Putting the black in Britain back on the BBC

Abstract

One area where, along with other UK broadcasters, the BBC has been seen to consistently fail to make headway is in its inadequate representation of minority groups within British society. This study fills a gap in the literature understanding black programming on the BBC. It assesses this programming through a qualitative analysis of the views of 94% of those who produced the current affairs programme Black Britain. It reviews some of the material that Black Britain put on air in this assessment, what impact the programme had on broadcasting diversity and why lessons learned were seemingly lost.