Study reignites debate over Scottish Six
By Peter John Meiklem
SCOTTISH TV audiences are poorly informed and have a skewed perspective on events in their own country because of a failure by the national BBC news programmes to provide coverage of events outside England.
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The verdict, a key finding of a major report commissioned by the BBC Trust, is said to have senior BBC figures "quaking in their boots".
The study, entitled "Accuracy and impartiality in coverage of the four nations", was produced by Professor Anthony King from Essex University. King's brief was to find out how well informed viewers are about the operations of the UK's several devolved administrations.
Senior academics found that a lack of Scottish, Welsh or Northern Irish stories in the UK network news left audiences with a skewed perspective on events in their own countries. One example could be the reporting of last month's teachers' strike which could have left viewers with the perception that the action directly affected Scotland when it did not. The report's findings also mean that viewers in England and Wales, at time when Gordon Brown is promoting the importance of "Britishness" are given no regular reporting on what is happening in Scotland if they rely on the BBC for their information.
The study has been described by Cardiff University's School of Journalism head Professor Justin Lewis as "the most substantial piece of research there has ever been in the area". A source close to the BBC in London told the Sunday Herald that senior executives are highly nervous over potential criticism, though they have yet to read the study.
The research will be delivered to the Trust prior to release in the early summer. Precedent suggests it will trigger changes in the way the BBC operates.
Lewis, who co-authored part of the research, was unwilling to discuss the full findings of the study but said it raises issues of "substantial interest". He found many viewers in Scotland consumed their news via network broadcasts such as the 6 o'clock news rather than from watching Scotland-only opt-outs such as Reporting Scotland.
The network news programmes had "very little" coverage of Scottish (or Welsh or Northern Irish) politics. Lewis said: "They say it is not their job to provide this coverage as that is the job of the opt-out news programmes. But if you live in England how much do you learn about your government from the network news Quite a lot. There are key questions and they need to be asked."
The report's findings are likely to re-open a debate north of the border on the best way for news to service the post-devolution age. The idea of a "Scottish Six" - an hour-long news opt-out programme looking at the world from a Scottish perspective - was proposed by BBC Scotland 10 years ago, but rejected by BBC governors in 1998.
In his 2002 autobiography The Harder Path, former BBC director-general John Birt revealed he was under pressure from Labour ministers to kill the plan. Alistair Darling, then secretary of state for social security, and now chancellor, is said to be one of several ministers who feared a "Scottish six" would contribute to the break up of the United Kingdom.
Greg Dyke, who as director-general between 2000 and 2004, rejected demands for an hour-long Scottish opt-out told the Sunday Herald that he now supported the idea of a new programme "provided it's what the people of Scotland want".
Dyke said research he commissioned in 2004, claiming there was no public demand for such a programme, was now "out of date" and said new research should be carried out. He said: "I felt I never really questioned whether it the 2004 research was a fair representation."
Currently the BBC still regards non-London newsrooms as not the place for UK-wide or international news to be analysed. Any change to that culture would require substantial funding to BBC Scotland to be able to compete with the authority of BBC network news programmes and the newly rebranded BBC News 24, now called BBC News. An inferior, poorly funded Scottish Six for example would simply be ignored by the BBC teams of specialist correspondents unless its commissioning editors proved their input was worth it and had a good audience.
The Scottish Broadcasting Commission (SBC), the independent body set up by First Minister Alex Salmond to investigate the broadcasting industry, is currently examining ways in which news informs Scottish democracy. Headed by former BBC Scotland head of news, Blair Jenkins, it is widely believed that the commission will recommend alternatives to the way news is delivered to Scottish viewers.
Several alternatives are being discussed in anticipation of the King research. One involves a half-hour broadcast, going out some time between 6pm and 10pm, put together in much the same way that Radio Scotland compiles its news. This would consist of international news from a Scottish perspective using the BBC's network of international correspondents, but compiled by editors in Scotland. "We wouldn't be sending Jackie Bird to Baghdad," says one source close to BBC Scotland.
That programme would not have to go out on BBC1 or BBC2. It has been suggested that digital channels BBC 3 or BBC News (formerly News 24) might provide a home for the broadcast, although smaller audiences for these channels might undermine the programme's rationale. All options are thought to be financially viable.
Atholl Duncan, BBC Scotland's head of news and current affairs, said change is likely, but only in the context of the continual evolution of the BBC's service, and not in response to outward political pressure.
Duncan said that change will come from a "position of strength", arguing that BBC Scotland's news output is better than ever. On the question of better covering of Scottish politics, Duncan points towards the corporation's Digital Democracy project, a new internet initiative aiming to provide a greater depth of coverage of all the UK's parliaments than there has ever been before. Duncan also points to political editor Brian Taylor's blog, currently the 15th most popular from the entire BBC.
Duncan said: "Our news output in Scotland is constantly changing and evolving. The pace of change in the industry at the moment is astonishing. People now want their news when they want it and on what platform they want it. I think the debate is now about how we best serve Scottish audiences."
David Hutchison, a research fellow in media policy from Glasgow Caledonian University, said the only reason BBC executives are now "quaking in their boots" was the SNP's election victory a year ago.
He said the idea of Scottish perspective opt-out had always been a workable option passed over for political reasons. However, he says whatever way the BBC decide to change things there were still risks attached.
"There is a real danger that audiences will cease to be informed about what is going on in other parts of the UK. There is a real risk of parochialism."
