.</p>
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<p><em>Looking for something good? Cut through the noise with a carefully curated selection of the latest releases, live events and exhibitions, straight to your inbox every fortnight, on Fridays. <a href="https://theconversation.com/uk/newsletters/something-good-156">Sign up here</a>.</em></p>
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<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Daniel Walker does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>You might think someone is guilty because of unconscious opinions you hold regarding certain traits.Daniel Walker, Lecturer in Psychology, University of BradfordLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2194192023-12-20T16:05:50Z2023-12-20T16:05:50ZHow the Christmas royal broadcast evolved – from the first reluctant monarch to an enduring queen and a new king<p>On Christmas Day, many in the UK will pause their festivities at 3pm to watch King Charles give his Christmas message – his second since his mother, Queen Elizabeth, died in September 2022.</p>
<p>The <a href="https://www.royal.uk/the-christmas-broadcast">century-long broadcasting tradition</a> has evolved from a broadcast transmitted solely on radio to one carried via television, online (including the royal family’s <a href="https://www.youtube.com/@royalchannel">official YouTube channel</a>), and on social media platforms. It will be rehearsed and pre-recorded in advance of transmission.</p>
<p>Last year the first speech by King Charles III was watched live by a record audience of <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-64094088">10.7 million</a>, the viewing figures reflecting curiosity about how the new king would approach his first Christmas message, and the fact that it was broadcast simultaneously across several television channels. </p>
<p>But over a century ago, the first king to give a personal message to his subjects at Christmas took some persuading to engage with broadcasting to the nation at all.</p>
<p>My work (which appears as a chapter in the <a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/Reporting-Royalty-Analysing-Media-Monarchy-ebook/dp/B0C6FHWLCT">book</a> Reporting Royalty – Analysing the Media and the Monarchy) looks at the origins of the relationship between royalty and the BBC, and how the establishment of royal media events aligned with the BBC’s aspirations as it grew from a fledgling radio and then television operation to the country’s national broadcaster.</p>
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<h2>The people, the king and the BBC</h2>
<p>The relationship between monarch and subjects had been irrevocably reshaped by technological advancements in film, with Queen Victoria’s <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pTG9NJTZFKk">diamond jubilee procession</a> in 1897 and her <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t9yiG3EUz_A">funeral in 1901</a> becoming the first royal events to be filmed and shown in “electric theatres”.</p>
<p>The newsreels showcased the pomp and grandeur associated with the crown and enabled royal events to be shared with a wider audience, marking a significant shift in the crown’s interaction with the public.</p>
<p>Midway through the reign of <a href="https://www.rmg.co.uk/stories/topics/life-queen-victoria-her-family">Queen Victoria’s</a> grandson <a href="https://www.rct.uk/collection/people/king-george-v-king-of-the-united-kingdom-1865-1936#/type/subject">George V</a>, broadcasting began in the UK with the <a href="https://www.bbc.com/historyofthebbc/timelines/1920s#:%7E:text=BBC's%20first%20headquarters.-,January%201927%20%2D%20British%20Broadcasting%20Corporation%20established,BBC's%20objectives%2C%20powers%20and%20obligations.">launch of the British Broadcasting Company</a> in 1922.</p>
<p>The general manager of the BBC, <a href="https://www.bbc.com/historyofthebbc/research/directors-general/john-reith">John Reith</a> (later to be the first director general) was keen to seek the royal seal of approval for his new broadcasting company. He wrote to the king in 1923 to ask whether he would be interested in “delivering a message to his people” on a significant date such as Christmas, new year or Easter. The king was reluctant and declined this request. </p>
<p>This began a campaign that was to last nine years. The king’s opening address at the <a href="https://blog.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20speople-a-vast-window-display-the-british-empire-exhibition-of-1924-5/">1924 British Empire Exhibition</a> was broadcast on the BBC. This was not the only function at which the king’s announcements were transmitted via “the wireless” (radio), but he was still not persuaded to speak directly to listeners on Christmas Day. He lacked confidence that he would make a good broadcaster and did not believe he had the skills to write the message.</p>
<p>Reith noted in his diaries his irritation at the royal reticence. More pressure was gently applied by Prime Minister <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/people/james-ramsay-macdonald">Ramsay MacDonald</a>. He could see the benefits of the king addressing his subjects across the empire, as was, while it was taking its first steps in its political transformation to the commonwealth.</p>
<p>MacDonald reassured the reluctant monarch that simplicity and honesty in his delivery would be more than adequate for the task, adding the suggestion that poet and novelist <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Rudyard-Kipling">Rudyard Kipling</a> could write the speech.</p>
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<p>Reith’s diaries show that the combination of the launch of the BBC’s <a href="https://www.bbc.com/historyofthebbc/anniversaries/december/world-service-launch/">Empire Service</a> (later the World Service) in December 1932, plus “a strong recommendation from the prime minster”, finally persuaded the king to give the first Christmas Day address, live from Sandringham.</p>
<p>King George V’s shaking hands caused the papers to rustle into the microphone and he was later to complain that “his nerves in preparation for the event quite ruined his Christmas”. </p>
<p>But the royal message appeared to resonate with his listeners, <a href="https://www.wiley.com/en-gb/A+Social+History+of+British+Broadcasting:+Volume+1+1922+1939,+Serving+the+Nation-p-9780631175438">symbolically binding together</a> “the family audience, the royal family, the nation as family”. An extremely positive public reception had left the king “<a href="https://www.bbc.com/historyofthebbc/anniversaries/december/christmas-message">very pleased and much moved</a>”, convincing him to repeat the exercise.</p>
<p>The king’s broadcasts over the succeeding years focused on basic well-wishes for his subjects. They were effective in bringing the reigning monarch into people’s homes. King George V gave his final Christmas message in 1935, and died a few weeks later. Edward VIII succeeded him, but abdicated on 10 December the same year and never gave a Christmas broadcast.</p>
<p>The annual tradition resumed in 1937 with King George VI, who had been <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FKIWhegr_Lk">having speech therapy</a> since 1926 to help with his <a href="https://www.stutteringhelp.org/content/stuttering-and-kings-speech">stammer</a> and public speaking. His struggles were the subject of the award-winning film <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/film/2011/jan/06/the-kings-speech-review">The King’s Speech</a>, where he is shown being coached for his Christmas broadcast. When his daughter, Queen Elizabeth II, acceded to the throne in 1952, she seamlessly continued the tradition. </p>
<h2>Queen Elizabeth and King Charles</h2>
<p>The queen’s speeches would span every technological innovation in broadcasting over her seven decades as monarch, including the <a href="https://www.royal.uk/the-christmas-broadcast#:%7E:text=The%20first%20televised%20message%20was,many%20homes%20across%20the%20world.">first televised Christmas speech</a> in 1957.</p>
<p>For viewers this established formula confirmed the notion of the queen as a steady presence, while keeping up tradition and a link to the past and providing the comfort of the familiar through times of change and challenge.</p>
<figure>
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</figure>
<p>Following in his mother’s footsteps in 2022, King Charles chose to deliver his first Christmas broadcast standing in the quire of St George’s Chapel at Windsor. He retained the crucial elements: expressions of appreciation for his the queen’s service, sympathy with families struggling with the economic crisis, and messages of hope for the future. He is the first male monarch to have delivered a televised address.</p>
<p>The monarch’s Christmas speech symbolises for many a connection with the royal family during the festive season. It has reflected not only technological progress and the development of broadcasting, but also the monarchy’s adaptation to a changing world. King Charles has seven decades of broadcasts by his late mother to learn from, but must now establish his own voice without losing continuity with the past. </p>
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<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/536131/original/file-20230706-17-460x2d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/536131/original/file-20230706-17-460x2d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536131/original/file-20230706-17-460x2d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536131/original/file-20230706-17-460x2d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536131/original/file-20230706-17-460x2d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536131/original/file-20230706-17-460x2d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536131/original/file-20230706-17-460x2d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Deborah Wilson David does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>For many people, the royal Christmas broadcast is a festive tradition that brings comfort, reassurance and a connection to the past.Deborah Wilson David, Head of Journalism & Media, Nottingham Trent UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2164932023-12-05T13:38:37Z2023-12-05T13:38:37ZMohamed Amin was a famous Kenyan photojournalist – there’s much more to his work than images of tragedy<p>Kenyan photojournalist <a href="https://artsandculture.google.com/story/mohamed-39-mo-39-amin-photojournalist-extraordinaire-mohamed-amin-foundation/YQWRSpXAe2iFhA?hl=en">Mohamed Amin</a> (1943-1996) rose to fame for documenting the 1984 <a href="https://www.worldvision.org/disaster-relief-news-stories/1980s-ethiopia-famine-facts">famine</a> in neighbouring Ethiopia with powerful images of the tragedy. He also captured the Ethiopian people’s suffering during the brutal reign of <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Mengistu-Haile-Mariam">Mengistu Haile Mariam</a>. These <a href="https://artsandculture.google.com/story/how-mo-amin-inspired-change-in-ethiopia-mohamed-amin-foundation/xwUxTsVZRpdvlA?hl=en">images</a>, <a href="https://www.hurstpublishers.com/reporting-ethiopian-famine/">broadcast</a> by the BBC, shocked the global public and had a significant <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/poverty-matters/2014/oct/22/ethiopian-famine-report-influence-modern-coverage">international impact</a>. They mobilised governments, individuals and institutions. This even led to <a href="https://www.britannica.com/event/Live-Aid">Live Aid</a> – the famous 1985 benefit concert to raise funds for victims of the famine.</p>
<p>As a result, <a href="https://books.google.co.za/books/about/The_Man_who_Moved_the_World.html?id=JhQxAQAAIAAJ&redir_esc=y">some</a> <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/features/2018/6/30/mohamed-amin-the-kenyan-who-moved-the-world">sources</a> refer to Amin as “the man who moved the world”, reducing his visual work to this tragedy. As a <a href="https://scholar.google.com/scholar?hl=en&as_sdt=0%2C5&q=Tamara+Antona+Jimeno&btnG=">lecturer and researcher</a> in journalism, and a photographer and scholar completing a <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/ismael-crespo-martinez-1245765">PhD</a> on Amin, we recently published a <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/23311983.2023.2236395">paper</a> on Amin’s vast earlier body of work.</p>
<p>We wanted to highlight that Amin had already undertaken intense and prestigious work in Africa, Asia and the Middle East before these photos of tragedy. His visual collection, spanning from 1956 to 1996, comprises over 8,000 hours of video and approximately 3.5 million photographs. </p>
<p>It’s important that people understand the greater scope of Amin’s images: he captured the first shots of African lives after European imperialism. If French photographer <a href="https://www.magnumphotos.com/photographer/henri-cartier-bresson/">Henri Cartier-Bresson</a> was considered the eye of the world, Amin is the eye of postcolonial Africa. </p>
<h2>International fame</h2>
<p>On 23 October 1984, the UK public broadcaster, the BBC, aired a shocking <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XYOj_6OYuJc">report</a> by journalist Michael Buerk, featuring images by Amin, on the Korem refugee camp in Ethiopia: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>Death is all around. A child or an adult dies every 20 minutes. Korem, an insignificant town, has become a place of sorrow. </p>
</blockquote>
<p>Ethiopia was under the Marxist dictatorship of Mengistu Haile Mariam, who had ousted the last Ethiopian emperor, <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Haile-Selassie-I">Haile Selassie</a>, through a military coup in 1974. In 1984, the country still had restricted areas for foreign media, but the BBC correspondent had been taken to the Ethiopian highlands by connections of Amin, a Kenyan cameraman and photojournalist.</p>
<p>The impact of the report was extraordinary. A story set in a developing country with no British angle was viewed by <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/features/2018/6/30/mohamed-amin-the-kenyan-who-moved-the-world">nearly a third</a> of the adult British population. The images were quickly replicated by other international TV networks. Soon enough <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/poverty-matters/2014/oct/22/ethiopian-famine-report-influence-modern-coverage">425 TV channels</a> worldwide had broadcast Amin’s images to a global audience of <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/features/2018/6/30/mohamed-amin-the-kenyan-who-moved-the-world">470 million</a> people. “Mo” Amin was making history. He had become the cameraman of the Ethiopian famine.</p>
<p>The images catalysed the <a href="https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/live-aid-concert">largest</a> humanitarian relief effort the world has ever witnessed. Public visibility turned Amin into an international celebrity. He and his family were <a href="https://artsandculture.google.com/asset/mohamed-amin-and-family-at-the-white-house-with-george-bush-mohamed-amin/dAE7LYGk2UT_BQ">received</a> at the White House in the US in 1985. At the ceremony, US vice-president George Bush officially presented the cameraman with a symbolic cheque for two billion dollars in humanitarian aid for Africa.</p>
<h2>Earlier work</h2>
<p>Interest in Amin’s work stems from three main aspects. The first is his vast and diverse body of work. The second is his focus. He centred on Africa, outside the western media’s epicentre, with a pan-African perspective. The third is that his images capture postcolonial events as they unfolded, in a time before the mass globalisation of the internet and social media. His postcolonial coverage of African dictators, such as <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Jean-Bedel-Bokassa">Jean-Bédel Bokassa</a> (in the Central African Republic), <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Mobutu-Sese-Seko">Mobutu Sese Seko</a> (Congo) and <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Idi-Amin">Idi Amin</a> (Uganda) exemplify the importance of his earlier work.</p>
<p>The two <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/23311983.2023.2236395">main themes</a> of his work are postcolonialism and everyday Africa. From the 1960s to the early 1980s, in the early period of African independence, his response to the western media’s portrayal of Africa was to create photo books that showed everyday African life from an African perspective. These publications allowed him to give his work a personal and pan-African orientation, freeing it from the daily urgency of serving western news interests. He created a total of 55 books of his own work. </p>
<p>His book <a href="https://www.google.co.za/books/edition/Cradle_of_Mankind/_qMvAAAAMAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=0&bsq=Cradle%20of%20Mankind%20%20mohamed%20amin">Cradle of Mankind</a> (1981) was the outcome of an expedition he led, considered to be one of the first circumnavigations of Lake Turkana and its desert to the north of Kenya. The aim of this adventure was to document the life of the six tribes living along the shores of the lake. The book was accompanied by exhibitions in Nairobi and London. The expedition earned him the honour of being admitted as a member of the Royal Geographical Society of London in 1982.</p>
<p>His documenting of African dictators reveals another extraordinary body of work, the camera up close and personal. The dictator Idi Amin, for example, granted him three exclusive personal interviews (in 1971, 1980 and 1985).</p>
<p>He also journeyed far beyond the continent. His works on Asia and the Middle East include books on Mecca (1980) and The Beauty of Pakistan (1983), among others. </p>
<h2>Amin’s legacy</h2>
<p>There is a constant stream of references to Amin’s work in the media, a couple of biographies have been written about him, and his images are constantly used to illustrate books and articles on tourism, nature or history. However, there are few academic studies of his work and fewer still international retrospective exhibitions.</p>
<p>Currently, it’s possible to access just a small portion of his work online. In 2021, 25 years after his death, the <a href="https://moaminfoundation.org/about-us/">Mohamed Amin Foundation</a> made 6,553 digitised images available in 58 thematic reports and galleries through <a href="https://artsandculture.google.com/project/mohamed-amin-archive">Google Arts & Culture</a>. This is a small step towards showing his complete body of work.</p>
<p>The global impact of Amin’s photos and videos concerning the Ethiopian famine is undeniable. However, it’s important to emphasise that his broader legacy constitutes one of the single most extensive historical photographic archives of Africa ever created – and it deserves greater attention.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/216493/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>His photos and videos depicting postcolonialism and everyday life in Africa have been overlooked.Tamara Antona Jimeno, Lecturer at Journalism and Global Communication, Universidad Complutense de MadridIsmael Martínez Sánchez, PhD Candidate in Journalism, Universidad Complutense de MadridLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2175702023-11-13T14:55:08Z2023-11-13T14:55:08ZGaza war: reporting from the frontline of conflict has always raised hard ethical questions<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/559055/original/file-20231113-29-mccnnq.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=5%2C7%2C1738%2C930&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The BBC's veteran foreign correspondent Jeremy Bowen reporting from Syria, 2014</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Twitter</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Who would want to be a journalist covering the conflict in Gaza? It seems that every day a new accusation of bias surfaces on social media. Live reporting is prone to the dangers of speculation, mistakes and disinformation traps for the unwary. If you add in the most explosive dateline in the world, then the accusations of bias come thick and fast. On the other hand, <a href="https://pressgazette.co.uk/comment-analysis/afp-phil-chetwynd-gaza/">Phil Chetwynd</a>, global news director at AFP, a French news agency, says: “Our work has never felt more important.” </p>
<p>In this conflict, most of the dangerous reporting has been done by Palestinian journalists living inside Gaza, with foreign correspondents limited to coverage from inside Israel and the West Bank. To date, 40 journalists <a href="https://cpj.org/2023/11/journalist-casualties-in-the-israel-gaza-conflict/">are reported</a> to have been killed in the fighting, 35 of them Palestinian.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C7T9ZnT-gC4">Jon Donnison</a>, a BBC correspondent, was accused of anti-Israel bias when reporting in the immediate aftermath of the explosion at the Al-Ahli Hospital on October 17. Donnison said that the Israeli military had been contacted for comment and was still investigating: “But it is hard to see what else this could be really given the size of the explosion other than an Israeli air strike or several air strikes.” </p>
<p>Following Israel’s denial, the deputy chief executive of BBC News <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/bbc-news-bbc-gaza-grant-shapps-palestinian-b2432797.html">Jonathan Munro</a> said the “language wasn’t quite right” but that “at no stage did we actually say it was caused by the Israelis”.</p>
<p>The BBC has also been <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-67076341">under fire</a> for not using the word “terrorists” to describe Hamas militants. This long-standing BBC tradition of not labelling one side or the other in a conflict as terrorists, has been condemned in some media and at Westminster but has been rigorously defended by veteran correspondents, including <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-67083432">John Simpson</a>:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>We don’t take sides. We don’t use loaded words like “evil” or “cowardly”. We don’t talk about “terrorists”. And we’re not the only ones to follow this line. Some of the world’s most respected news organisations have exactly the same policy.</p>
</blockquote>
<h2>Embedded with antagonists</h2>
<p>A month after the October 7 Hamas attacks on Israel, several of these respected news organisations also came under attack for allegedly being at the locations suspiciously quickly. The US-based pro-Israeli website <a href="https://honestreporting.com/">Honest Reporting</a> named the news organisations as The New York Times, CNN, AP and Reuters. They have all vehemently denied the accusations. </p>
<p>AFP, which was also later accused on social media of being suspiciously early to the locations where the attacks took place, denied it had been somehow “embedded” with Hamas. AFP’s <a href="https://www.afp.com/en/agency/press-releases-newsletter/afp-reiterates-its-unwavering-support-its-gaza-colleagues">Phil Chetwynd</a> threatened possible legal action for defamation, saying about his photographers in Gaza:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>They were woken by the sound of artillery and rocket fire and headed towards the fence between Gaza and Israel. Each one was clearly identified as a journalist, on their helmet and bulletproof vest. The first photos near the Gaza fence were taken more than an hour after the attack started … We covered it as we would cover any major news story.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Nonetheless, after the event both AP and <a href="https://edition.cnn.com/audio/podcasts/tug-of-war/episodes/3bfdebc0-6c6d-11ee-96c2-df1cb1009980">CNN</a> did “sever ties” with a “freelance journalist” called Hassan Eslayeh who was at the site of the killings and was not wearing a press jacket. </p>
<p>A picture of this man being embraced by Hamas leader <a href="https://twitter.com/DemMaj4Israel/status/1722455200701571581">Yahia Sinwar</a> was circulated on social media platforms. AP’s media relations director, <a href="https://blog.ap.org/ap-statement-on-gaza-freelancers?utm_medium=AP_CorpComm&utm_source=Twitter&utm_campaign=SocialFlow&fbclid=IwAR0IWBiTo0bqFeSiQlVKdZP-OuLr50ycfFp0BNMaIAjjBplCnNfw4LwUf0s">Lauren Easton</a>, said: “We are no longer working with Hassan Eslaiah, who had been an occasional freelancer for AP and other news organisations in Gaza.”</p>
<p>Another kind of “embedding” has also been under scrutiny, following press trips with the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) into Gaza on November 9. This trip included reporters from CNN, the Daily Mail, and the BBC (who sent Jeremy Bowen). Channel 4 News went subsequently. </p>
<p>On “X” this decision was widely criticised, with <a href="https://twitter.com/rohantalbot/status/1722571290320458231">Rohan Talbot</a>, the director of advocacy and campaigns for Medical Aid for Palestinians, saying this was tantamount to senior journalists “effectively acting as stenographers for Israel’s military comms machine”. </p>
<p>When I put this to Bowen at the weekend, he replied: “Nonsense. The question is what you do with the material and how you challenge the speakers they put up. It’s also important in the script to provide context. We had a choice – to stay out of Gaza or to accept some restrictions in return for access.” While the IDF checked the video to make sure no military operational details were disclosed, neither the BBC nor Channel 4 News had to show their scripts in advance.</p>
<h2>Time-honoured practice</h2>
<p>These kinds of embedding practices are common when covering wars. From the Boer war to the Gulf wars of 1991 and 2003, international journalists and photographers have been embedded with troops and have had their material censored if it might have given away operational information, but also sometimes if it might show troops in a bad light. </p>
<p>The question of “ethical considerations” comes up more frequently if embedding with a country’s opponents in a war or interviewing those understood to be “the enemy”. According to <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/59883588">Christina Lamb</a>, back in the Spanish civil war, US reporter Virginia Cowles was regarded as “particularly suspect” by her fellow journalists Ernest Hemingway and Martha Gellhorn for interviewing leaders on both sides of the conflict.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Two journalists and a US pilot stand by a heicopter in Cambodia, 1971." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/559058/original/file-20231113-15-afxben.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/559058/original/file-20231113-15-afxben.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=465&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/559058/original/file-20231113-15-afxben.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=465&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/559058/original/file-20231113-15-afxben.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=465&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/559058/original/file-20231113-15-afxben.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=584&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/559058/original/file-20231113-15-afxben.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=584&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/559058/original/file-20231113-15-afxben.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=584&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Australian cameraman Neil Davis while working in Cambodia, 1971.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Australian War Memoria</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/">CC BY-NC</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Media history is full of cases of journalists, photographers and camera operators covering the other side. During the 1960s war in Indochina, Visnews cameraman Neil Davies filmed from the South Vietnamese side and later with the Vietcong. In the 1980s, ITN’s Sandy Gall regularly embedded with the Afghan Northern Alliance, and during the Gulf war of 1991, the CNN team was criticised for staying behind enemy lines during the allied bombing of Baghdad. </p>
<p>While media companies can hold meetings to thrash out the ethical implications of embedding decisions, the problem today is how to know anything of substance about the activity and connections of the many freelancers who often now stand in for staff employees on the frontline.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/217570/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Colleen Murrell receives funding from Coimisiún na Meán (Ireland's media regulator) to research and write the annual Reuters Digital News Report Ireland (2021-2026)</span></em></p>If the first casualty of war is truth, it’s not often the fault of the journalists on the frontline who do a tough job in difficult circumstances.Colleen Murrell, Full Professor in Journalism, Dublin City UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2164662023-11-06T15:50:08Z2023-11-06T15:50:08ZPlanet Earth III: how cookie cutter nature programming could fail to educate and inform audiences<p>Perhaps nothing embodies the BBC’s values of <a href="https://www.bbc.com/aboutthebbc/governance/mission">inform, educate and entertain</a> more than its nature documentaries. <a href="https://www.bbcearth.com/shows/planet-earth-iii">Planet Earth III</a> is the latest in a proud tradition going back to the founding of the BBC <a href="https://productions.bbcstudios.com/our-production-brands/the-natural-history-unit">Natural History Unit</a> in 1957 and has everything devoted fans (myself included) expect. </p>
<p>There are sweeping shots, a soaring orchestral soundtrack, and exciting scenes of hunting, courtship and breeding. Tender family relations, desperate chases and amazing survival stories are all narrated in Sir David Attenborough’s signature style. Planet Earth III brings us all the beauty and wonder we know and love – which may be a problem when it tries to sound an urgent warning about the future of our world. </p>
<p>In terms of its story, Planet Earth III warns of environmental catastrophe more than any similar BBC show before it. The second episode includes a heartbreaking scene of seals caught screaming in a fishing net and ends with a question: can animals really adapt to survive our changing planet? </p>
<p>Part of this new willingness from the BBC to tackle environmental collapse head-on is due to the climate and ecological crisis that has become increasingly obvious and urgent. But another cause can be found in another crisis the BBC is facing. </p>
<p>What we might call the “planet format” has become so perfected and so popular, that the BBC’s competitors are eager to pick it up themselves. The format is a good fit for streaming platforms like Netflix, Amazon and Apple+. But with them all creating similar programmes, what effect does that have on their ability to inform, educate or entertain?</p>
<h2>Comforting catastrophe</h2>
<p>Nature and wildlife stories are universally engaging and are great for showing off high budgets and virtuoso filmmaking. Copyright laws can protect a show’s characters or plot, but not a visual, musical or storytelling style. </p>
<p>This has led to many competitors fighting for a slice of this global market with shows that look, feel and sound virtually the same. Netflix has expanded their scope with <a href="https://www.netflix.com/gb/title/80049832">Our Planet, Our Planet II</a> and <a href="https://www.netflix.com/gb/title/81243961">Our Universe</a> (2022). Apple+ came out with <a href="https://tv.apple.com/us/show/prehistoric-planet/umc.cmc.4lh4bmztauvkooqz400akxav">Prehistoric Planet</a> (2022). The format – from the timbre and rhythm of Attenborough’s narration to the style of shots – is even now used globally in productions like the Indian <a href="http://www.wildkarnataka.com/">Wild Karnataka</a> (2019). </p>
<p>It’s good to have more documentaries tackling the collapse of the natural world. But, I do wonder, what effect their looking and sounding the same might have on their ability to really educate audiences about the climate crisis and communicate the urgency of it. These stories all follow a single format, comforting in its familiarity but should anything that seeks to educate about climate catastrophe be comforting?</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ST1sMntiQj4?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
</figure>
<p>The planet formula is not just the stories it tells – it’s also how it tells them. Whether Planet Earth or Our Planet, Wild Karnataka or for the BBC’s <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p0f0t5dp">Wild Isles</a> (2023), the sweeping shots of pristine wilderness, the striking views and the orchestral music are the same. And the main emotion this formula works to inspire is not urgency, but awe. </p>
<p>An <a href="https://cms.bbcearth.com/sites/default/files/2022-04/bbcw-real-happiness-white-paper-final-v2-58ac1df7_2.pdf">academic report</a> commissioned by the BBC tells us that watching nature documentaries can soothe climate anxiety. This may seem paradoxical when the narration tells us about the loss of precious species and habitats. But consider what the format spends most of its time showing us: untouched landscapes unfolding endlessly from the air, beautiful animals in super high definition, and no humans in sight. Even Attenborough is only present through his calm and grandfatherly tone. </p>
<p>Neither Netflix nor anyone else has attempted to change these features: they are baked too deeply into the successful formula, and keeping to the formula is what keeps audiences coming. The narration in Planet Earth III might be telling us that time is running out to act, but the show invites us to sit back and absorb. </p>
<p>There is also the question of diversity. The climate crisis is a global problem with many faces, but the BBC’s planet format was born out of a particularly British tradition of nature programming. What do we lose when environmental stories are all told through the same lens and speak with the same voice?</p>
<h2>Tackling climate change head on</h2>
<p>The increase in competition has led to one important change. Produced by the BBC’s frequent partner Silverback, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aETNYyrqNYE">Our Planet</a>, which was released in 2019, was shot and edited in the same familiar and beloved style and featured the same type of animal stories. The first season did, however, offer one distinct competitive edge: a clear focus on environmental issues, which the BBC’s had been sorely lacking.</p>
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<p>The BBC’s nature documentaries have come under <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2017/jan/01/planet-earth-ii-david-attenborough-martin-hughes-games-bbc-springwatch">considerable criticism</a> over the years for not addressing the climate and ecological crisis. Historically, the BBC had chosen to <a href="https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/medialse/2014/04/02/false-balance-in-climate-reporting-reveals-bbcs-sensitivity-to-political-pressure/">stay neutral on the debate about human-caused global heating</a> and this decision affected the Planet shows. </p>
<p>To undermine their rival, Netflix partnered with the <a href="https://www.worldwildlife.org/pages/our-planet">World Wildlife Federation</a> for Our Planet and widely promoted the show’s environmental message to audiences. The streaming platform presented itself as more progressive and cutting-edge than the staid and conservative BBC.</p>
<p>It was now survival of the fittest in the field of nature documentaries and this was not a bad thing for the BBC who now had to adapt and improve their nature content in the face of competition by explicitly tackling climate. </p>
<p>This one change, while great and urgently needed, has been quickly folded into the planet format and is a feature of all subsequent nature shows. This one change was not enough.</p>
<p>The popularity of nature documentaries means they can play an important role in making audiences aware of the state of our world. But for the Planet format to survive in the changing media ecosystem, the TV industry must keep an eye on whether and how it can continue to evolve. </p>
<p>We are seeing this happen as Planet Earth III shows the BBC rising to Netflix’s challenge by focusing on environmental issues. This is an encouraging sign but more innovative programming is needed. </p>
<hr>
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<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/536131/original/file-20230706-17-460x2d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/536131/original/file-20230706-17-460x2d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536131/original/file-20230706-17-460x2d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536131/original/file-20230706-17-460x2d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536131/original/file-20230706-17-460x2d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536131/original/file-20230706-17-460x2d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536131/original/file-20230706-17-460x2d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<p><em>Looking for something good? Cut through the noise with a carefully curated selection of the latest releases, live events and exhibitions, straight to your inbox every fortnight, on Fridays. <a href="https://theconversation.com/uk/newsletters/something-good-156">Sign up here</a>.</em></p>
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<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Leora Hadas does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>This season places environmental issues front and centre more than any BBC nature programme before it.Leora Hadas, Assistant Professor, Film and Television Studies, University of NottinghamLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2154812023-10-12T10:21:08Z2023-10-12T10:21:08ZThe Reckoning: I’ve interviewed over 50 actors who’ve played real people and Steve Coogan’s Savile is the most contentious<p>Steve Coogan portrays Jimmy Savile in the new <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episodes/p0g4swnr/the-reckoning">BBC mini-series The Reckoning</a>. This much anticipated and debated show is the most recent – and perhaps most contentious – in a long line of programmes “based on real events”, that focus on harrowing stories of abuse or murder. </p>
<p>In recent years alone, David Tennant played Scottish serial killer Dennis Nilsen in the ITV series <a href="https://www.itv.com/watch/des/2a7844">Des</a> (2020); Stephen Merchant played British serial killer and rapist Stephen Port in the BBC drama <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episodes/m00134hr/four-lives">Four Lives</a> (2022) and Olivia Colman and David Thewlis portrayed the convicted murderers Christopher and Susan Edwards in the BBC series <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-nottinghamshire-58556857">Landscapers</a> (2021). </p>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">The trailer for The Reckoning.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The trend is a testament to the public appetite for dramas based on true crime.
But how do actors approach such work? And how is portraying a real person different from playing a fictional role?</p>
<p>When actors play real people – particularly those involved in complex and disturbing events – they often find themselves at the centre of debates about the project. Should the programme be made? Is this a legitimate person to depict? </p>
<p>This debate is perhaps loudest when both the actor and the subject are famous. We know Coogan (and the characters he plays) and we know Savile (how he looked, how he spoke and, more recently, what he did). </p>
<p><a href="https://www.digitalspy.com/tv/a37948450/jimmy-savile-steve-coogan-bbc-the-reckoning-backlash/">Many people have denounced</a> the BBC’s decision to make a drama out of their own failings to stop the serial abuser and rapist. But how do actors navigate these questions? Do such debates about the subject affect their work?</p>
<h2>My research</h2>
<p>Over the past 15 years, I’ve interviewed more than 50 actors about their portrayals of real people. Never before have I heard such public interest and concern about a depiction – or seen an actor’s sense of the challenge so keenly felt. </p>
<p>I’ve interviewed actors playing notorious leaders such as Adolf Hitler and Robert Mugabe, people involved in terrorist organisations, and even <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/13569783.2023.2170220">the people who gave evidence</a> at the recent Grenfell Tower inquiry and were held responsible for that terrible fire. But none of these actors spoke of the challenge in the way that Coogan has done.</p>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">Steve Coogan on why he chose to play Jimmy Savile.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Two days before the show aired, <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-66987497">he told the BBC</a>: “I knew there was the potential for catastrophic failure if you get it wrong, but that’s not a reason not to do it.” </p>
<p>In other interviews, Coogan has balanced the attractiveness of the role with the sense of responsibility he felt in taking it on. <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QOG5TxNdbTA">He explained</a>: “As an acting job, it’s what all actors want to play. Whatever your views on him, [Savile’s] a fascinating, although horrific … figure.” </p>
<p>But he was <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QOG5TxNdbTA">also aware</a> of the public concern, which felt more personal: “People play Hitler or serial murderers and no one bats an eyelid, but there’s a lot of consternation about me doing this.”</p>
<h2>Concerns over casting</h2>
<p>Some of these concerns may be down to Coogan’s association with comic roles and impressions. Many actors I have interviewed are eager to distance themselves from impersonation. </p>
<p>Actors in the 2007 documentary play <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2007/apr/24/theatre">Called to Account</a>, about the legitimacy of the war in Iraq, told me that: “The most important thing is you don’t imitate.” Ian McKellen <a href="https://www.bloomsbury.com/uk/playing-for-real-9780230230422/">similarly distanced himself</a> from notions of impersonation when portraying Hitler in Countdown to War (1989). But why? </p>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">Ian McKellen has said that he avoided impersonation when playing Hitler.</span></figcaption>
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<p>The processes that actors described to me often focused on recreating their subject’s verbal idiosyncrasies and physical appearance. For our book <a href="https://www.bloomsbury.com/uk/playing-for-real-9780230230422/">Playing For Real</a> (2010), <a href="https://www.bristol.ac.uk/people/person/Mary-Luckhurst-1a8ee3be-ee94-41dd-ab13-ff7f4712aa23/">Mary Luckhurst</a> and I interviewed Roger Allam, who played Hitler in the Royal Shakespeare Company’s production of Albert Speer (2000). He told us: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>I found photographs helpful. There was one taken at Hitler’s mountain residence in Berchtesgaden where he was slumped far down in a chair, and I stole that posture for a moment in the play. You steal everything that is usable, really.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>When it came to physical likeness, Allam recalled: “Being able to look in the mirror and think, yes, that passes for Hitler. That’s very, very important.”</p>
<p>What, then, is the distinction between acting and impersonation? I’d suggest that it is the comic connotations of the terms “mimicry” and “impersonation” or “doing an impression” that actors are at pains to avoid, rather than a particular approach. </p>
<p>There is also a snobbery about impersonation, perhaps viewed as a less noble art than acting. It seems likely that Coogan’s profile as both an actor and comic contributed to the questions raised ahead of his portrayal of Savile.</p>
<h2>Rethinking ‘impersonation’</h2>
<p>Coogan’s portrayal has, deservedly, been widely admired – despite <a href="https://www.telegraph.co.uk/tv/2023/10/09/the-reckoning-bbc-review-steve-coogan-jimmy-savile/">significant reservations</a> about the drama and the way that the BBC’s shortcomings were handled. </p>
<p>The praise has often returned to this question of impersonation and acting. <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2023/oct/09/the-reckoning-review-steve-coogan-is-chillingly-brilliant-as-jimmy-savile-bbc#:%7E:text=Coogan%20is%20brilliant%20in%20the,the%20two%20in%20perfect%20proportions.">Guardian journalist Lucy Mangan</a> focused on these terms when she wrote: “He is a fine actor as well as a fine impressionist, and the part of Savile gives him the chance to blend the two in perfect proportions.” And <a href="https://www.ft.com/content/21f13f7c-adcd-49f8-a81f-f374fae13eb6">the Financial Times noted</a> that by “transcending impersonation, he reveals the depths of grotesque depravity”.</p>
<p>Here is the other side of the coin. Though playing notorious real people might place actors at the heart of complex debates about legitimacy and representation – and come with a great weight of responsibility – actors’ portrayals of such people are often highly admired. </p>
<p>Six of the last ten best-actor Oscars and three of the last ten best-actress Oscars have gone to actors playing real people. Arguably, this is due to the fact that playing a real person makes the actor’s skill more measurable. We see Coogan and we see Savile – the hidden craft of acting becomes tangible when we can compare the two.</p>
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<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/536131/original/file-20230706-17-460x2d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/536131/original/file-20230706-17-460x2d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536131/original/file-20230706-17-460x2d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536131/original/file-20230706-17-460x2d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536131/original/file-20230706-17-460x2d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536131/original/file-20230706-17-460x2d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536131/original/file-20230706-17-460x2d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<p><em>Looking for something good? Cut through the noise with a carefully curated selection of the latest releases, live events and exhibitions, straight to your inbox every fortnight, on Fridays. <a href="https://theconversation.com/uk/newsletters/something-good-156">Sign up here</a>.</em></p>
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<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Tom Cantrell does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Coogan’s profile as both an actor and as a comic contributed to the questions raised ahead of his portrayal of Jimmy Savile.Tom Cantrell, Professor in Theatre, University of YorkLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2146132023-10-10T09:29:14Z2023-10-10T09:29:14ZGhosts: the uncanny similarity between the BBC comedy and a ‘real’ Victorian haunted house<p>Alison and her husband Mike inherit the run-down Button House and its resident group of eccentric ghosts from various periods of history. After a head injury, Alison finds she can suddenly see and communicate with the ghosts. And so begins a bizarre house share that is as surprisingly heartwarming as it is hilarious. This is the premise of the paranormal BBC comedy, <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episodes/m00049t9/ghosts">Ghosts</a>, which is now entering its fifth and final season. </p>
<p>The mix of humour and poignancy in Ghosts echoes real attempts to communicate with spirits, especially in the late 19th century. </p>
<p>A prime example is an 1892 report on a haunted house written for the <a href="https://www.spr.ac.uk">Society for Psychical Research</a>. The group was founded in 1882 to try to bring scientific rigour to the search for ghosts and other phenomena, and they still exist today. Miss R. C. Morton’s report, titled <a href="https://archive.org/details/proceedingsofsoc08soci/mode/2up">Record of a Haunted House</a>, details her extensive experiments that aimed to prove that ghosts wandered her family home. </p>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">Ghosts season one trailer.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Like Button House, the anonymous dwelling of the report saw many dramatic, seemingly ghostly events. In Ghosts, each of Alison’s phantom housemates met a grim end. Edwardian lady-of-the-manor Fanny Button was pushed out of a window by her husband. Romantic poet Thomas was shot in a row over a woman. And 1980s Scout leader Pat was on the receiving end of a small child with a bow and arrow. </p>
<p>Miss Morton’s house was no different. Its first owner was a British Indian man named Mr S, who took to heavy drinking after the death of his wife. He remarried two years later, but the new marriage was marred by arguments about the first wife’s jewellery collection. In a twist of dark humour straight out of Ghosts, the second Mrs S. started drinking, too.</p>
<p>After the deaths of Mr and Mrs S, the house – now in a similar state of disrepair to Button House – was bought by Mr L, who promptly died in the sitting room. This sitting room was where Mr S was also found dead, and the place where he had allegedly hidden his first wife’s jewellery under the floorboards. The house was then let to Captain Morton, his wife and their children. Miss R. C. Morton was their eldest.</p>
<h2>Paranormal parallels</h2>
<p>Every night, in a trance-like state, Lady Button <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/p08qysm5/ghosts-series-2-1-the-grey-lady?seriesId=p08qys50">relives her death</a> by leaping out of the window with a piercing scream. And it is with a similar spooky female figure that Miss Morton’s experiences begin. </p>
<p>While in bed one evening, she sees the spectre of a “tall lady, dressed in black”. Over the following years, various servants and Morton children all report seeing the woman gliding around the house, disappearing through walls, seemingly oblivious to the living occupants. </p>
<p>Moreover, the ghostly woman seems to be in a state of distress and mourning, covering her face with a handkerchief as though weeping. Later, her brother hears the ghost “crying so bitterly”. Both Lady Button and the Morton ghost re-enact emotionally tumultuous moments of their life in a noisy and disturbing manner.</p>
<p>A running joke in Ghosts is that Mike, Alison’s husband, cannot see the ghosts. He is therefore in a strange position whereby he knows they’re around him, but must rely on Alison’s reports of where they are and what they’re doing. </p>
<p>Miss Morton, in her report, describes the lady in black standing directly behind her father in the drawing room – yet her father insists he cannot see the ghost. But, like Mike, he trusts in his daughter’s experiences and thoroughly believes her.</p>
<p>Despite being interminably pompous, Lady Button gradually warms to Alison, who is her distant relative. In episode six of series one, <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m0005b53/ghosts-series-1-6-getting-out">Getting Out</a>, she decides she wants to help Alison’s financial situation by revealing the hiding place, under floorboards, of a priceless jewel. </p>
<p>In Miss Morton’s report, the family learns about the story of the first Mrs S and her hidden jewellery and tear up the sitting room floor to find it. There’s a striking similarity here. In the report, a receptacle is uncovered, but there are no jewels inside. In Ghosts, the box is found, but with a note from Lady Button’s husband apologising for pawning the jewel.</p>
<figure>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">Ghosts season five trailer.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Miss Morton’s report is not without its moments of comedy that, despite being unintentional, wouldn’t be out of place in Ghosts. At one point, in an endeavour to collect evidence of the haunting, Miss Morton loosely sticks thread across doorways to see if the barrier is broken overnight. The thread remains tacked in place, therefore apparently proving the existence of the ghostly woman, who is able to pass through objects without disturbing them. Hmm.</p>
<p>Perhaps the most interesting similarity, though, is how the ghosts affect the living residents’ relationship with the house. For both Alison and Miss Morton, there’s a sense that their paranormal experiences help them to form an attachment to their new home, allowing them to explore the building’s past while also making it their own. </p>
<hr>
<figure class="align-left ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/536131/original/file-20230706-17-460x2d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/536131/original/file-20230706-17-460x2d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536131/original/file-20230706-17-460x2d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536131/original/file-20230706-17-460x2d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536131/original/file-20230706-17-460x2d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536131/original/file-20230706-17-460x2d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536131/original/file-20230706-17-460x2d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<p><em>Looking for something good? Cut through the noise with a carefully curated selection of the latest releases, live events and exhibitions, straight to your inbox every fortnight, on Fridays. <a href="https://theconversation.com/uk/newsletters/something-good-156">Sign up here</a>.</em></p>
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<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Alice Vernon does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Ghosts’s mix of humour and poignancy echoes real 19th century attempts to communicate with spirits.Alice Vernon, Lecturer in Creative Writing and 19th-Century Literature, Aberystwyth UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2139502023-09-21T11:28:58Z2023-09-21T11:28:58ZRussell Brand allegations are leading to renewed scrutiny of the endemic bullying and harassment in the TV industry<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/549563/original/file-20230921-21-2uihn3.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/silhouette-images-film-production-behind-scenes-2022105785">Gnepphoto/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The presenter, comedian and actor Russell Brand is at the centre of a joint investigation by <a href="https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/russell-brand-rape-sexual-assault-abuse-allegations-investigation-v5hxdlmb6">The Times</a>, The Sunday Times and <a href="https://www.channel4.com/programmes/russell-brand-in-plain-sight-dispatches">Channel 4 Dispatches</a>, which has reported allegations of abuse made against him by four women, which include emotional abuse, sexual assault and rape. Brand has <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=psFiwFI_VQo&ab_channel=Reuters">denied these allegations</a>, saying his relationships have been “always consensual”, and they have not been tested in any court of law. However, this investigation focuses attention on a problem at the heart of the culture of the UK’s television industry.</p>
<p>According to the investigation, many of the allegations were borne out of what TV industry insiders describe as a working culture that tolerates, even facilitates, the abuse of power by its “talent”. A runner on one of Brand’s shows, interviewed for the Channel 4 film, recalls a colleague’s response on hearing of Brand’s behaviour: “Girls, girls. You know, it’s what happens with the talent. Boys will be boys.”</p>
<p>These allegations are only the most recent in a seemingly endless stream of high-profile incidents dating back to 2012 and the uncovering of historic abuse by the broadcaster <a href="https://theconversation.com/notes-on-a-scandal-the-jimmy-savile-case-is-all-too-familiar-20379">Jimmy Savile</a>. This scandal is clearly referenced in Dispatches’ documentary’s title, Russell Brand: In Plain Sight (Savile was described across the media at the time as having hidden “in plain sight”). </p>
<p>There have been many efforts at industry reform since 2012. However, we continue to see regular revelations of alleged bad behaviour – from accusations levelled at staff at <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2021/jan/29/gogglebox-staff-claim-toxic-culture-behind-scenes-of-hit-show">Gogglebox</a> to complaints recently made about TV chef <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/tv/news/james-martin-face-cancer-diagnosis-b2384203.html">James Martin</a>. </p>
<p>Often abuses are all too conveniently attributed to “a few bad apples”. Yet the reality is that bullying and harassment are endemic in the UK television industry. We found this in a <a href="https://eprints.bournemouth.ac.uk/35897/1/BU_State_of_Play_2021%20%281%29.pdf">survey we conducted in 2021 of nearly 1,200 television professionals</a>. </p>
<p>A staggering 93% of respondents had experienced or witnessed bullying or harassment at work during their careers. <a href="https://25788730.fs1.hubspotusercontent-eu1.net/hubfs/25788730/Looking%20Glass%2022_FINAL.pdf">The Film and Television Charity’s 2022 report</a> on mental health in the industry supports these findings, with nearly half of respondents reporting personal experience of bullying, harassment or discrimination in the previous 12 months.</p>
<p>Brand may or may not ultimately be found to be a “bad apple” but he’s prominent in an industry where such alleged cases, as recent interviewees in the media have attested to, are often <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-66840874">open secrets</a> and accepted as part of the nature of the work.</p>
<h2>Bullying and abuse as systemic problems in UK television</h2>
<p><a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/17510694.2023.2182101">Our research</a> suggests that the problem is structural and systemic. </p>
<p>Research in organisational behaviour shows that certain characteristics of work increase the likelihood of bad behaviour. It is more likely to happen where workloads are high and mentally demanding. It is more likely where roles are not well-defined or where people are constantly asked to balance conflicting demands.</p>
<p>It is common where teams are working under pressure to tight schedules, where lines of communication are unclear and critically where job insecurity makes workers reluctant to report concerns. All of these circumstances characterise current working conditions in UK television.</p>
<p>Over the past two or three years various mechanisms have been introduced to encourage the reporting of unacceptable behaviour and the abuse of power in the television industry. A new bullying watchdog, the <a href="https://ciisa.org.uk/">Creative Industries Independent Standards Authority </a>(CIISA), is currently refining its brief before a planned launch next year. </p>
<p>Arising out of the work of <a href="https://www.timesupuk.org/">Time’s Up UK</a>, which campaigns against discrimination and sexism in the workplace, this is certainly a welcome development. However, it does little to tackle the underlying structural issues, including the culture of fear that enables serial abusers.</p>
<h2>Facilitated abuse</h2>
<p>The TV executive quoted as dismissing staff concerns in the Dispatches film was not unusual in her attitude. The kind of work environment in which bullies and abusers feel able to operate with impunity – and victims feel disempowered – is common.</p>
<p>Industry insiders claim that Brand’s activities were an “<a href="https://www.mirror.co.uk/3am/celebrity-news/russell-brand-sex-assault-claims-30972538">open secret</a>” and that staff were “<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/sep/18/first-edition-russell-brand#:%7E:text=Production%20staff%20on%20the%20programme,Brand's%20needs%2C%E2%80%9D%20they%20said.">basically acting as pimps</a>” for him, being expected to provide his contact details to women in his studio audiences. </p>
<p>Multiple complaints from crew members reportedly went unheeded. It is also claimed that in a development meeting for a new show, when the issue of his behaviour toward female crew was raised, one producer’s suggestion was <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m001qm3n">to use an all-male crew</a> – an idea which could potentially be putting female professionals out of work.</p>
<p>The investigation suggests that the alleged way in which Brand’s behaviour was tolerated by successive employers effectively gave the star permission to abuse the women around him. In a Guardian <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2023/sep/17/russell-brand-in-plain-sight-review-so-many-red-flags-ignored-for-so-long">review</a> of the Channel 4 documentary, Jack Seale accurately identified a “collective culpability that resonates well beyond whatever one man might have done”.</p>
<p>In our written evidence to the culture, media and sport parliamentary select committee this week, we are proposing an industry-wide code of practice to support good work and employment arrangements. We also hope to discourage the use of exploitative and unethical ways of working. </p>
<p>There needs to be a clear-cut way for staff to report bullying and harassment. And managers need to be made aware of their legal and ethical responsibilities in caring for their staff.</p>
<p>We hope that the film and television industries can set a positive example for the wider creative industries, where similar problems are reported. Fundamental changes are needed now and the industry cannot remain the sort of environment that facilitates bullying and harassment, moving from one scandal to the next. </p>
<p>These allegations are a wake-up call. The TV industry cannot continue the way it has.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/213950/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Working practices in the TV industry are in dire need of change to stop workplaces from being environments that facilitate abuse and harassment.Christa van Raalte, Associate Professor of Film and Television, Bournemouth UniversityRichard Wallis, Principal Academic in Media Production, Faculty of Media & Communication, Bournemouth UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2120612023-08-25T10:04:01Z2023-08-25T10:04:01ZThe Woman in the Wall: BBC drama about Ireland’s Magdalene Laundries is essential viewing<p>“This isn’t a prison,” a nun in the new BBC drama The Woman in the Wall says. “You can leave anytime you want. But where would you go? Who would have you? No one wants you. You’re a sinner.”</p>
<p>Set in the fictional town of Kilkinure in 20th-century Ireland, the show captures the story of Lorna Brady (Ruth Wilson), an unmarried mother who was formerly detained in a Magdalene Laundry. Established in the 18th century, the laundries catered for so-called “fallen women” who had engaged in sex work or had a child outside of wedlock. <a href="https://www.gov.ie/pdf/?file=https://assets.gov.ie/45749/4e93b6e33db541d49d2de2774a6c692a.pdf#page=null">Ten of these institutions</a> operated in post-independence Ireland between 1922 and 1996 and <a href="http://jfmresearch.com/home/preserving-magdalene-history/about-the-magdalene-laundries/#:%7E:text=What%20were%20the%20Magdalene%20Laundries,maltreatment%20in%20Ireland's%20Magdalene%20Institutions.">at least 10,000 women</a> spent time in them. </p>
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<p>Laundries were just one of many mechanisms by which the Catholic Church and the Irish state regulated behaviour that was perceived as deviant. The official <a href="https://www.gov.ie/en/publication/d4b3d-final-report-of-the-commission-of-investigation-into-mother-and-baby-homes/">investigation into Mother and Baby Homes</a> (institutions similar to laundries where women who had children outside of wedlock were confined) forms the backdrop to events in Kilkinure. This serves as an important reminder that the laundries were part of a broader <a href="https://undpress.nd.edu/9780268182182/irelands-magdalen-laundries-and-the-nations-architecture-of-containment/">architecture of containment</a> that included institutions such as industrial schools and <a href="https://theconversation.com/mother-and-baby-homes-inquiry-now-reveal-the-secrets-of-irelands-psychiatric-hospitals-153608">psychiatric hospitals</a>. By the 1950s, 1% of Ireland’s population was contained in institutions of <a href="https://manchesteruniversitypress.co.uk/9780719095450/">coercive confinement</a>.</p>
<p>Flashbacks to Kilkinure Laundry punctuate the drama to demonstrate the soul-destroying <a href="http://jfmresearch.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/State_Involvement_in_the_Magdalene_Laundries_public.pdf">conditions</a> experienced by detainees. They suffered forced labour, beatings, inadequate nutrition and various forms of abuse. Their hair was cut off, they were often assigned new “house names” and they were sequestered from the outside world.</p>
<p>The <a href="http://jfmresearch.com/home/oralhistoryproject/">Magdalene Oral History Project</a> and <a href="https://www.waterfordmemories.com/home">Waterford Memories Project</a> address not only what it meant to experience these institutions, but also <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/1468-0424.12667">“what it meant to survive the laundries”</a>. </p>
<h2>Dramatising the laundries</h2>
<p>For Lorna, surviving the laundry results in visceral hallucinations and sleepwalking, in addition to separation from her child (who was taken from her and presumably given up for adoption). While further research is needed into the <a href="https://theconversation.com/irelands-shame-reforming-an-adoption-system-marked-by-secrecy-and-trauma-160897">system of secret adoptions</a> in Ireland, one estimate places the number of illegal adoptions of children at a <a href="https://www.irishtimes.com/news/ireland/irish-news/adoption-controversy-only-one-person-was-ever-charged-over-bogus-birth-certificates-1.3515329">staggering 15,000</a>. </p>
<p>Although not all women in the laundries were unmarried mothers – many were victims of domestic and sexual abuse, were destitute or deemed “at risk” of immorality – <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/14780887.2017.1416803">trauma</a> is a common experience among survivors. <a href="http://childabusecommission.ie/?p=853">As one recalled</a> to the Commission to Inquire into Child Abuse: “The older I get I find these years haunt me, I will carry it to the grave with me … The nuns made you feel as if you’re a nobody and you never have any roots.”</p>
<p>The theme of recurrent injustice surfaces throughout the series. Lorna and her contemporaries have not been recognised by the state as detainees of a laundry. Instead, Kilkinure Convent has been classified as a training centre. </p>
<p>The survivors meet with a representative of a lobby group called <em>Éadrom</em> (the Irish word for “light”). This storyline closely mirrors reality. The state’s initial response to the laundries was to claim that they were private institutions and the state was not involved. </p>
<p>The <a href="http://jfmresearch.com/aboutjfmr/">Justice for Magdalenes</a> group, whose <a href="https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/Ireland_and_the_Magdalene_Laundries/QcY4EAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=magdalene+laundry+ireland+10,000+1922+to+1996&printsec=frontcover">campaign</a> was most active between 2009 and 2013, sought to secure a state apology for women detained in these institutions in addition to a redress scheme. An interdepartmental committee was established and its <a href="https://www.gov.ie/pdf/?file=https://assets.gov.ie/45745/46c6e60af9ad4a42afafe6da158121b5.pdf#page=null">2013 report</a> found “evidence of direct state involvement” in the laundries. The report, however, was <a href="https://www.irishtimes.com/news/social-affairs/religion-and-beliefs/department-of-justice-rejects-magdalene-group-s-criticism-of-mcaleese-report-1.1576048">criticised</a> for minimising the harm suffered by women and marginalising their experiences.</p>
<p>A <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6FvwhU3OJKk">formal state apology</a> was offered in February 2013 by taoiseach <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Enda-Kenny">Enda Kenny</a>, who described the laundries as the “nation’s shame”. A redress scheme was established with women given ex gratia payments based on how long they were in the laundries. But survivors who worked in laundries and lived in nearby training centres or industrial schools were <a href="https://www.irishexaminer.com/news/spotlight/arid-40324277.html#:%7E:text=The%20terms%20of%20the%20scheme,payment%20offered%20was%20%E2%82%AC100%2C000.">excluded</a> (this was later addressed in 2018). </p>
<p>The religious orders who ran the institutions did not contribute to the redress scheme, nor did they offer a formal apology. Their silence speaks volumes. Like Sister Eileen (Frances Tomelty), the fictional Mother Superior at the time of Lorna’s detention, this failure to engage (or to accept responsibility) communicates a profound lack of repentance for the abuses that occurred in the laundries.</p>
<h2>Other depictions of the laundries</h2>
<p>The Woman in the Wall is not the first cultural representation of a Magdalene Laundry. Films such as <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0318411/">The Magdalene Sisters</a> (2002) and <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2431286/">Philomena</a> (2013) have also explored this powerful subject matter. But the BBC show’s creator and writer Joe Murtagh is the first to use the medium of a <a href="https://www.hotpress.com/film-tv/bbc-to-explore-magdalene-laundries-in-new-series-starring-ruth-wilson-daryl-mccormack-22925149">“gothic thriller”</a> to explore the laundries’ painful nature and legacies – and the effect is unnerving. </p>
<p>Jolting shots of a room in Lorna’s house (where she stores a box of photos and newspaper clippings relating to Kilkinure Laundry) are filmed in an ominous crimson hue. Red devil horns are placed on Lorna’s head by a drunken member of a hen party. References are made to a <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/banshee">banshee</a> (a female spirit in Irish folklore whose wailing foretold impending death). </p>
<p>Lorna’s world is one where nightmares become reality, where ghosts haunt the living, and where the line between sanity and insanity is blurred and uncertain. The Woman in the Wall exposes the horrors of the Magdalene Laundries and in doing so seeks to ensure that such horrors will not be repeated in the future. It does not make for comfortable viewing and nor should it. But it is essential viewing in every sense.</p>
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<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Ciara Molloy does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Set in the fictional town of Kilkinure in western Ireland, the BBC drama captures the story of an unmarried mother who was formerly detained in a Magdalene Laundry.Ciara Molloy, Lecturer in Criminology, University of SheffieldLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2118242023-08-18T03:04:13Z2023-08-18T03:04:13ZInterested, curious and empathetic, Michael Parkinson helped bridge the gap between Australia and England<p>Michael Parkinson, who has died at 88, demonstrated the art of the good interview night after night. He practised deep listening, giving his interviewee his full attention, but he was always aware of the audience. While he was asking questions on behalf of the audience and advocating for the audience, he always had the person he was interviewing as his focus. </p>
<p>As host of Parkinson (1971–82 and 1998–2007) and Parkinson in Australia (1979–83), he was a big presence on Australian TV. He was television the whole family could watch together, never unsuitable for children. </p>
<p>We may not have understood everything, and some references went over our head, but as children we could watch Parkinson with our parents. I remember as a young person regularly watching him and hoping the interview would be funny that week. </p>
<p>There were times you knew it was going to be hilarious. When Billy Connolly or “our” Dame Edna were going to appear it was a must-watch. </p>
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<p>Whoever the interviewee, Parkinson brought out their stories, their observations. He gave them space to share engaging stories and never stepped on a punchline. Although humour was a draw card for the audience, there was space for pathos, too.</p>
<h2>Finding the shape</h2>
<p>Parkinson was an interviewer of great skill. He could be a presence, but never pull focus from the interviewee. He was deeply empathetic, and always in control of the interview. </p>
<p>The form of the interview was always satisfying: he knew how to draw a narrative through the length of the program. When interviewing three people at once, he knew how to be fair and have a balance between everyone and their stories. He made this appear effortless.</p>
<p>From 1979 to 2014 he frequently worked in Australia across the ABC, Channel Ten and Channel Nine. </p>
<p>For a generation of ten pound passage immigrants, he represented the best of the old country: he was never patronising, never spoke down to people, and helped to bridge the gap between Australia and England. He was able to bring us the best of British and Australian interviewees alike, affirming Australia’s international standing in the arts and culture. </p>
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<p>When speaking to Australian politicians, sports stars and actors he was always deeply interested and deeply curious. He could reflect us back to ourselves without any of the cultural cringe so evident in the media of the time. The affection Australians felt for him is shown in the diminutive “Parky”. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/interviews-with-journalists-can-seem-daunting-but-new-research-shows-80-of-subjects-report-a-positive-experience-200821">Interviews with journalists can seem daunting – but new research shows 80% of subjects report a positive experience</a>
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<h2>An authentic voice</h2>
<p>Born in Yorkshire in 1935, Parkinson didn’t attend university, starting his career working for newspapers straight out of school. It was perhaps this start which aided in his plain speaking common sense and ability to talk to ordinary people. You got the sense he could speak to anybody. There was no putting on a persona; he was always authentically him. </p>
<p>Today, this authentic self is seen in many of our best interviewers. We know how important it is curiosity and authenticity drive the interview – Parkinson was doing this decades before others recognised its importance. </p>
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<p>When I started in radio, I looked towards Parkinson as the gold standard. I admired how he was able to draw people out and reveal so much of themselves. He demonstrated how the media could go beyond the soundbite. </p>
<p>So much of the media of the time was about context-free news and current affairs journalism. Although his interviews were with celebrities, he showed people might share more of themselves and the world if they’re given time and space to speak. Parkinson gave us a fuller, richer sense of the people he spoke to. </p>
<p>His legacy in Australia can be seen in people like <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enough_Rope">Andrew Denton</a>, <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/listen/programs/conversations">Richard Fidler and Sarah Kanowski</a> – long form interviews driven by curiosity. </p>
<p>Some people have been describing Parkinson’s death as the end of an era, but his legacy will live on. When we look at shows like ABC Conversations, and so many longform podcasts, we find curious interviewers who, like Parkinson, build a relationship and find a connection with an interviewee. A soundbite might show up on TikTok or YouTube – but you have to do the longform interview to get there. </p>
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<p>Perhaps one of the best demonstrations of this was Parkinson’s interview with Ian Thorpe. In the 2014 interview, Thorpe came out publicly for the first time, and spoke about his depression and use of drugs and alcohol. </p>
<p>Without the relationship Parkinson was able to build over the course of the interview, it is doubtful Thorpe would have felt comfortable to come out in the same way. Parkinson was always interested in giving people the opportunity to reveal themselves. </p>
<p>That Thorpe felt Parkinson’s show was a safe space to come out says something about the tenor of his relationship with his interviewees and his place in Australian culture.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/ian-thorpe-came-out-but-not-in-australia-a-wise-decision-29158">Ian Thorpe came out, but not in Australia – a wise decision</a>
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<h2>There for the audience</h2>
<p>His few missteps seemed to be with women. As I grew older, I realised he was a man of his time, as was made obvious in his awkward interviews with Meg Ryan and <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gmlP_cFOoAM">Helen Mirren</a>. In these interviews, his occasional awkwardness around gender is writ large, and the interviews go off the rails. He fails to develop his famous rapport and adjust his approach in response to their discomfort. </p>
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<p>But given the length of his career, the rarity of these missteps is still impressive. His geniality and quiet generosity came across night after night, for decades. </p>
<p>What defined him more than anything was how he was inclusive of his audience. No matter how complex the ideas or how smart the person he was interviewing, the audience was brought along with them. He was there on our behalf, and able to ask the clarifying questions without worrying about his own ego.</p>
<p>He represents an age of Australian and British relationships in a way that is truly singular and his interviews are artefacts of that age. He was an interiewer who stood out for not having to stand out, and the delights and possibilities of the long-form interview are his legacy.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/211824/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Lea Redfern does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Michael Parkinson, who has died at 88, demonstrated the art of the good interview night after night.Lea Redfern, Lecturer, Discipline of Media and Communications, University of SydneyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2100242023-08-14T15:36:33Z2023-08-14T15:36:33ZBlackadder at 40: the difficult birth of a classic TV comedy<p>As part of this year’s 40th anniversary celebrations of Blackadder, the classic historical BBC comedy series, the pilot episode from 1982 aired for the first time in years on Gold. It’s been hitherto kept under wraps, never broadcast or released on DVD. Why? It’s because it’s simply not Blackadder as we know it.</p>
<p>In a classic episode, you want Blackadder to be a scheming, conniving character who has a hopeless, dimwitted underling named Baldrick and a domineering but clueless master above him. Except it didn’t start that way.</p>
<p>I spoke about the pilot with Lucy Lumsden, boss of <a href="https://www.yellowdoorprods.com/about-us">Yellow Door Productions</a> and former Head of BBC TV Comedy Commissioning, for a book I am in the process of writing on comedy. Lumsden agrees the pilot is all over the place.</p>
<p>Played by Philip Fox, Baldrick is not yet the fool he was to become. He’s slightly useless, as Lumsden notes, “but you’ve got to pull hard in the opposite direction. You want Baldrick to be the total opposite of Blackadder”. </p>
<p>As a writer, if you really embrace the idea of opposites, all you need is one strong, clearly defined character. Then for your next character you just go to the complete opposite of this first one. And now suddenly, you’ve got another good character and the two of them are going to be really funny together.</p>
<p>At least Blackadder is exactly as we want him to be – smart, cynical, sarcastic. </p>
<p>And yet, as Lucy observes, in the pilot, “Blackadder, the character that’s absolutely going to draw the eye and you’ll want to just spend every scene with, doesn’t appear for five minutes! As a viewer, I don’t know where my attention should go in that pilot”.</p>
<p>If you didn’t know otherwise, you’d probably think the protagonist was Robert Bathurst’s Prince Harry character who is alongside the queen in the opening scene. Note to writers: unless there is an absolutely compelling reason not to, introduce us to your brilliant protagonist right away.</p>
<p>Nevertheless, Blackadder is his cynical self in the pilot, so at least they have that to build on as they go into series one, right? No, they throw away the one thing that was working about the pilot and instead of being witty and cutting, in the first series Blackadder becomes a Baldrick-style fool. </p>
<p>Baldrick meanwhile, although now played by Tony Robinson, is at this point the smarter one. It’s like coming across an early Jeeves and Wooster novel where Bertie Wooster is level headed and mature and Jeeves is an idiot.</p>
<p>But happily following the pilot and the misfiring first series, they got another chance and the Blackadder we know and love was born.</p>
<h2>A trusted comedic structure</h2>
<p>With a smaller budget than series one, no on location filming and a new writing team (Ben Elton now writing with Richard Curtis), series two returned to Elizabethan times. The domineering master is still Elizabeth I but Elspet Gray’s rather dull queen is replaced by Miranda Richardson doing her now legendary shriekingly childish performance.</p>
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<p>You have the return of the cynical Blackadder from the pilot. With the crazy Queen Elizabeth above him and the – at last – stupid Baldrick below him, you have an ensemble that works. </p>
<p>As I write in my book <a href="https://www.bloomsbury.com/uk/creating-comedy-narratives-for-stage-and-screen-9781350155787/">Creating Comedy Narratives for Stage and Screen</a>, the classic shape of an ensemble of comedic characters is what I term the boss, striver, fool dynamic. </p>
<p>The boss is the one who is in charge by dint of their role, position in the family or simply because they are the alpha figure. The key to the comedy though is that they are dysfunctional boss figures. </p>
<p>At the opposite end is the self-explanatory fool and stuck in the middle is the protagonist, the striver. Being stuck in the middle is the plight of scores of sitcom characters. They are sitcom’s dreamers. Aspiring to a better life, free of their bookends. </p>
<p>So many sitcoms have this dynamic at their heart, or as part of a wider ensemble. It’s the Sybil, Basil and Manuel of Fawlty Towers. Or the Martin Crane, Frasier and Niles in Fraiser (your fool can be intelligent, what makes them a fool can be their lack of self-awareness or naivety or social awkwardness).</p>
<h2>Seasons of bosses, strivers and fools</h2>
<p>Blackadder is an interesting case to consider with it’s shifting cast of characters from series-to-series. As we’ve seen, in the first Blackadder, he himself was the fool which is unusual for a central character but he was shifted to striver for series two, with the boss Queen Elizabeth I and the fool Baldrick (and Percy).</p>
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<p>In Blackadder the third, set during the Georgian era, Mr. E. Blackadder is a butler to the Prince Regent. Baldrick the fool is Blackadder’s dogsbody. Here Blackadder is of course the striver, the boss became the Prince Regent.</p>
<p>Transported to the trenches of the first world war, Blackadder Goes Forth doubles up all the slots with General Melchett and Field Marshall Haig as bosses. In the striver slot we have Blackadder again, alongside his antagonist Captain Darling. Fools also double up with Baldrick and George, one working class and one upper class.</p>
<p>Looking back to that first season 40-years-ago, it is odd to think that such a beloved comedy could initially have got it so very wrong. While Blackadder was afforded the kind of trial and error that would be unheard of today, for today’s new comedy writers it can be encouraging to see that even masterpieces can have a difficult birth. </p>
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<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/536131/original/file-20230706-17-460x2d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/536131/original/file-20230706-17-460x2d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536131/original/file-20230706-17-460x2d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536131/original/file-20230706-17-460x2d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536131/original/file-20230706-17-460x2d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536131/original/file-20230706-17-460x2d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536131/original/file-20230706-17-460x2d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Chris Head does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The first series had the characters’ roles all the wrong way round. Blackadder was dim, Baldrick clever and the queen was dull. Thankfully they got a second try.Chris Head, Teaching Fellow in Comedy, Bath Spa UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2094652023-07-11T16:14:57Z2023-07-11T16:14:57ZBBC presenter scandal: an expert explains the law around exchanging sexually explicit images<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/536815/original/file-20230711-23-fo4xfu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=31%2C82%2C3423%2C2216&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/london-april-2019-bbc-british-broadcasting-1382330768">William Barton/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The developing scandal surrounding allegations that a BBC presenter paid a 17-year-old for explicit images is full of questions – the identity of the presenter (who remains unnamed in the media), the age of the young person when the alleged explicit images were taken, and of course, whether the allegations are true and can be proved to be true. What is known, however, is UK law when it comes to the exchange of sexually explicit material involving young people.</p>
<p>According to allegations by the young person’s mother published in The Sun, the presenter paid tens of thousands of pounds in exchange for explicit images. Online communications between the two allegedly began when the young person was 17.</p>
<p>The young person has claimed <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/media/2023/jul/10/claims-about-bbc-presenter-are-rubbish-says-young-person-at-centre-of-scandal">through their lawyer</a> that “nothing inappropriate or unlawful has taken place”. Whether this can be established to be true or not will depend in part (it also depends of course on whether they
were explicit so as to breach the law) on the age of the young person when the images were exchanged. If the images were exchanged after the young person turned 18, it could be that no law was broken. If, however, they were under 18 – a child, for the purposes of the law regarding indecent images - there could hypothetically be a range of possible offences, the seriousness of which could increase depending on the circumstances.</p>
<p>The age at which young people can share explicit photographs is higher than the age at which they can consent to sexual activity. The self-production by children of indecent images is an area of increasing concern in this age of poorly-regulated social media. The claims in this case, then, are likely to be taken seriously, irrespective of whether or not the young person consented.</p>
<p>From what we know – and it is a very incomplete picture at the moment of
course – the most likely offence to be under consideration here will be that set out in in the <a href="https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1978/37/section/1">Protection of Children Act 1978</a>. This law makes it an offence to take, show, make, distribute or advertise indecent photographs or “pseudo-photographs” of a child. The definition of “make” includes <a href="https://www.casemine.com/judgement/uk/5a8ff70b60d03e7f57ea6893">livestreamed images</a>, since, when viewed, <a href="https://www.bailii.org/ew/cases/EWCA/Crim/1999/2270.html">images are “made”</a>.</p>
<p>It is also an offence under the <a href="https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1988/33/contents">Criminal Justice Act 1988</a> to possess an indecent photograph of someone under the age of 18, even if the photos were distributed after the person in them turned 18.</p>
<p>For anyone to be convicted in a case of that sort, a jury would have to consider the image to be “indecent”. This is an objective decision based on <a href="https://vlex.co.uk/vid/r-v-stamford-793230545">recognised standards of propriety</a> and include the age of the child.</p>
<p>Importantly, it is not a defendant’s conduct that must be regarded as indecent, but the photograph of the child which results from it. The age of the child would be relevant to whether the images are indecent. </p>
<p>Police and prosecutors could decide that a jury is likely to feel that a child was close enough to 18 for the image not to be indecent, and so take no action.</p>
<p>Police <a href="https://news.sky.com/story/bbc-presenter-claims-latest-police-contacted-over-explicit-image-allegations-as-corporations-boss-says-star-entitled-to-privacy-12917955">have not yet launched an investigation</a>. But if action is ultimately taken and were to lead to a prosecution and conviction, the likely sentence (based on what we have been told so far) would be based on the making or possession of images involving “non-penetrative sexual activity” by a child. The offence of making the image attracts a sentence starting at two years’ imprisonment, while possession starts at 26 weeks. </p>
<h2>An abuse of power?</h2>
<p>There is the statement from the young person’s lawyer, while their family reportedly sees this as a case of coercion by a person in a position of considerable influence on a <a href="https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/23011193/parents-bbc-presenter-scandal-child-stand-by/">vulnerable young person</a>. </p>
<p>Any abuse of power or trust could be an aggravating factor which, for sentencing purposes, could increase the maximum sentence to four years’ imprisonment for the making offence. A judge may also take into account the vulnerability of the child depicted, the number of images made or possessed and whether the child appeared to be intoxicated or drunk.</p>
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<img alt="Photo of a person's hand holding a mobile phone" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/536817/original/file-20230711-21-fcs8s6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/536817/original/file-20230711-21-fcs8s6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536817/original/file-20230711-21-fcs8s6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536817/original/file-20230711-21-fcs8s6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536817/original/file-20230711-21-fcs8s6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536817/original/file-20230711-21-fcs8s6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536817/original/file-20230711-21-fcs8s6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Any legal or criminal action would likely depend on the age of a young person when images were made.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/close-womans-hand-mobile-phone-on-572869897">krylova_nlp/Shutterstock</a></span>
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<p>In this particular case, the mother’s claims that the large amount of money she alleges was paid to her child was used to fuel significant drug consumption could, if proven, give rise to other, more serious offences. </p>
<p>The Sexual Offences Act 2003 makes it an offence to intentionally cause or incite a child (again, under 18) to be sexually exploited, and carries a maximum sentence of 14 years imprisonment. Sexual exploitation here includes the provision of sexual services for payment. Since 2017, it extends to situations where images are streamed (such as via the internet) or otherwise transmitted by some other technological means. </p>
<p>Again, in cases under the act, the young person’s age could be relevant. Should the presenter claim that he thought the child was over 18 – questions that are no doubt being currently asked – then a potential prosecution would need to establish that the average person would not have held the same belief. </p>
<p>The age of a child in a prosecution is also relevant at sentencing, with the maximum sentence available being significantly reduced where the victim is aged 16 or 17. The starting point for sentencing would potentially be 12 months’ imprisonment but, if the judge felt that there had been “cultivation of a dependency on drugs or alcohol”, this could increase to a starting point of three years’ imprisonment with a maximum likely sentence of around five years’ imprisonment.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/209465/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Kirsty Welsh does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>It is a criminal offence to take or possess an indecent image of someone under the age of 18.Kirsty Welsh, Senior Lecturer in Law, Nottingham Trent UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2083162023-06-26T16:14:09Z2023-06-26T16:14:09ZHow streaming platforms make you more likely to watch certain programmes – new research<p>With the vast array of options of what to watch online, have you ever wondered why you picked that new comedy or that old documentary? Would you have chosen to watch them if they were on terrestrial TV? How much were you nudged to choose them by subtle prompts from the online streaming platforms? </p>
<p>Last year, when a new British streaming TV platform, <a href="https://www.itv.com/">ITVX</a>, launched, <a href="https://www.itv.com/presscentre/media-releases/introducing-itvx-britains-freshest-new-free-streaming-service-launching-later-year">it promised</a> to be “led” by viewers who could “choose [from] thousands of hours of content.” Disney+ has <a href="https://www.disneyplus.com/en-de">made a similar promise</a>: “Watch the way you want.”</p>
<p>A lot of video-on-demand platforms have positioned themselves as driven by audiences. And there is no doubt that the amount of televisual and other content has increased and that consumers do now have more control. But just how much do online users actively choose what they consume?</p>
<p>I wanted to investigate this question, so my colleagues and I conducted a <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/13548565231174590">study</a> analysing some of the specific predictors of TV programmes’ success, both on streaming platforms and on linear TV. We found several ways that streaming services can make their content more likely to be watched.</p>
<h2>How much are we really in control?</h2>
<p>We are not alone in starting to ask questions about how much agency video-on-demand users actually have. The media academic <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/1527476420917104">Mike van Esler’s study</a> showed that streaming platforms like Netflix impose numerous technical and visual limitations on users. For example, Netflix hides functions like the search bar or genre homepages in a sidebar and prioritises certain programmes, often those owned by the platform.</p>
<p>Such limitations certainly could limit user agency, but to see whether that’s actually the case we need to study not just interfaces but audiences. This is starting to happen. In a <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/15274764211010943">Norwegian study</a>, audience members talked about how video-on-demand platforms steered their viewing behaviour, including by recommending programmes as “top picks” or “you may also like”.</p>
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<p>With our study, we’ve tried to extend such emerging evidence by looking at the actual behaviour of millions of viewers.</p>
<p>As we’re interested in the influence that streaming platforms have on what viewers watch, two of the key programme characteristics that we looked at were whether and for how long a programme was promoted on key pages on the streaming platform and how long the programme was available to stream on the platform. And, because we’re interested in the deliberate viewing choices that users make, we also looked at programme genre.</p>
<p>We did this not only for programmes consumed on a streaming TV platform, but also, as a comparison, for programmes broadcast by the same channel on linear television.</p>
<p>There’s evidence that audiences <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/08838159909364496">have preferences for specific TV genres</a> and that those preferences affect viewing behaviour. For example, <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/08838158809386711">one study</a> found that viewers were more likely to view a programme if it was of the same genre as the show they had been watching immediately beforehand.</p>
<p>There are, of course, other programme characteristics that may affect the viewing they attract, like awards they received, so we took as many of these characteristics as we could into account.</p>
<p>The channel we analysed was BBC Three and we got our viewing data from the UK’s official television audience measurement service, <a href="https://www.barb.co.uk/">Barb</a>.</p>
<p>The most challenging part of the data collection was finding out whether, and how, programmes had been promoted on the channel’s online interfaces. We focused on three places of promotion – BBC’s Three’s <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/bbcthree">homepage</a>, the home page of the BBC’s streaming platform, <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer">iPlayer</a>, and the <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/tv/bbcthree">BBC Three landing page on iPlayer</a>. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="The BBC Three landing page on iPlayer." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/533707/original/file-20230623-21-sk9upo.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/533707/original/file-20230623-21-sk9upo.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=372&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/533707/original/file-20230623-21-sk9upo.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=372&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/533707/original/file-20230623-21-sk9upo.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=372&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/533707/original/file-20230623-21-sk9upo.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=468&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/533707/original/file-20230623-21-sk9upo.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=468&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/533707/original/file-20230623-21-sk9upo.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=468&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Where and for how long a programme was advertised on the BBC Three landing page on iPlayer was a predictor of how much viewing it received.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/tv/bbcthree">BBC</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Our results show that the strongest predictor of a programme’s viewing was the number of days the programme was available on the channel’s video-on-demand platform. By contrast, the number of times a BBC Three programme was transmitted on linear TV was not a significant positive predictor of viewing.</p>
<p>Being able to control how long programmes are available to stream appears to give video-on-demand platforms significant power over what audiences watch. The longer fruit is dangled in front of a viewer, the likelier they are to grab it.</p>
<h2>The rule of thumbnails</h2>
<p>Our results suggest that video-on-demand platforms may have power over what audiences watch via how they position a programme’s thumbnail image on key pages. We found a positive correlation between on-demand viewing of BBC Three programmes and whether and how their thumbnails were placed and prioritised on the homepage of BBC Three’s website and BBC Three’s landing page on iPlayer.</p>
<p>Our analysis also shows that, on average, comedy programmes attracted significantly more viewing. The same effect was not found, however, with other genres, like entertainment. These results mirror the results for linear TV, where just one or two genres predicted the amount of viewing programmes received.</p>
<p>The fact that genre appears to be no more important as a predictor of viewing on BBC Three’s streaming platform than on its linear platform may surprise some. After all, video-on-demand platforms’ talk often about user choice, which includes, presumably, viewers’ preferences for particular genres of programme.</p>
<p>So what does this mean? Taken together, our findings on availability, thumbnail image placement and genre lend weight to the questions being raised about the supposed “total” control that users have on video-on-demand platforms. It isn’t quite as total as you might expect.</p>
<p>Our study does, of course, have limitations. We didn’t account for all possible predictors of programme viewing. Additional predictors could include advertising, peer-to-peer recommendations and press coverage. In addition, we were working with aggregate, rather than individual-level data, and so couldn’t account for the possible effects of viewers’ socio-demographics.</p>
<p>Nevertheless, <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/13548565231174590">our study</a> does suggest that, in spite of dramatic changes in the ways in which television programmes are distributed and consumed, television channels can still assert considerable control over what their viewers choose to watch.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/208316/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Neil Thurman receives funding from the Volkswagen Foundation. </span></em></p>Did you choose a thriller from four years-ago to watch on your own or were you guided there by subtle tactics?Neil Thurman, Senior Honorary Research Fellow, Department of Journalism, City, University of LondonLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2076702023-06-19T13:44:08Z2023-06-19T13:44:08ZMoveit hack: attack on BBC and BA offers glimpse into the future of cybercrime<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/531739/original/file-20230613-15-41oll0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=44%2C0%2C7238%2C4803&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>British Airways (BA), the BBC, Ofcom and Boots were among a number of organisations that were reportedly <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-65814104">victims of a major recent cyber-attack</a>, resulting in the breach of numerous staff details.</p>
<p>The stolen data is said to include staff names, staff ID numbers and national insurance numbers (although, importantly, not banking details). But, other than for those personally affected, the real issue is what this attack reveals about the evolution of cybercrime. </p>
<p>More cybercriminals are realising that if they can compromise a trusted supplier, this will lead to the compromise of that organisation’s customers. The hackers can then steal the data and potentially hold both individuals and companies to ransom. </p>
<p>So far, this has proven a more difficult way to make a lot of money. But it’s arguably only a matter of time.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.cisa.gov/news-events/cybersecurity-advisories/aa23-158a">The recent attack</a> was against a piece of software called <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MOVEit">Moveit</a>, which is used to transfer computer files from one location to another. It involved what’s called a “<a href="https://www.intel.co.uk/content/www/uk/en/business/enterprise-computers/resources/what-is-a-zero-day-exploit.html">zero-day exploit</a>”, a piece of computer code that takes advantage of a previously unknown vulnerability.</p>
<p>This allowed hackers to compromise Zellis, a trusted supplier of services to BA, the BBC, Boots and others. Zellis confirmed a <a href="https://www.zellis.com/resources/press-and-media/statement-on-moveit-transfer-data-breach/">“small number” of customers had been affected</a>, adding that it had disconnected the server using Moveit as soon as it became aware of the incident.</p>
<p>Since Zellis is the main payroll service provider to these organisations, it is easy to trace how this incident started. Responsibility for the attack was claimed by the Russia-linked “cl0p” group, which has since issued an ultimatum to the affected organisations – asking for money unless they want the stolen data to be released on the <a href="https://theconversation.com/what-is-the-dark-web-and-how-does-it-work-63613">dark web</a>. </p>
<h2>Future of cybercrime</h2>
<p>Unlike many previous types of attack, particularly those that have employed <a href="https://theconversation.com/inside-a-ransomware-attack-how-dark-webs-of-cybercriminals-collaborate-to-pull-them-off-163015">ransomware</a>, in this case the criminal group launched a mass attack and waited for individual organisations to fall prey, then sought to exploit each one in turn.</p>
<p>This suggests these cybercriminals have learned from previous <a href="https://www.ncsc.gov.uk/collection/supply-chain-security/supply-chain-attack-examples">supply-chain attacks</a>, and are experimenting with making the strategy commercially viable. In supply-chain attacks, cybercriminals target one organisation by attacking an external provider they use.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="BBC New Broadcasting House in London." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/531741/original/file-20230613-25-zss8e5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/531741/original/file-20230613-25-zss8e5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=463&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/531741/original/file-20230613-25-zss8e5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=463&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/531741/original/file-20230613-25-zss8e5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=463&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/531741/original/file-20230613-25-zss8e5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=582&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/531741/original/file-20230613-25-zss8e5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=582&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/531741/original/file-20230613-25-zss8e5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=582&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The BBC was among the organisations successfully hacked.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/london-uk-october-10-2022-broadcasting-2217633041">Nigel J. Harris / Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Groups such as cl0p appear to have watched and learned, especially from the <a href="https://www.npr.org/2021/04/16/985439655/a-worst-nightmare-cyberattack-the-untold-story-of-the-solarwinds-hack">SolarWinds attack of late 2020</a>, where the system for “patching” – doing quick repairs of – a near-ubiquitous software tool was compromised. </p>
<p>This software was widely used across the US government and industry, leading to tens of thousands of SolarWinds clients falling victim, including the Department of Defense, Nasa, TimeWarner and AT&T. Attributed to Russia’s military intelligence agency the GRU, SolarWinds was seen as being mainly motivated by state espionage. </p>
<p>And in the case of Moveit, the cl0p group appears to have taken the logic of supply-chain attacks – which proved so effective against SolarWinds – and wielded it against corporate targets. </p>
<h2>Evolutionary step</h2>
<p>This was arguably always going to be an evolutionary step for cybercriminals. First, sophisticated state-sponsored hackers verify an innovative method of attacking computers, as in the case of SolarWinds. Later, criminal copycats such as cl0p apply the same strategy, avoiding the pain of inventing new methods.</p>
<p>The ultimatum issued by cl0p is also revealing about the behaviour and motivation of cybercriminals. It is a strange pivot from traditional ransomware campaigns, where the victims’ payment details were stolen. </p>
<p>In the case of Moveit, it is instructive that cl0p has <a href="https://www.lbc.co.uk/news/cyber-crime-gang-clop-issues-ultimatum-to-100-000-victims-of-hacking-threatening/">issued a public ultimatum</a>, telling victim organisations to get in touch unless they want their data to be released into the wild – allowing its exploitation by scammers, fraudsters and other criminals. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="British Airways flight." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/532199/original/file-20230615-17-5fawnu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/532199/original/file-20230615-17-5fawnu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/532199/original/file-20230615-17-5fawnu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/532199/original/file-20230615-17-5fawnu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/532199/original/file-20230615-17-5fawnu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/532199/original/file-20230615-17-5fawnu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/532199/original/file-20230615-17-5fawnu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The organisations involved, including BA, were using Zellis for payroll services.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/london-uk-august-17-2018-largest-1164809374">Jarek Kilian / Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Effectively, cl0p is relying on a panic tactic to get organisations to take responsibility for the stolen data and protect their staff’s identities, by volunteering themselves to the criminals for negotiation – presumably on the topic of payment. </p>
<p>This reveals a clear lack of resource – outside the technical “attack teams” – on the part of cl0p to fully exploit its apparent success in compromising Moveit. </p>
<p>This is a potential flaw in the behaviour of such criminal groups. It shows that a move from ransomware-driven campaigns to supply-chain attacks is more difficult to monetise. </p>
<p>The final step in maximising the return from the attack, by making all the victims pay, is clearly harder than with simple ransomware, where the focus is on one target organisation and one route to the pay-out from the crime. </p>
<p>In short, cybercriminal groups have copied the supply-chain attack strategy and are now experimenting with it. But they are struggling to fully exploit and monetise the successes they have with it.</p>
<p>Where ransomware has been the campaign of choice for more than half a decade, we should, however, be concerned that the Moveit attack signals a change of strategy. Supply-chain attacks are effective, and the criminals are now working to refine their methods in order to fully exploit them. As such, it’s very likely that these attacks will only become more widespread.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/207670/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Cybercriminals are attempting to monetise the hacking techniques used by state actors.Danny Steed, Lecturer in Cyber Security, Cranfield UniversityRobert Black, Lecturer in Information Activities, Cranfield UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2068912023-06-13T12:20:52Z2023-06-13T12:20:52ZVirginia Woolf would have loved The Great British Sewing Bee – as three of her novels prove<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/529597/original/file-20230601-29-sakuz9.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=13%2C0%2C1226%2C1237&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Sewing Fisherman’s Wife by Anna Ancher (1890).</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Syende_fiskerpige.jpeg">Randers Museum of Art</a></span></figcaption></figure><p><a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b03myqj2">The Great British Sewing Bee</a> is back. The BBC reality show sees 12 amateur sewers compete in increasingly difficult stitching challenges, all hoping to be crowned the Sewing Bee champion. Now in its ninth series, <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/profiles/4wDhKqyj04wld2cVx8ykql5/meet-the-sewers">the backstories of this year’s contestants</a> show how sewing often provides an intimate, material connection to mothers and grandmothers. </p>
<p>For 49-year-old contestant <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/profiles/4xyW9JRZB1F0jLdN5wxYgYV/lizzie">Lizzie</a>, sewing has been a way to “stay connected” to her mother, who taught her to sew. For <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/profiles/2VJX4cDGSVMLW7KqYrl2TXP/matthew">Matthew</a>, 30, it’s a reminder of his nan, who was a tailor. Her tailoring certificate hangs above his sewing space.</p>
<p>These stories are not surprising given the history of domestic needlework. Novelist <a href="https://openlibrary.org/authors/OL19450A/Virginia_Woolf">Virginia Woolf</a> (1882-1941) included details of home sewing <a href="https://southampton.cloud.panopto.eu/Panopto/Pages/Viewer.aspx?id=d586b9e0-c294-44f2-a6f4-a99f00e72d89">and other stitching</a> in her novels, as a fundamental part of her female characters’ everyday experiences. </p>
<p>While her sewing skills might not have been up to competing in The Great British Sewing Bee, I’m sure she would have been an avid viewer. Woolf’s writing illuminates the special place that sewing held in British households from the late 19th century.</p>
<p>Sewing machines became <a href="https://blog.historicenvironment.scot/2020/06/sew-on-and-sew-forth/">commonplace household items from the end of the 19th century</a>. Needlework was a daily part of woman’s domestic labour. </p>
<p>Houses were full of the paraphernalia and activity of sewing. This image (left), from the first issue of Woman’s Weekly in 1911, shows “needlework in the afternoon” as part of “woman’s work”.</p>
<p>Woolf’s novels evoke this everyday activity with the heightened power of her <a href="https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/abs/modernism-daily-time-and-everyday-life/reading-writing-and-thinking-a-woolfian-daily-life/53D1679769EAB90E2ADB0A517C53DC78">modernist writing</a> to reveal the metaphorical meanings of stitching. </p>
<p>Examples from three of her novels show how powerful the modern connection still is to an activity that in the 20th century was a required domestic duty but which, by the end of the century, most women had escaped.</p>
<h2>1. The Years</h2>
<p><a href="https://muse.jhu.edu/article/525183">The Years</a> (1937) tells the story of the Pargiter family. In a historical sweep from 1880 through to the early 1930s, Woolf shows the changes wrought on women’s lives, including <a href="https://human.libretexts.org/Bookshelves/History/World_History/Book%3A_Western_Civilization_-_A_Concise_History_III_(Brooks)/05%3A_Culture_Science_and_Pseudo-Science/5.05%3A_First_Wave_Feminism#:%7E:text=In%20Britain%2C%20the%20best%20known,as%20the%20Suffragettes%20in%201903.">first-wave feminism</a> and <a href="https://link.springer.com/book/10.1057/9780230373211#about-this-book">upheavals in social class</a>.</p>
<p>Rose, the youngest Pargiter daughter, is a child in 1880. In one chapter her nanny, “looking up from the wheel of the sewing machine”, tells Rose: “Go and get your sewing, there’s a good girl.”</p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/529593/original/file-20230601-25-evjtwk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Virginia Woolf in black and white photographed from the side." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/529593/original/file-20230601-25-evjtwk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/529593/original/file-20230601-25-evjtwk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=820&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/529593/original/file-20230601-25-evjtwk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=820&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/529593/original/file-20230601-25-evjtwk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=820&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/529593/original/file-20230601-25-evjtwk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1030&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/529593/original/file-20230601-25-evjtwk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1030&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/529593/original/file-20230601-25-evjtwk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1030&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Virginia Woolf photographed by George Charles Beresford (1902).</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:George_Charles_Beresford_-_Virginia_Woolf_in_1902_-_Restoration.jpg">Adam Cuerden</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The nanny is preparing the child for traditional feminine domesticity. By 1910, the adult Rose doesn’t sew. She is a suffragette. Her cousin Maggie does, however, as strained financial circumstances mean that she cannot rely on servants. Woolf depicts Maggie making herself an evening dress, articulating the disparities in feminine identity at this revolutionary time for women.</p>
<p>Rose bemoans her lack of sewing ability: “I never could make my own clothes.” Maggie responds, “you did other things”. The two women share a moment of domestic intimacy as Maggie makes her dress with “a comfortable whirring sound as the needle picked through the silk”. </p>
<p>Even though she has abandoned needlework, Rose’s connection to the women in her family is imagined through the familiarity and comfort of sewing.</p>
<h2>2. Mrs Dalloway</h2>
<p><a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Mrs-Dalloway-novel-by-Woolf">Mrs Dalloway</a> (1925) evokes the intensity of a single day in the life of protagonist Clarissa Dalloway. </p>
<p>In the aftermath of the first world war, she is readying herself for a party at her home. An upper-middle class woman, Dalloway is impacted by the <a href="https://www.cam.ac.uk/research/news/who-mops-the-floor-now-how-domestic-service-shaped-20th-century-britain">servant crisis of this period</a>, so mends her own dress. <a href="http://gutenberg.net.au/ebooks02/0200991h.html">In doing so</a>, she returns to the forgotten rhythms of sewing from her childhood. Sewing becomes a deeply meditative activity: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>Quiet descended on her, calm, content, as her needle, drawing the silk smoothly to its gentle pause, collected the green folds together and attached them, very lightly, to the belt.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>This captures the strange nature of sewing. Like the “needlework in the afternoon” from Woman’s Weekly, it is work but also a “gentle pause” from pressing daily activities. </p>
<p>This is echoed in the way sewing is thought about by contestants on and viewers of The Great British Sewing Bee – with affection and nostalgia. It takes them back to a time spent with mothers, grandmothers and other female relatives in comforting and restorative activity.</p>
<h2>3. The Waves</h2>
<p><a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/The-Waves">The Waves</a> (1931) invokes the heightened place of sewing in a child’s psychic attachment to early maternal comfort. In the final section of the novel the adult narrator, Bernard, is searching for a language to answer life’s existential questions.</p>
<figure class="align-left zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/529600/original/file-20230601-21-c8ezr1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A painting of a young girl sewing a handkerchief." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/529600/original/file-20230601-21-c8ezr1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/529600/original/file-20230601-21-c8ezr1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=683&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/529600/original/file-20230601-21-c8ezr1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=683&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/529600/original/file-20230601-21-c8ezr1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=683&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/529600/original/file-20230601-21-c8ezr1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=859&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/529600/original/file-20230601-21-c8ezr1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=859&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/529600/original/file-20230601-21-c8ezr1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=859&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Jeune Fille Cousant by Henri Lebasque (1925).</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Henri_Lebasque,_Jeune_fille_cousant,_ca._1925.jpg">Catcul/Wiki Commons</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>One image that comes to him is taken from deep childhood memory: “I need … words of one syllable such as children speak when they come into a room and find their mother sewing and pick up some scrap of bright wool, a feather, or a shred of chintz.”</p>
<p>Woolf and The Great British Sewing Bee remind us of very recent history when sewing was a daily household activity for most women. But this is not simply nostalgic. </p>
<p>The Great British Sewing Bee highlights the skills, pleasures and frustrations of sewing, which most of us don’t see any more, as our clothes are made in <a href="https://truecostmovie.com/learn-more/human-rights/#:%7E:text=now%20made%20overseas.-,There%20are%20roughly%2040%20million%20garment%20workers%20in%20the%20world,all%20garment%20workers%20are%20women.">factories far away by people we will never meet.</a> By understanding the intimacy of sewing we can imagine clothes makers as skilled human beings and realise our global stitching connections.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/206891/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Helen Pleasance does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Woolf’s writing illuminates the special place that sewing held in British households from the late 19th century.Helen Pleasance, Senior Lecturer in Creative Writing and English Literature, York St John UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2062512023-06-04T11:19:15Z2023-06-04T11:19:15ZCanada should look to its past and Europe for guidance on media policy — but not south<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/528960/original/file-20230530-8555-7cvlkt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C35%2C6000%2C3925&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Canada needs to look back on its history of establishing the CBC to avoid its media landscape going the route of its neighbour to the south.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Rod Flores/Unsplash)</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Seventy years ago, <a href="https://www.ourcommons.ca/DocumentViewer/en/37-2/HERI/report-2/page-54">Canadian leaders turned away</a> from the British model of media policy that rejected advertising-supported private broadcasting. </p>
<p>While it’s gone well for a few private corporations, it hasn’t benefited the Canadian public. And the future heralds an even more dangerous American-style media landscape here in Canada.</p>
<p>Canadian leaders once understood the importance and even the potential danger of media to the public. Those lessons need to be remembered. The honourable early history of media policy in Canada needs to be embraced anew.</p>
<h2>Aird Commission findings</h2>
<p>In 1928, <a href="https://publications.gc.ca/site/eng/472642/publication.html">the Royal Commission on Radio Broadcasting, also known as the Aird Commission</a>, was created to consider alternative models for the future of Canadian broadcasting. </p>
<p>It was led by Sir John Aird, the president of the Canadian Bank of Commerce. As media scholar Marc Raboy writes in his comprehensive history of Canadian broadcasting, <a href="https://www.mqup.ca/missed-opportunities-products-9780773507432.php"><em>Missed Opportunities</em></a>, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation was established because of public pressure that came from a broad coalition of civic organizations that made up the <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/player/play/1676675341">Canadian Radio League</a>. </p>
<p>The Aird Commission found much to be alarmed about regarding radio. As <a href="https://www.ourcommons.ca/Content/Committee/372/HERI/Reports/RP1032284/herirp02/herirp02-e.pdf">Aird stated in 1932</a>:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>“I have watched — naturally I felt it my duty to watch — the program and the material that was coming over the air, and much of it is of the most objectionable character … what I object to most strongly is the character of the ribald songs and vulgar dialogues regarding robberies, burglaries, hold-ups of banks and things like that.” </p>
</blockquote>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A black and white photo of two farmers sitting in a living room listening to a large wooden radio with a bullhorn attached." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/528958/original/file-20230530-15-9ga0mu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/528958/original/file-20230530-15-9ga0mu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=448&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/528958/original/file-20230530-15-9ga0mu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=448&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/528958/original/file-20230530-15-9ga0mu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=448&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/528958/original/file-20230530-15-9ga0mu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=563&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/528958/original/file-20230530-15-9ga0mu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=563&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/528958/original/file-20230530-15-9ga0mu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=563&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A farmer and his son listen to the radio in the mid-1920s.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The commissioners listened to radio around the world and heard the concerns of various communities with access to the medium. They consistently heard complaints about content, but also about advertising. </p>
<p>As a result of its research, the Aird Commission <a href="https://publications.gc.ca/pub?id=472642&sl=0">proposed a publicly owned corporation</a> not unlike the British Broadcasting Corporation (the BBC). It argued the new medium of radio should be regarded as a national public service rather than a profit-making industry, and its ownership and operating structure should be organized to recognize this principle.</p>
<h2>Creation of the CBC/Radio-Canada</h2>
<p>In 1936, the <a href="https://canadianlabour.ca/uncategorized/twilh-cbc-founded-november-2-1936/">Canadian Broadcasting Act</a> created the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation/Radio-Canada as a Crown corporation funded through fees known as receiver set licences (initially $2.50 per licence) with limited financing from advertising.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/richard-bedford-viscount-bennett">Richard Bedford Bennett, the Conservative prime minister</a> of Canada who had the unfortunate task of attempting to unite a divided and economically struggling country through the Great Depression of the 1930s, pushed the CBC through its parliamentary hurdles. </p>
<p><a href="https://parl.canadiana.ca/view/oop.debates_HOC1703_03">Bennett proclaimed</a>:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>“This country must be assured of complete Canadian control of broadcasting from Canadian sources. Without such control, broadcasting can never be the agency by which national consciousness may be fostered and sustained and national unity still further strengthened.”</p>
</blockquote>
<p>In addition to telling the Canadian story to the booming cities of Vancouver, Montréal and Toronto, the CBC was tasked with reaching remote and isolated rural and maritime communities, providing both national and local voices reflecting Canada and in two languages: English and French. Canada’s vast territory and multilingual character made the CBC one of the world’s most far-reaching and complex public broadcasters. </p>
<p>Yet the Aird Commission recommendation that private broadcasting should be fully replaced by public broadcasting never happened. </p>
<p>The British model of public service media funded through receiver licence fees was eventually abandoned in 1953, and CBC funding would be tied to the shifting sands of <a href="https://www.ourcommons.ca/Committees/en/CHPC/StudyActivity?studyActivityId=3699874">parliamentary funding</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A red and white circular logo is projected on a screen." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/528962/original/file-20230530-24-kf5nip.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/528962/original/file-20230530-24-kf5nip.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/528962/original/file-20230530-24-kf5nip.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/528962/original/file-20230530-24-kf5nip.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/528962/original/file-20230530-24-kf5nip.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/528962/original/file-20230530-24-kf5nip.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/528962/original/file-20230530-24-kf5nip.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The CBC logo is projected onto a screen during the CBC’s annual upfront presentation in Toronto in 2019.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Tijana Martin</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Cuts to the CBC</h2>
<p>In 1984, the Conservative government of Brian Mulroney made <a href="https://legacy.friends.ca/explore/article/change-in-parliamentary-appropriation-to-cbc-in-2014/">significant cuts</a> to the CBC, and <a href="https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/globe-politics-insider/cbc-funding-history-over-time/article17898560/">those cuts increased under the Liberal government of Jean Chrétien</a>.</p>
<p>Make no mistake — the BBC has more than its share of problems. While it’s <a href="https://www.scienceandmediamuseum.org.uk/objects-and-stories/short-history-british-tv-advertising">thrived without advertising</a>, it has been under pressure, losing some of its audience to private commercial broadcasting (which began in 1955) and from political pressure exerted by both Labor and Tory administrations. Yet, the BBC <a href="https://reutersinstitute.politics.ox.ac.uk/news/bbc-under-scrutiny-heres-what-research-tells-about-its-role-uk">dominate broadcast and online news</a> in the U.K. The CBC has not fared as well.</p>
<p>Budget cuts to the CBC, often fuelled by partisan politics, have wrought havoc. The Windsor CBC station I watched as a child growing up in Detroit was once a profitable Canadian production powerhouse, but it cancelled popular local programming and slashed the news operation. </p>
<p>In 1990, because of further budget cuts, CBC closed down the station’s news department, spurring street protests from thousands of Windsor citizens.</p>
<p>A “<a href="https://crtc.gc.ca/eng/transcripts/1999/tb0318d.htm">Save Our Station</a>” committee was formed to pressure both CBC and the Canadian government to preserve the Windsor operation. Some limited news service was established because of these protests, but other communities once served by the CBC had no such luck.</p>
<p>Private broadcaster CTV <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/02673231211014986a">has eclipsed</a> the CBC as Canada’s most-watched television network. And according to the independent media database IMDb, <a href="https://www.imdb.com/search/title/?companies=co0080139">CTV’s top programs</a> are all American productions; mainly police and medical dramas.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A blonde woman sits in front of a TV screen that says Nashville with the CTV logo at the bottom." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/528967/original/file-20230530-27-6hdgbi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/528967/original/file-20230530-27-6hdgbi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=384&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/528967/original/file-20230530-27-6hdgbi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=384&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/528967/original/file-20230530-27-6hdgbi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=384&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/528967/original/file-20230530-27-6hdgbi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=482&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/528967/original/file-20230530-27-6hdgbi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=482&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/528967/original/file-20230530-27-6hdgbi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=482&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">American-produced shows have long been CTV’s most-watched.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Frank Gunn</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>The European way</h2>
<p>Europe suggests a better path. <a href="https://www.ebu.ch/news/2022/01/protect-public-service-media-to-protect-democracy">A recent study</a> by the European Broadcasting Union shows a strong correlation between a country’s democratic well-being and robust public service media, including online media. </p>
<p>Social media policy in the United States has generated echo chambers of <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s11109-021-09734-6">misinformation and conspiracy</a> and has certainly not curtailed the erosion of civic knowledge. <a href="https://www.annenbergpublicpolicycenter.org/americans-civics-knowledge-drops-on-first-amendment-and-branches-of-government/%22%22">A 2022 study</a> by the Annenberg Public Policy Center reveals that while many Americans are angry about politics, less than half of those surveyed understood the basics of U.S. government.</p>
<p>And in Canada? According to <a href="https://www.statista.com/topics/2729/social-networking-in-canada/">Statista</a>, Canada is one of the world’s most connected online populations, with a social media penetration rate of 89 per cent of the Canadian population.</p>
<p>The <a href="https://reviewlution.ca/resources/canadian-social-media-statistics/">most popular</a> media sites in Canada are also U.S.-based — Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.</p>
<figure class="align-left zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/443847/original/file-20220201-22-1a82oie.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A protester holds a sign of Justin Trudeau's face behind bars." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/443847/original/file-20220201-22-1a82oie.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/443847/original/file-20220201-22-1a82oie.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=685&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/443847/original/file-20220201-22-1a82oie.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=685&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/443847/original/file-20220201-22-1a82oie.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=685&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/443847/original/file-20220201-22-1a82oie.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=861&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/443847/original/file-20220201-22-1a82oie.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=861&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/443847/original/file-20220201-22-1a82oie.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=861&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A protester holds an anti-Trudeau sign near Parliament Hill in Ottawa.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>U.S.-based, advertising-driven social media sites designed to stoke outrage are not creating more informed Canadians. <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/social-mediea-convoy-protests-emergencies-act-inquiry-1.6668543">The actions of the so-called Freedom Convoy</a> illustrates this phenomenon.</p>
<p>And, unfortunately, similar to American civic illiteracy, a recent <a href="http://poll.forumresearch.com/post/2990/canada-day-2019/">Forum Research Poll</a> suggests only one in 10 Canadians would pass the Canadian citizenship exam. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/canadas-legal-disinformation-pandemic-is-exposed-by-the-freedom-convoy-176522">Canada’s legal disinformation pandemic is exposed by the 'freedom convoy'</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Looking ahead</h2>
<p>The future of advertising-driven media does not bode well for democracy. Even <a href="https://thehill.com/newsletters/technology/4007422-chatgpt-chief-issues-ai-warning/">Silicon Valley leaders are warning</a> against a laissez-faire U.S. policy approach in terms of generative artificial intelligence/large language models like ChatGPT.</p>
<p>The American threat to Canada continues not because of U.S. power, but because Canadian leaders have not put in place policies to foster and protect Canadian democracy.</p>
<p>Civic organizations of all stripes need to come together to demand a new approach to media that’s informed by lessons from Canada’s past and by the obvious mistakes evident south of the border.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/206251/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Mark Lloyd does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>A hundred years ago, civic organizations of all stripes came together to demand a new Canadian approach to media policy. Canada has done it before — it must do so again.Mark Lloyd, Associate Professor, Communication Studies, McGill UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2047642023-05-11T23:45:12Z2023-05-11T23:45:12ZWhat BBC and Stan series Ten Pound Poms gets right – and wrong – about the British migrant experience in Australia<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/525551/original/file-20230511-19-qhnxgf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=25%2C0%2C4252%2C2848&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Stan</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The first episode of Ten Pound Poms opens onto a bleak scene.</p>
<p>As snow falls against a grey sky in Manchester, Terry Roberts (Warren Brown) works to repair buildings damaged during the second world war. We can barely see him through the smog; the sound of hammering dominates the scene. As it gets louder, it triggers flashbacks to his time as a prisoner of war.</p>
<p>At home, his wife Annie (Faye Marsay) carefully scrapes used tea leaves into a jar, fed up with the sacrifices and depredations of post-war Britain.</p>
<p>That night, while tending to Terry – who has collapsed after another evening at the pub where he has spent their meagre income – Annie seizes on a newspaper advertisement offering her family the opportunity to “build a new life in sunny Australia” for only ten pounds.</p>
<p>Set in 1956, Ten Pound Poms, a co-production between the BBC and Stan, tells the story of British migrants as they struggle to build new lives in a distant and unknown land.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/eF2kDWx23ZU?wmode=transparent&start=2" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
</figure>
<h2>Australia’s post-war migration program</h2>
<p>Migration to Australia offers the Roberts family the promise of a fresh start, “a bright future” in a “modern” country with abundant fresh food, and a brand-new whitewashed house and family car.</p>
<p>The “Ten Pound Pom” scheme was launched in 1945 and continued into the early 1970s. It was just one of Australia’s assisted passage schemes of the post-war era. Most of the <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/1031461X.2018.1441608">1.5 million Britons</a> who came to Australia until 1981 were part of such a scheme. </p>
<p>Australia’s post-war migration program was driven by the imperative to “populate or perish”. The second world war had demonstrated Australia’s vulnerability to foreign invasion, and migrants were needed to fuel its burgeoning post-war industrial development and infrastructure projects.</p>
<p>But until the 1960s, the White Australia Policy was very much in place. Australia was still a British country and a proud member of the British Empire, with a preference <a href="https://www.homeaffairs.gov.au/about-us-subsite/files/immigration-history.pdf">for British migrants</a>.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-changing-face-of-australian-immigration-14984">The changing face of Australian immigration</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>A new life?</h2>
<p>Australia offered the Roberts family an opportunity to “work hard, prosper” and own their own home. But once they arrive in Australia, their dream of a new life is dealt a blow.</p>
<p>As assisted migrants, they are sent straight to a migrant hostel camp, where they will live while earning enough to pay their own way. Their dream of “white washed houses and huge gardens” dissipates as they take their first look at the “squalor” of the Nissen huts, outdoor communal showers and drop toilets. </p>
<p>“They lied to us,” says Annie.</p>
<p>Most assisted migrants who arrived by ship ended up <a href="https://able.adelaide.edu.au/humanities/hostel-stories/publications#hostel-stories">in these camps</a>, where they could stay while they looked for work and resettled. But those who had trouble finding work stayed for many months, if not years. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/525553/original/file-20230511-19-5gbe8f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Shocked faces." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/525553/original/file-20230511-19-5gbe8f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/525553/original/file-20230511-19-5gbe8f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=395&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/525553/original/file-20230511-19-5gbe8f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=395&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/525553/original/file-20230511-19-5gbe8f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=395&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/525553/original/file-20230511-19-5gbe8f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=497&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/525553/original/file-20230511-19-5gbe8f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=497&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/525553/original/file-20230511-19-5gbe8f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=497&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Instead of new houses and huge gardens, the migrants are sent to a hostel camp.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Stan</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Terry, a qualified builder, must take any work he is offered as long as no Australians want it. His first job is digging ditches for a gas pipeline.</p>
<p>At work, he is subject to name-calling, ostracism and the threat of violence.</p>
<p>Under the scheme, migrants were obligated to stay and work in Australia for at least two years to repay their subsidised travel. After this, <a href="https://search.informit.org/doi/abs/10.3316/informit.616634846242757">up to 25%</a> chose to return home.</p>
<p>The challenges faced by British migrants were shared by those from many other countries. These migrants were not only subject to the same <a href="https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/2867639">onerous visa conditions</a> and racist attitudes, but denied the privileges accorded the British: the right to vote, get an Australian passport, and receive social security benefits.</p>
<p>But in the series, these non-British migrants are used only as a backdrop. Their stories could have given us a much richer picture of hostel life. Instead they make only brief appearances, and even then, often as caricatures, such as the lazy and overly-emotional Italian, Maria (Sarah Furnari).</p>
<h2>An imperial past</h2>
<p>Ten Pound Poms is a pacy, character-driven story grounded in historical research. </p>
<p>The series is also very interested in examining the experiences of First Nations Peoples, which it does through war veteran Ron Mahoney (Rob Collins) and his community at an old mission station near the hostel.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/525552/original/file-20230511-17-5ofdrb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Rob Collins" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/525552/original/file-20230511-17-5ofdrb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/525552/original/file-20230511-17-5ofdrb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=283&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/525552/original/file-20230511-17-5ofdrb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=283&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/525552/original/file-20230511-17-5ofdrb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=283&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/525552/original/file-20230511-17-5ofdrb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=355&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/525552/original/file-20230511-17-5ofdrb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=355&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/525552/original/file-20230511-17-5ofdrb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=355&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The series also looks at First Nations experiences.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Stan</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>But Ten Pound Poms gives us an idealised portrayal of the migrants’ relationship with Ron and the other Aboriginal characters. While the local Australian characters exemplify the racist attitudes of white Australia, the Roberts family’s many interactions with Aboriginal people are entirely friendly and enlightened.</p>
<p>“They’re just people,” Annie tells Terry’s racist co-worker. “They were here long before you were.”</p>
<p>The series largely skips over Britain’s role in the history of colonisation.</p>
<p>Series writer, English screenwriter and playwright Danny Brocklehurst, <a href="https://www.pressparty.com/pg/newsdesk/BBC1/view/327973/">rightly points out</a> these migrant stories are an important aspect of Australia’s past that have received little attention. But equally important is that this remembering takes account of both Britain and Australia’s imperial past.</p>
<p>Despite these flaws, Ten Pound Poms has a cast of characters you’ll want to follow to the end. It will especially appeal to the many British migrants – both “back home” and in Australia – who will see their own family histories reflected in these characters.</p>
<p><em>Ten Pound Poms is on Stan and the BBC from Sunday.</em></p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/at-times-devastating-always-powerful-new-sbs-drama-safe-home-looks-at-domestic-violence-with-nuance-integrity-and-care-204910">At times devastating, always powerful: new SBS drama Safe Home looks at domestic violence with nuance, integrity and care</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/204764/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Carmel Pascale does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>This Australian/UK coproduction tells a story which has received too little attention – but it overlooks some of the more difficult parts of Australia’s migrant history.Carmel Pascale, Visiting Research Fellow, School of Humanities, University of AdelaideLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2049252023-05-10T12:23:48Z2023-05-10T12:23:48ZMedia freedom and democracy: Africans in four countries weigh up thorny questions about state control<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/524888/original/file-20230508-213756-p9hzmh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Democracy cannot survive without free media. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Getty Images </span></span></figcaption></figure><p>In July 2022, BBC Africa Eye released a documentary on gang activity in northwestern Nigeria. The programme, <a href="https://web.facebook.com/watch/?v=836558110682248">The Bandit Warlords of Zamfara</a>, examined the raids on villages, abductions and murders that have plagued swaths of the country. Notably, it included <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g-fPEHUqhyA">interviews</a> with so-called bandits, who described their violent actions and laid out their grievances.</p>
<p>The Nigerian government responded furiously to the documentary’s airing. The minister of information, Lai Mohamed, called it “<a href="https://www.premiumtimesng.com/news/top-news/545568-nigerian-govt-threatens-to-sanction-bbc-trust-tv-for-airing-interviews-with-terrorists.html?tztc=1">a naked glorification of terrorism and banditry</a>”. The <a href="https://web.facebook.com/nbcgovng/?_rdc=1&_rdr">National Broadcasting Commission</a>, which regulates broadcasting, said it “<a href="https://dailytrust.com/nbc-fines-multichoice-startimes-others-over-documentary-on-banditry/">undermines national security in Nigeria</a>”. </p>
<p>The commission slapped <a href="https://dailytrust.com/nbc-fines-multichoice-startimes-others-over-documentary-on-banditry/">fines</a> of ₦5 million (about US$11,922) each on MultiChoice Nigeria Limited, NTA-Startimes Limited and TelCom Satellite Limited Trust Television Network for airing the programme. </p>
<p>The documentary, and the Nigerian government’s response to it, sparked a fierce debate over the limits of media freedoms. Some justified the fines, saying the BBC’s reporting was “<a href="https://www.premiumtimesng.com/opinion/545399-the-bbc-in-nigeria-between-reporting-and-propagating-terror-by-kadaria-ahmed.html?tztc=1">becoming a tool for terrorists</a>”. Others condemned the reporting as “<a href="https://www.thisdaylive.com/index.php/2022/08/06/the-bandit-warlords-of-zamfara-2/">whitewashing</a>” reality to serve the government and as <a href="https://theconversation.com/no-justification-for-fines-imposed-on-nigerias-media-houses-over-bandits-documentary-188839">undercutting the public’s right to learn</a>.</p>
<p>The debate gets to the heart of a question facing all democracies: when, if ever, should the government impose limits on media? </p>
<p>In 2021, I joined a team of researchers from Afrobarometer on a <a href="https://www.afrobarometer.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/NED-Confronting-Threats-Report-Final-Submission-26june22.pdf">project</a> to understand how citizens think about media freedom. <a href="https://www.afrobarometer.org/">Afrobarometer</a> is an independent, pan-African research organisation dedicated to the study of public opinion. In over a year, we focused on four countries: Côte d’Ivoire, Kenya, Nigeria and Uganda. </p>
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<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/restricting-digital-media-is-a-gamble-for-african-leaders-159788">Restricting digital media is a gamble for African leaders</a>
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<p>We found that citizens in these countries cannot be simply characterised as either for or against media freedom. People who supported democracy were more supportive of protecting the media from government interference. But this group swung behind the need for censorship when it came to hate speech and false information.</p>
<h2>Thorny questions</h2>
<p>Thorny questions about media freedoms and democracy face other African countries too. On the one hand, empowering governments to limit media <a href="https://www.unesco.org/reports/world-media-trends/2021/en">might undermine fragile democracies</a> by allowing incumbents to squelch investigative reporting and opposition voices. </p>
<p>On the other hand, free media bring potential problems. These include <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/04/13/world/africa/russia-africa-disinformation.html">disinformation</a>, <a href="https://internews.org/story/hate-speech-heats-local-radio-kenya/">hate speech</a> and even calls to <a href="https://academic.oup.com/qje/article-abstract/129/4/1947/1853091">violence</a>.</p>
<p>Our project sought to provide insights into how people from various African countries weigh these potential reasons for and against limiting media freedom. Are citizens more supportive of limits to particular kinds of content than others? And how do characteristics of individuals, such as their support for democracy, shape their attitudes about media?</p>
<p>These questions are important in light of <a href="https://theconversation.com/fresh-vigilance-is-needed-to-protect-media-freedom-across-africa-121030">recent declines in support for media freedom across Africa</a>, even as <a href="https://www.journalofdemocracy.org/articles/the-squeeze-on-african-media-freedom/">attacks on those freedoms by governments increase</a>. For example, in 2022, dozens of journalists were arrested in <a href="https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2023/05/east-and-southern-africa-attacks-on-journalists-on-the-rise/">Ethiopia</a>, and more than 120 attacks on media houses and practitioners were documented in the <a href="https://jed-afrique.org/2022/11/01/rdc-situation-securitaire-alarmante-pour-les-journalistes-congolais/">Democratic Republic of Congo</a>. And new laws in countries like <a href="https://www.dw.com/en/tanzania-announces-new-tough-rules-for-foreign-media/a-54528870">Tanzania</a> target foreign and independent media, often in the name of addressing misinformation and divisive messages.</p>
<h2>Limiting freedoms to protect democracy?</h2>
<p>To answer our questions, we conducted interviews with experts on media, using nationally representative phone surveys and focus groups. We also analysed data from <a href="https://www.afrobarometer.org/survey-resource/merged-round-8-data-34-countries-2022/">nationally representative surveys</a> Afrobarometer conducted in the four counties in 2019 and 2020.</p>
<p>Attitudes about democracy affected how citizens felt about the media. Those who thought positively about democracy and rejected non-democratic alternatives were more likely to agree with the statement:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>The media should have the right to publish any views and ideas without government control.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Democracy sceptics were more likely to agree with the alternate statement:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>The government should have the right to prevent the media from publishing things that it disapproves of.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>We delved deeper by providing different types of potentially problematic media content and measuring support for government censorship of each one. </p>
<p>Those who supported democracy were more likely to oppose the censorship of messages that a government disapproved of. In other words, supporting democracy again meant supporting media’s rights to share content that might upset those in power.</p>
<p>However, we found very different results when it came to two other kinds of content: hate speech and false information. </p>
<p>In these cases, people who were the most committed to democracy were the most likely to support censorship. Supporting democracy meant supporting restrictions on what the media could say.</p>
<h2>Justifying censorship for democratic ends</h2>
<p>We normally associate censorship with authoritarianism. What then explains why people who were most supportive of democracy were also most supportive of certain kinds of censorship? </p>
<p>We posit that Africans in the countries we studied actually found limiting certain content as necessary for defending democracy. Sixty per cent of our phone survey respondents told us that media spread too much hate speech. Such language can harm the public good by generating violence and disorder. But it can also lead to discrimination and other violations of individual rights central to democracy. </p>
<p>As one focus group participant in Lagos told us:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>The pen is created for writing. But I can also use it to stab somebody. So, if it is misused, it becomes bad.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Our study participants had similar concerns about false information. Just over 60% called it a problem. As a Ugandan from Rwampara district told us, media nowadays are </p>
<blockquote>
<p>all about the business, so much so that they have been known to report un-researched facts, and in other cases lied outright.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Democracy requires an informed citizenry, which false information undercuts. It is easy to see how many committed democrats might see censorship as a necessary step. </p>
<h2>Complicated paths forward</h2>
<p>Many of our study participants did see the dangers of empowering governments to censor media. Most who supported democracy erred on the side of supporting media’s right to produce content without serious limits. As a Kenyan participant put it:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>If we are not careful about this, the steady erosion of media freedoms will continue and will end up in a bad place.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>It is clear to most that democracy cannot survive without free media. The challenge is that, in many citizens’ eyes, democracy cannot survive with it, either. Finding the right balance between freedom and limits remains one of the greatest challenges modern democracies face.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/204925/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jeffrey Conroy-Krutz received funding from the National Endowment for Democracy for this research.</span></em></p>Finding the right balance between media freedom and limits remains one of the greatest challenges modern democracies face.Jeffrey Conroy-Krutz, Associate Professor of Political Science, Michigan State UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2041732023-04-26T16:29:19Z2023-04-26T16:29:19ZKing Charles coronation: what impartial broadcast coverage of the event would look like<p>King Charles III’s coronation will be broadcast to millions of people around the world. Many of those viewers will be watching on the BBC, whose impartiality when it comes to the monarchy has <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/media/2023/apr/17/bbc-accused-of-lacking-impartiality-in-royal-coverage">come under question</a>. </p>
<p>The campaign group Republic recently sent a <a href="https://twitter.com/RepublicStaff/status/1647847609258717190">letter</a> to the public broadcaster stating that the BBC “not only fails to be impartial, but makes no attempt to be impartial or balanced and, most shockingly, openly colludes with the palace in its coverage”.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1647847609258717190"}"></div></p>
<p>Broadcasters have long <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/1464884918807036">been criticised</a> about their coverage of politics and public affairs. Unlike newspapers, online news and social media, broadcasters are regulated by Ofcom and have to abide by rules on impartiality.</p>
<p>Ofcom’s <a href="https://www.ofcom.org.uk/tv-radio-and-on-demand/broadcast-codes/broadcast-code/section-five-due-impartiality-accuracy">code</a> asks broadcasters to follow “due impartiality” guidelines. Being impartial means not favouring one side over another. But, as my research has <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/1464884916685909">shown</a>, the “due” gives broadcasters plenty of leeway in how they construct impartiality and select competing perspectives.</p>
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<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/518785/original/file-20230331-28-8u26d4.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/518785/original/file-20230331-28-8u26d4.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/518785/original/file-20230331-28-8u26d4.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/518785/original/file-20230331-28-8u26d4.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/518785/original/file-20230331-28-8u26d4.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/518785/original/file-20230331-28-8u26d4.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/518785/original/file-20230331-28-8u26d4.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
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<p><em>This piece is part of our coverage of <a href="https://theconversation.com/topics/coronation-of-king-charles-iii-134594?utm_source=TCUK&utm_medium=linkback&utm_campaign=Coronation2023&utm_content=InArticleTop">King Charles III’s coronation</a>. The first coronation of a British monarch since 1953 comes at a time of reckoning for the monarchy, the royal family and the Commonwealth.</em></p>
<p><em>For more royal analysis, revisit our coverage of Queen Elizabeth II’s <a href="https://theconversation.com/topics/platinum-jubilee-116056?utm_source=TCUK&utm_medium=linkback&utm_campaign=Coronation2023&utm_content=InArticleTop">Platinum jubilee</a>, and her <a href="https://theconversation.com/topics/death-of-queen-elizabeth-ii-126761?utm_source=TCUK&utm_medium=linkback&utm_campaign=Coronation2023&utm_content=InArticleTop">death in September 2022</a>.</em></p>
<hr>
<p>Ofcom’s guidance emphasises broadcasters’ rights of freedom of expression. But it <a href="https://www.ofcom.org.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0033/99177/broadcast-code-guidance-section-5-march-2017.pdf">asks</a> for news items to “take account of all relevant facts, including the nature of the coverage and whether there are varying viewpoints on a particular item”. </p>
<p>The regulator also <a href="https://www.ofcom.org.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0033/99177/broadcast-code-guidance-section-5-march-2017.pdf">points out</a> that any topic – not just political controversy or public policy – is potentially subject to impartiality.</p>
<h2>Covering the crown</h2>
<p>The BBC <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/media/2023/apr/17/bbc-accused-of-lacking-impartiality-in-royal-coverage">claims to report impartially</a> on the royal family. Over recent years, there have been times when broadcasters have reported critically on royal figures. </p>
<p>The now-infamous Newsnight interview, where Prince Andrew <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-50449339">discussed</a> his alleged sexual exploits, lavish lifestyle and friendship with sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, was <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-50451953">widely reported</a> by broadcasters, as was his subsequent <a href="https://www.itv.com/news/2019-11-22/prince-andrew-forced-to-sack-most-senior-member-of-staff-after-withdrawal-from-public-duties">withdrawal</a> from public life.</p>
<p>In a Netflix series, Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, <a href="https://edition.cnn.com/2021/03/09/uk/meghan-racism-uk-reaction-gbr-intl/index.html">reflected</a> on her experiences of racism inside Buckingham Palace. While Netflix is not subject to Ofcom regulation, many broadcasters followed up on the interviews. </p>
<p>Some, including the BBC, <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-56326807">reported</a> on Prince Harry’s suggestion that an “invisible contract” existed between the royal family and reporters. This gave <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/17499755221092810">credence</a> to claims that journalists trade inside access for less serious scrutiny of the monarchy. </p>
<p>The BBC has also faced criticism from viewers who see the broadcaster as not being appropriately respectful in royal coverage. A notable example was the <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/media/2002/apr/08/broadcasting.queenmother">controversy</a> over newscaster Peter Sisson’s burgundy tie when he announced the queen mother’s death in 2002. When BBC news anchor, Huw Edwards, announced the passing of Queen Elizabeth II in 2022, he was <a href="https://inews.co.uk/news/huw-edwards-bbc-reacted-death-queen-clive-myrie-1844319">praised</a> for his sombre and emotional demeanour – while wearing all black attire. </p>
<p>When broadcasters reported the queen’s funeral, a sombre tone of public mourning <a href="https://fortune.com/2022/09/19/queen-elizabeth-ii-funeral-media-coverage-broadcaster-huge-audience/">shaped</a> coverage. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A woman lays a bouquet into a pile of flowers outside of Buckingham Palace" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/522676/original/file-20230424-20-xw5dl3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/522676/original/file-20230424-20-xw5dl3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/522676/original/file-20230424-20-xw5dl3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/522676/original/file-20230424-20-xw5dl3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/522676/original/file-20230424-20-xw5dl3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/522676/original/file-20230424-20-xw5dl3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/522676/original/file-20230424-20-xw5dl3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A national mood.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/windsor-uk-september-15-2022-womans-2204600993">Henk Vrieselaar/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>This <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-62964166">“national mood”</a> was represented in interviews with <a href="https://www.itv.com/news/2022-09-19/how-the-nation-mourned-the-queen-as-they-bid-her-a-final-farewell">members of the public</a> paying testament to the queen’s long reign and praising the monarchy more generally. </p>
<p>But while broadcasters understandably adopted a respectful tone about the royalty during the queen’s funeral, how accurately does this represent public opinion about the monarchy?</p>
<p>In 1994 the British Social Attitudes (BSA) survey <a href="https://natcen.ac.uk/news/british-social-attitudes-monarchy">revealed</a> that two-thirds of the public – 67% on average – agreed “it is important for Britain to continue to have a monarchy”. By 2021, this slipped to 55% – the lowest score on record – with one-quarter <a href="https://natcen.ac.uk/news/british-social-attitudes-monarchy">believing</a> either the monarchy was “not at all important” or that it should be abolished. </p>
<p>Far fewer younger people considered the monarchy to be very important, but the <a href="https://natcen.ac.uk/news/british-social-attitudes-monarchy">BSA</a> survey suggests that support tends to grow as people age. </p>
<p>A <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-65326467">new YouGov poll</a> commissioned by the BBC has assessed public perception of the monarchy in the weeks before the coronation. While showing broad support for the monarchy, it also revealed the youngest age group favour replacing the monarchy with an elected head of state. This reinforces a <a href="https://twitter.com/YouGov/status/1395677899987079169?s=20">similar poll</a> taken by YouGov in 2021. </p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/queen-elizabeth-ii-the-politics-of-national-mourning-left-no-space-for-dissenting-voices-190591">Queen Elizabeth II: the politics of national mourning left no space for dissenting voices</a>
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<h2>Impartial coronation coverage</h2>
<p>In day-to-day reporting, my <a href="https://www.ofcom.org.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0019/174205/bbc-news-review-content-analysis-full-report.pdf">studies</a> of television news have shown the monarchy do not typically make up much coverage. Beyond dramatic scandals involving royal figures, it tends to be the pomp and ceremony of major events, such as the late queen’s death and funeral, that pushes the monarchy up the news agenda.</p>
<p>When focused on these events, broadcast coverage can often imply that the UK is united behind the monarchy – but the evidence suggests this is not a full picture of public opinion. Many people hold republican perspectives, and a significant minority of the public hold critical viewpoints about the monarchy. </p>
<p>But based on the special programming broadcasters have announced they intend to air during the coronation, it does not look likely that these perspectives will be prominently reflected.</p>
<p>The <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/mediacentre/2023/bbc-coronation-of-his-majesty-the-king-and-her-majesty-the-queen-consort">schedules</a> of the <a href="https://www.telegraph.co.uk/tv/2023/04/24/king-charles-iii-tv-channel-watch-live-bbc-uk-us/">major broadcasters</a> will largely follow royal events and ceremonies. Only Channel 4 appears to include <a href="https://www.channel4.com/press/news/channel-4-mark-coronation-altogether-different-royal-programming">programming</a> that raises <a href="https://time.com/6272423/uk-coronation-channel-4-alternative-coverage/">critical</a> questions about the UK’s constitutional arrangements. </p>
<p>The comedian Frankie Boyle will consider whether the monarchy is out of touch in modern Britain, while the journalist Emily Maitlis will reflect on that controversial 2019 interview with Prince Andrew that had devastating implications for the royal family. </p>
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<p>Should other broadcasters be following Channel 4’s lead? Ofcom’s rules on impartiality <a href="https://www.ofcom.org.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0033/99177/broadcast-code-guidance-section-5-march-2017.pdf">ask for</a> “varying viewpoints on a particular item”. Whether in routine news reporting or in one-off programming about the royalty, broadcasters could do more to reflect the public’s perspectives.</p>
<p>In practice, royal correspondents could adopt a more critical and detached standpoint by challenging rather than largely accepting perspectives they source from Buckingham Palace. Meanwhile, <a href="https://www.theweek.co.uk/royal-family/957673/pros-and-cons-of-the-monarchy">debates</a> about the pros and cons of a constitutional monarchy could be a more regular part of coverage. News bulletins, for example, could feature interviews with the public that include republican as well as royalist voices. </p>
<p>An impartial approach to covering the coronation would include broadcasters not only reporting the pomp, circumstance and bank holiday celebrations – it would also feature perspectives that question the existence and role of the monarchy.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/204173/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Stephen Cushion has received funding from the BBC Trust, Ofcom, AHRC, BA and ESRC.</span></em></p>Ofcom guidelines ask broadcasters to use ‘due impartiality’ in reporting.Stephen Cushion, Chair Professor, Cardiff School of Journalism, Media and Culture, Cardiff UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2044282023-04-26T14:31:11Z2023-04-26T14:31:11ZLen Goodman: how the late Strictly Come Dancing star revived the nation’s love of ballroom<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/522651/original/file-20230424-25-j2aklw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=515%2C81%2C2479%2C1985&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Len Goodman on the red carpet for Strictly Come Dancing in 2013. </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/len-goodman-arriving-strictly-come-dancing-153582521">Featureflash Photo Agency/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>With the news of <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-65373373">Len Goodman’s death</a> at age 78, ballroom dancing has lost one of its greatest advocates. But Goodman has left a lasting legacy, spearheading an unlikely revival of the ballroom scene he loved.</p>
<p>As head judge on <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b006m8dq">Strictly Come Dancing</a> from 2004 to 2016, Goodman brought a no nonsense honesty to his role, as well as his wealth of expertise. The sparkle, camp and glam of the days of the BBC’s original dance show, <a href="https://www.bbc.com/historyofthebbc/anniversaries/september/come-dancing/">Come Dancing</a>, was rekindled in his cheeky quips and cheesy one liners – part of its familiar, broad appeal.</p>
<p>For children of the 1970s like me, early memories of ballroom dancing probably came from late night screenings of Come Dancing, the amateur dance contest that inspired Strictly. </p>
<p>In the days before 24-hour broadcasting, in the hazy excitement of staying up later than I should have, I can recall flicking through the channels (all three of them) and stumbling across the curious world of the ballroom.</p>
<p>Almost voyeur-like, I’d entered a world seemingly preserved in <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/aspic">aspic</a> – another 1970s favourite. Sequins, frills, shiny hair, patent leather, an overabundance of makeup, tight trousers and a lot of “cha cha chaa”. All fronted by Angela Rippon, whose restrained received pronunciation seemed at odds with this brashness. </p>
<p>What I didn’t realise at the time, was that I was observing a cultural pursuit that was at a nadir in terms of both its popularity and public perception. Although Come Dancing was to stumble on for another decade or so, ballroom dancing looked like it was finished.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/how-strictly-is-challenging-the-way-people-think-about-dance-192357">How Strictly is challenging the way people think about dance</a>
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<p>Sure, it had thousands of devotees who competed regularly in town halls and the ever-shrinking number of ballrooms dotted around the country, but its golden age seemed to have gone forever. And boy had ballroom had a golden age!</p>
<h2>How ballroom shaped Britain</h2>
<p>Ballroom dancing was one of the most important <a href="https://global.oup.com/academic/product/going-to-the-palais-9780199605194?cc=gb&lang=en&">social and cultural features of 20th century Britain</a>. While a distinction was to grow between “ballroom dancing” of the type featured on Come Dancing (competitive, semi-professional) and the “social dancing” enjoyed by millions in the dance halls of the country, they both drew from the same cultural roots.</p>
<p>First codified by dance teachers in Britain in the 1920s, the foxtrot, waltz, quickstep and others were later joined by the jive and the twist. In between, fashionable interlopers such as the Charleston, the Big Apple and the jitterbug briefly pushed their way onto the dance floor.</p>
<p>A vast industry grew up to cater for the demand of Britons to dance, as chains of dance halls sprang up in every town and city in the land. Led by groups such as Mecca (latterly of bingo fame), they were catering for the needs of a working- and lower middle-class population with more time and money than ever before and in need of letting their hair down.</p>
<p>In 1950, <a href="https://risweb.st-andrews.ac.uk/portal/en/researchoutput/going-to-the-palais(b53e9ddf-6d5c-44a0-9129-9b885c484724).html">the Daily Mirror estimated</a> that over 70% of people met their future husbands or wives while dancing – my own parents among them. Romantic music, close embraces and dim lighting made the ballroom the place to meet. </p>
<p><a href="https://risweb.st-andrews.ac.uk/portal/en/researchoutput/going-to-the-palais(b53e9ddf-6d5c-44a0-9129-9b885c484724).html">By 1959</a>, 5 million people went dancing every week, in over 3,000 venues. But it was more than just dancing they offered. They served a variety of important social functions.</p>
<p>For women, as my mother attested, dancing was particularly important. Offering a form of peer group independence, it was an important form of exercise, allowed interaction with boys from an early age and entry into the “public sphere”. All that in a venue that was safe and where they were usually better skilled than <a href="https://risweb.st-andrews.ac.uk/portal/en/researchoutput/we-do-not-want-fairies-in-the-ballroom(cc1dd687-05dd-436b-a294-5ce3fa9981d8).html">their male counterparts</a>.</p>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">Goodman dancing in 1971.</span></figcaption>
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<p>Learning to dance was a key part of the younger generation’s transition to adulthood and the dance hall offered them a place to experiment with their appearance, identity and friendships. </p>
<p>As Britain grew more racially diverse – particularly from the 1950s onwards – the dance hall was one of the first and most important venues where people of different races came into close contact with one another, with their shared love of dancing. </p>
<p><a href="https://risweb.st-andrews.ac.uk/portal/en/researchoutput/worlds-of-social-dancing(35373051-9853-4ccf-8114-935515acb3d3).html">From the 1920s</a> to the mid 1960s, dancing was central to the nation’s social and cultural history – Britons were dancing mad.</p>
<h2>Len Goodman’s influence</h2>
<p>Len Goodman was one such dance-mad Brit. Born working class in Bethnal Green, London in 1944, he came to dancing relatively late at 19. He soon made up for this though and by his twenties he was winning dancing competitions up and down the country.</p>
<p>He went on to have <a href="https://metro.co.uk/2023/04/24/strictly-come-dancings-len-goodmans-unlikely-but-glittering-career-18662301/">a stellar competitive dancing career</a>. For most of us though, it took the arrival of the BBC’s Strictly Come Dancing in 2004 for Goodman to come to our attention. Adding a touch of irony to the highly codified world of ballroom, the programme has revitalised interest in this kind of dancing.</p>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">Len Goodman’s final episode of Strictly’s American counterpart, Dancing With the Stars.</span></figcaption>
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<p>With its combination of high camp, competitiveness, sexy professionals, hapless celebs, pantomime goodie and baddie judges and good old fashioned music and dance spun for the contemporary audience, it has been a remarkable hit. At its height it has attracted audiences of over <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-59719398">11 million</a>. Moreover, it has driven a revival of interest in ballroom dancing that rescued it from oblivion.</p>
<p>Goodman made several television programmes on the <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2601434/">history of dancing</a> and published several <a href="https://www.penguin.co.uk/authors/220969/len-goodman">books on the topic</a> – all reflective of the newfound interest in ballroom. </p>
<p>Perhaps the best way to honour Goodman’s memory would be to reopen dance hall venues across the country, complete with live music, mirror balls and sprung dance floors. In an increasingly isolated society, the revival of such a rich social world would certainly get a “ten from Len” (and from me).</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/204428/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>James Nott does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The sparkle, camp and glam of ballroom days gone by was rekindled in Goodman’s cheeky quips and cheesy one-liners.James Nott, Lecturer, School of History, University of St AndrewsLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2042012023-04-21T12:02:47Z2023-04-21T12:02:47ZTwitter drops ‘government-funded’ label for media organisations – here’s what it should use instead<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/522152/original/file-20230420-18-jkcnd1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=134%2C42%2C4570%2C3080&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/professional-microphone-radio-station-studio-on-1932559997">Andrei_Diachenko/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>After objections from a number of major media organisations, <a href="https://www.reuters.com/technology/twitter-removes-state-affiliated-media-tags-some-accounts-2023-04-21/">Twitter appears to have dropped</a> its media account labels. The labels drove <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/canada-public-broadcaster-joins-npr-in-quitting-twitter-over-label-uproar-db812525">at least two</a> media organisations from the platform, and enraged followers <a href="https://techcrunch.com/2023/04/17/twitter-adds-more-government-funded-labels-to-global-news-outlets">of many others</a>. </p>
<p>The BBC <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-65226481">pushed back</a> against its initial designation of “government-funded media”. This was highly misleading given that the BBC is funded primarily through licence fees paid directly by the public.</p>
<p>“Our goal is simply to be as truthful and accurate as possible. We’re adjusting the label to be ‘publicly-funded’, which I think is perhaps not too objectionable,” Twitter CEO Elon Musk told the BBC <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jlCKYTm4jGc">in an interview</a>.</p>
<p>US public radio station NPR was the first to stop tweeting after being labelled “government-funded”. More than 99% of its funds do not come from federal sources, and it retains editorial independence from the US government. Even this label was a step down by Twitter, which had first assigned it “state-affiliated”. Canada’s CBC followed a week later. </p>
<p>All of these designations risk muddling the already misunderstood world of media funding. But Twitter doesn’t need to concoct a new label. There is already a term that exists to describe these organisations: public service media.</p>
<p>Twitter’s use of designations fundamentally misunderstands how public service media is funded and operates. And, as global association the Public Service Media Alliance has <a href="https://www.publicmediaalliance.org/pma-calls-for-nprs-state-affiliated-designation-to-be-revoked">pointed out</a>, at a time of heightened disinformation it risks turning people away from accurate, reliable and trustworthy sources of information.</p>
<p>Public service media has its origins in the UK in the 1920s. Recognising the power in the ability to communicate simultaneously with millions of people across large geographic areas, the BBC was established as a public service broadcaster to ensure that no single government had the ability to wield that power. </p>
<p>Funding was essential to this model. The licence fee introduced in the 1920s was designed to limit the government’s ability to control the BBC by interfering with its funding. It also instilled the ethos of the BBC as an organisation funded and owned by the people of the UK, not the state. </p>
<p>Crucially, with public funding also comes regulation. Remits and laws set out the responsibilities of public service media organisations and hold them accountable to independent regulatory bodies (Ofcom in the UK). Although funding public service media directly from taxation can open the doors to government interference, independence can be secured through robust legislation and a <a href="https://www.publicmediaalliance.org/resources/psm-funding-models">strong, independent regulator</a>.</p>
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<h2>The danger of mislabelling</h2>
<p>The danger of Twitter’s mislabelling of public service media as government-funded or state-affiliated is that it blurs the boundaries between media services that are owned and run by the state, and those that are independent from state control. </p>
<p>This is already a misunderstood subject. In my team at the University of Huddersfield’s <a href="https://research.hud.ac.uk/institutes-centres/cpc/ourprojects/routes/#:%7E:text=Routes%20to%20Content%20addresses%20the,connected%20and%20on%2Ddemand%20viewing.">research with UK audiences</a>, we found significant variety in people’s understanding of public service media. Some believed that the BBC was funded by government, others that the UK didn’t have a public service media system at all. Public service media organisations that are state-funded are likely to be <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/333247527_Public_Service_Media_in_Europe_Exploring_the_Relationship_between_Funding_and_Audience_Performance">less trusted and seen as less independent</a>.</p>
<p>It also leaves the door open for confusion between state-funded public service media – legislated to be independent from government – and state-run media. These organisations, such as the China Media Group and Russia Today, act as mouthpieces for the government itself. Labelling independent public service media organisations as government-funded could confirm misguided assumptions that government funding = government control.</p>
<p>Partly because of the remit for independent and accurate news, strong public service media leads to <a href="https://www.ebu.ch/publications/research/login_only/infographic/the-value-of-psm">stronger democracies</a>. Research <a href="https://reutersinstitute.politics.ox.ac.uk/sites/default/files/research/files/Analysis%2520of%2520the%2520Relation%2520Between%2520and%2520Impact%2520of%2520Public%2520Service%2520Media%2520and%2520Private%2520Media.pdf">indicates</a> that public service media have a net positive impact on levels of political knowledge and may increase political participation.</p>
<h2>Public service, government influence?</h2>
<p>In reality, however, the role of public service media is becoming murkier in the UK. While legislation instils the importance of the BBC’s independence, in effect this is undermined by the fact that the government appoints the BBC’s chair, makes appointments to its board, and determines the level and nature of its funding.</p>
<p>The current chairman, Richard Sharp, is <a href="https://www.ft.com/content/d2ee7d01-0fe4-48f9-b134-993395a1c5d2">under investigation</a> for failing to divulge his role in facilitating a loan for the former prime minister, Boris Johnson. </p>
<p>The UK government can also exert control over the BBC because it sets the terms and amount of the licence fee. There have been <a href="https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/medialse/2022/02/11/time-for-fresh-and-radical-thinking-on-the-licence-fee/#:%7E:text=The%20government's%20announcement%20for%20BBC,2024%20to%2031%20March%202028">significant cuts</a> over the past decade, and more recently, rumours about <a href="https://inews.co.uk/news/media/bbc-licence-fee-will-be-axed-and-replaced-by-government-grant-and-subscription-john-whittingdale-predicts-1371762">removing the licence fee</a> and replacing it with a subscription model. This would fundamentally undermine that key tenet of public service media being owned by and serving the whole nation. </p>
<p>In this regard, Elon Musk is right. It does matter how the media is funded, and government influence over media funding (whether state controlled or public service) can undermine independence and trust. </p>
<p>Mislabelling public service media organisations will not help this situation. Greater independence from government control over funding for public service media would. A good start in the UK would be to follow the <a href="https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/medialse/2015/07/15/lessons-from-germany-for-the-bbc/">German model</a> where an independent body is responsible for setting the terms of funding, much as already exists in the UK in relation to MPs’ pay. </p>
<p>This debacle also raises uncomfortable questions about the significant power Musk is able to wield through his ownership of Twitter. Whether that is in reportedly being able to control how visible and prominent <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2023/2/14/23600358/elon-musk-tweets-algorithm-changes-twitter">his own tweets are</a>, to setting the terms by which media organisations are understood by the public.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/204201/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Catherine Johnson receives funding from UKRI and the European Union's Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Programme. She is a member of the Department for Culture, Media and Sport's (DCMS) College of Experts. </span></em></p>Calling media organisations ‘government-funded’ risks turning people away from reliable sources of information.Catherine Johnson, Professor in Media and Communication, University of HuddersfieldLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.