While post-modern lefties and ultra-nationalists tend to regard each other as polar opposites they are, in fact, afflicted with an identical inability to see non-white people as actual human beings. In the case of the latter they are an amorphous bloc of exotic invaders to be feared and in the case of the former they are an amorphous bloc of exotic clients to be fawned over.
It is precisely this fawning tendency that informs organisations such as the BBC and it results in painfully facile attempts to ‘attract more viewers from ethnic minorities’; as if this outcome is dependent on doing something other than simply making good TV shows.
However, I am pleased to note that this drive to establish a TV Ghetto appears to have fallen flat on its face:
The BBC’s attempts to attract more viewers and listeners from ethnic minorities have been “disappointing” with audiences actually falling, the corporation’s governors admitted today.
Despite the launch of two new national digital radio stations aimed at ethnic minorities and increased representation on mainstream TV and radio, there was “little evidence” the drive has worked at all, the governors concluded in the BBC annual report for 2002-2003.
Good. I was tempted to add something along the lines of a hope that the BBC producers have learned a lesson but they probably haven’t. Since their revenue is guaranteed by the taxpayer they are immune from the harsh market discipline that other broadcasters have to endure when their audiences plummet. In fact, they may even conclude that the audience decline stems from a failure to pursue ‘ethnic minorities’ with sufficient zeal.
I have not seen any of the shows supposedly aimed at ‘ethnics’ but I am willing to wager that they were uniformly dreadful. No wonder viewers of all races are staying away in droves. People, whatever their racial origin, watch television to be entertained not patronised and humiliated.
No one I know in the asian community watches the BBC’s ethnic programming, with the exception of The Kumars.
Anyone who is interested in Indian culture etc subscribes to one of the numerous digital channels such as Star TV, B4U etc.
Personally I think they are on the whole complete rubbish but they have found the market & attacked it successfully.
Difficult ground this, but “patronised & humiliated” is to some extent what I & others feel about the “increased representation on mainstream TV & radio” – because the latter is a BBC euphemism for packing its programmes with an unrepresentative proportion of ethnic-minority – no, bugger the polite dinner table stuff, I mean black – people.
One’s own personal views apart – and I struggle against a very traditional upbringing to remind myself that England is inherently a racially diverse country in terms of its culture and language -anyone familiar with either the UK or USA knows that there is a profound difference between the actual relationship between the races, and that relationship as represented by the news & entertainment media. Watch either Casualty or ER, and you’re watching propaganda pure & simple. I dislike this on first principles: the BBC uses our money to purvey a vision of society that it thinks we ought to believe is true – but which isn’t. This goes beyond the idealised, romanticised but internalised world of fiction-making, to pushing a “correct” view to which it is supposed we should all adhere. I doubt if many here watch much children’s TV, but if you do, check the number of black & Asian show presenters: of course I would not suggest this should match their numbers in the population, but my point is their prominence is out of all proportion, and it must be deliberate. For example, in Germany similar children’s programming (and the Germans are pretty relentlessly PC themselves) has fewer black or Asian presenters.
Hey, coming back to ER, think about how the irascible Dr Benton has been replaced by the equally spiky (but different) black Dr Pratt, and how the latter is used to convey extraordinarily blatant little agit-prop lessons with, for example, the racist white cop…
In my bitter experience across 35 years working in the press, chasing non-existent audience niches and the subsequent worsening of circulation/audience is largely to be blamed on marketing people, who should not be allowed within miles of any actual media enterprise that depends on people perusing its actual “products”.
It might just be possible that the “ethnic” minorities belong to cultures that just happen to produce good childrens presenters, actors or whatever. Their racial background should be irrelevant, the only question is; “are they good at their job?”. Only if the answer is no would you have a case for accusing anyone of pushing an agenda.
US terrestrial channels such as UPN and WB have gone out of their way in the last few years to court a black audience, launching a number of sitcoms-of-color, several of which have been quite successful.
Too successful, in fact. It has dawned on ‘leadership’ (another rant for another day: where does special interest group leadership come from, and says who?) that Americans of color already watch a disproportionate amount of television, and enticing them to watch more is probably not in their best interest.
Too few people of color, too many…it’s a plot, I tell you!
A.Massey, absolutely agree with your second point about skin colour not mattering. My point, however, is that knowing the BBC and its PC agenda as we do, and tending not to accept your shaky proposition that some of the “ethnic minority” children’s TV presenters might come from exceptionally child-friendly cultures, there remains a deep suspicion that the BBC is just propagandising. “We know that black people represent only 7% (or whatever) of the population but we’re going to have a lot more than that presenting our kids’ shows because the audience MUST get used to seeing them in positions of influence & authority, and we know this is the PC, er, the RIGHT thing to do because all our friends at New Labour and The Guardian tell us so at their dinner parties.” Just have the right people for the job? Sure, suits me fine – but things don’t work like that.
Tony H, dosn’t “innocent until proven guilty” apply to corporations? Even ones as tarnished as the BBC? Unless someone steps forward and claims that they didn’t get a job because of the colour of their skin, or someone involved with recruiting owns up, we’ve got nothing on them.
We are as guilty as the left wing if we start complaining about unfair “equality of outcome”, without actual evidence of unfair “equality of opportunity”.
I don’t understand you, A.Massey: are you saying one should not speculate about agendas & motivations based upon known tendencies? Keep schtumm until somebody brings a court case? Very tolerant of you, but unlikely to encourage freedom of thought. Perhaps you work for the BBC – ?
Rajesh makes an interesting point. The BBC is trying to widen its audience and its noticeable to me (I only get the international news feed BBCWorld) that in doing so they are losing their traditional audience to the many new channels available and the Internet (where I get my news on-demand).
I think its time to privatize whatever bits have commercial value and shutdown the rest. The BBC’s time has passed. Lets give it a decent burial.
Speculation is fine, accusation is too far. You said;
“…but my point is their prominence is out of all proportion, and it must be deliberate.”
IMHO you would be on firm ground if you said something like; “…and if it turns out to be deliberate, they should be hung, drawn and quartered like the racist SOBs that they are.”, but you are wrong to assume that it MUST be deliberate. Inequality of outcome is NOT proof of inequality of opportunity, unless all the job applications they receive are known to be equal.
hmm… bees in bonnets…. aside from one kids’ tv presenter muppet not getting a job (oh boo hoo… now there’s a significant problem), what the hell ‘social engineering’ are you complaining about? that the poor white kids might *gasp* grow up more tolerant of black people? that black kids might take some inspiration from seeing successful people of the same colour? There’s maybe an agenda, maybe not, but either way it’s not a very sinister one, & doesn’t have terrible implications for many people’s employability.
A.Massey – minor semantic tinkering suggestion noted, thanks. And you’re insufficiently sceptical of the BBC.
A_t – I’d complain about any kind of social engineering, but especially about such a stupid, egregious example. No harm done? You’re too tolerant. Why should my kid be mystified as to why children’s TV should be populated by all these black people? In the rural Westcountry he hardly sees a black face, and to suggest that this sort of thng might make him “more tolerant” of other races is absurd. I mean, you APPROVE of this sort of crass manipulation? Christ… Yours in sorrow from super-PC Germany…
Mr Massey,
Television is a wholly designed medium. It begins with the classic blank sheet of paper – a basic notion that has to be fleshed out in every detail. Everything that follows – everything on screen – is planned, written, rehearsed and shot with the maximum possible attention to that detail. Do not suppose that anything just happens, including the selection of presenters for children’s programming.
And now I am going to agree with you, at least in connection to “Saturday morning”, studio-based, music programming for children on both main channels.
I hope you will accept that black people are gifted in rhythmic musical form. This would commend them to presenting music-based programmes. Furthermore, because blacks are sexualised at a younger age than whites – as any sociobiologist will confirm – they readily appear, age for age, more mature, street-wise, hip than white youths. This would also commend them for the said programmes. On top of that, whilst youth in general is heavily influenced by popular music whites unquestionably have a broader intellectual and cultural remit. Thus, the relative numbers of black youths may be low, but the overlapping pool, so to speak, for music-based programming is much higher.
These factors help to explain the undoubted imbalance Tony H has observed. The really dark and disturbing question is why do we invariably see young black male presenters tamed with young white females? Bear in mind that the character of the programming is very much of the Sumner Redstone MTV miscegenation variety. Remember, nothing but nothing on screen is without intent.
An assurance or two from the professionals concerned would calm suspicions. But without it, I personally think that the agenda is pretty clear.
Guessedworker,
I just happen to work in a “wholly designed medium” (in my case computer games), and let me assure you that it in no way follows that this means that every detail is fleshed out in exact detail beforehand. Don’t underestimate the power of laziness, incompetance and stupidity…
Tony H,
“No harm done? You’re too tolerant. Why should my kid be mystified as to why children’s TV should be populated by all these black people?”
being mystified != harm.
I can perfectly understand people’s objections to positive discrimination when it comes to university places, or any jobs where significant numbers of people may lose out because of the discrimination… but in terms of sending out messages, would you deny that there’s racism in our culture?
What part of the “black men can hold positions of responsability and prominence” message do you object to? Can’t find much offensive in there. Certainly can’t see much harm coming to your kid.
To be honest with you I am very pleased at the action the BBC is taking to get the poo coloured people off our screens so that normal people can present our programs. Their culture is so boring as well cos they all have no food, wear towels on their heads and shout BUD BUD BUD. Thanks.
do u ppl even no what a wog is? its a italian, leb or greek
firstly I think that u should learn that an indian or (black) person is not a wog to start with. Secondly why is the world full of so much racism? I bet Indians think the exact same thing when ur tv programs are exposed to them!
who are the ethnic minoraties ? 88% of the population of this planet are asian , 1 in 4 people on earh are chinees . germanick people are te minoraty .