September 2015 Newsletter
Welcome to IBT’s September newsletter with a brief update on our work and relevant news from the media industry. (Print this Newsletter)
Reflecting a Changing World?
Today we publish a new research report Reflecting a Changing World?which looks at how UK television covers global stories and issues. This is the latest instalment of a unique study which we have been undertaking since 1989. It examines in detail how much non-news international content there is on which channels, covering what topics, through which genres, in what countries and how this has changed over time. Our hope is that this provides the basis for an informed debate about the contribution such content makes to our understanding of the wider world. The latest findings also underline the important role of BBC television and provides us with an evidence base for our lobbying over the new BBC Charter. The channel with the most international content is BBC2. The report can be downloaded from the IBT website
http://www.ibt.org.uk/reports/reflecting-a-changing-world/
Next briefing will be with Sky News
Our next briefing will take place later this month with Kate Sullivan from Sky News. There have been many changes at Sky in recent months, which has been restructuring its news operation around story teams rather than time slots. It has merged TV and online so that one person is in charge of a story across all platforms. Kate is an output editor and she will talk us through these changes and the best way to pitch to Sky. She has worked extensively on Sky online so she will explain how that works. The event is free and open to all IBT members. It will take place from 10-11.30am on Wednesday September 30th at the IBT offices in Southwark. If you’d like to attend, please register via the members’ page of the IBT website.
Annual IBT dinner for CEOs of our member organisations
Our annual dinner for CEOs will take place later this month and the guest speaker will be James Harding, Director of News at the BBC. We’re delighted that he will be joined by Tulip Mazumdar, the BBC’s global health correspondent. This is, of course, a crucial time for the future of BBC News. Many of the BBC’s latest proposals, in response to Charter renewal, include changes to its news operation – the introduction of a streaming news service; hiring 100 regional reporters who will share their content with local newspapers; expansion of the World Service to include new services for Ethiopia, Eritrea and North Korea, and an expansion to its Middle East service. It promises to be a fascinating evening. Most CEOs have already confirmed whether or not they are coming to the dinner but if you have any queries regarding the event do get in touch. A full briefing for those attending will be sent out later this week.
The new BBC Charter
The BBC has now responded to the Government’s Green Paper and has begun to flesh out its vision for how the corporation will evolve in the coming years. There is a strong emphasis on openness and partnership, and responding to technological changes. The latest proposals include a new children’s service called iPlay, and a partnership to create an Ideas Service which will bring together what the BBC does across arts, culture, science, history and ideas and add to it work done by other arts, cultural and educational institutions. What the BBC has not yet made clear is where cuts will take place. There has been much talk of the axe falling on BBC4, the BBC News Channel and some children’s services. We will continue our lobbying effort to ensure that international content is not an area that is cut back any further. If you’d like to lend your support to our lobbying efforts please get in touch with Sophie Chalk, IBT’s Head of Campaigns, who is leading on this sophie.chalk@btinternet.com
You can also read Sophie’s blog, about why we need the BBC, on the Bond website
https://www.bond.org.uk/news/2015/08/bbc-and-international-understanding
Best wishes
Mark
