02/06/2008

In case you missed over the weekend.....A small majority of Scots would rather have their main, early evening TV reporting of local, UK and international news coming from Scotland, rather than anywhere else.

The conclusion appears in the latest report by the Scottish Broadcasting Commission set up last year by First Minister, Alex Salmond, to look at the future of Scottish broadcasting.

A SBC survey found 53 per cent of respondents would rather have what is commonly known as a ‘Scottish Six’.

Five years ago, a BBC survey found a majority preferred the status quo, including BBC news broadcast at 6pm, from London. The SBC survey says those wishing the status quo is now down to 36 per cent.

This latest report - the Commission’s third - looked at the democratic importance of broadcasting in Scotland. The previous two were about economic and cultural importance. The Commission is expected to publish its final recommendations in September.

The survey also found that “most people choose television as their primary source of news; believe that it is important that topical Scottish issues are debated and discussed on television and not just reported in news programmes and; wish to have a choice of channels for watching news”.

The survey also found that most people view “news coverage....to be mainly reactive and event-driven (and for some, too obsessed with crime and sport) while more analytical programmes are seen as being marginalised either by scheduling or lack of resources or both”.

Says the Commission: “Evidence given to the Commission reflected concerns over a lack of depth, breadth and context in broadcast journalism. A prominent theme in evidence was a perceived lack of opportunities in the broadcast schedules for serious examination of important issues, with the public indicating an appetite for greater detailed consideration of matters affecting society and their everyday lives. Channel 4 News suggested the amount of time available to programme editors and producers had a considerable impact on how much detail and skill could be devoted to covering issues in sufficient depth in news programming.”

Said Commission chair, Blair Jenkins: “There is no doubting the use people make of television and radio on a daily basis to inform them of what is happening in Scotland, the UK and the rest of the world. In a modern democracy, broadcast journalism plays a major part in supplying audiences with accurate information and presenting the differing views and opinions on the issues that affect their lives.

"The airtime and examination given to topical matters affecting society is important in ensuring there is a level of awareness of issues amongst audiences, whether this is through news or current affairs programmes, drama, satire, documentary or comedy.

"Viewers demand and deserve an insight to the complex and interconnected nature of the serious issues our modern democracy must address. Yet many of the people we heard from recorded their concerns over a lack of breadth in reporting and a lack of depth both within programmes and across the range of programming available.

"Moreover, it was felt that an all too often narrow and restrictive perspective was offered through news and current affairs and this needs to be extended beyond the voices of the politicians and government spokespeople and also beyond a routine diet of reactive crime and sports stories.

"We heard a demand for broadcasters to provide greater context and analysis around major issues affecting society, where wider public policy implications or the history of an issue could be examined over and above the reactive reporting of the facts of the story.

"As just one example, it was intriguing to note that without fail at every one of our public events BBC 2 Scotland's Eòrpa programme was raised, unsolicited and by non-Gaelic speakers, as an example of a positive, well-respected programme. What people told us was here was a programme which reported in a detailed but accessible way what was going on in Europe, Scotland's place in Europe and the impact of Europe on life and laws in Scotland - the only programme to do so across all of the broadcast schedules. 

"The balance and accuracy of broadcast journalism was also reported to us as being essential and the Commission was concerned that our recent public attitudes survey indicated that more than half of those surveyed did not think it was always clear in UK news programmes whether reports applied to Scotland or not.

"Having an accurate, trustworthy source and platform for news is vital to a democracy where citizens are truly conversant with and engaged in the main issues of the day and we note the assurances given by the broadcasters that they continue to endeavour to meet the substantial editorial challenges they face in reflecting an accurate picture of the evolving UK, with four nations frequently pursuing different policies and different priorities.

“Furthermore, we await with interest the King Review, commissioned by the BBC Trust to examine the Corporation's network news and factual coverage of the four nations."

A BBC spokesperson said: "By its very nature, news is often event-driven and reactive; however, we believe we offer a real mix of analysis and comment along with straightforward reporting through our many outlets for audiences across
TV, radio and online.

"In recent months, we have added a new weekly business programme and have extended our topical discussion programme, Morning Extra to 60, minutes on Radio Scotland*; while, on TV, more investment has gone into investigations and analysis, resulting in a number of one-off programmes looking at the oil industry, the NHS, policing, youth crime which complement our regular programming such as Reporting Scotland, Newsnight Scotland, Landward, The Politics Show and Holyrood Live.

"The BBC Trust Report on how network news reflects devolved nations is due soon and it's right that we wait for the findings of that report before commenting further. We are, however, absolutely committed to investing in high quality programming and journalism content for UK wide and Scotland specific audiences."

* Morning Extra is to be hosted, from this morning, by Graham Stewart.


* Send your Scottish media news and gossip, in the strictest confidence, to  info@allmediascotland.com