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The research, undertaken between February and May 2002, examined
attitudes towards multicultural broadcasting from two perspectives:
that of the audience at large, including minority ethnic groups,
and that of practitioners from within the television, radio and
advertising industries. It found that there was agreement between
both groups that, although significant progress has been made in
the last five years, there still needs to be better representation
of minorities both on screen and behind the scenes in decision-making
roles.
Audiences said that mainstream broadcasters had a social duty to
include authentic and fair representations of minorities. Channel
4, BBC1, BBC2, Choice FM and Kiss 100 FM were commended for broadcasting
minority interest programmes. Programmes such as Goodness Gracious
Me, Ali G and Coronation Street were considered to be moving in
the right direction. However, the participants also wanted to see
more representation in news and documentaries.
The audience sample felt better representation would help towards:
* creating a greater sense of belonging within British society;
*· fostering understanding of the different cultures among other
communities, including the white population, within the UK;
*· allowing children to see themselves represented positively.
Audiences from the Indian subcontinent:
There was concern amongst the audience groups about the stereotypical
portrayal of certain issues. For example, groups from the Indian
sub-continent talked of the way in which arranged marriages were
presented on television. They felt that the treatment of the issue
was neither accurate nor did it reflect the way in which the system
had changed over time. They called for fairer portrayal of such
issues.
Alongside this was the view amongst all participants from minority
ethnic groups that their country of origin was not represented at
all or was negatively portrayed. There was also a sense that there
was not enough coverage of events about their countries.
Specialist services, available on radio or via cable and satellite
television, were valued by people from minority ethnic groups as
they allowed them to maintain contact with their countries of origin.
They were also felt to provide more balanced coverage of news from
their countries.
Young white respondents said that more effort should be made to
achieve fairer representation on-screen, feeling that it might be
divisive to have programmes aimed at particular communities. Older
white respondents, on the other hand, were less concerned with the
way minority groups were represented on mainstream broadcasting,
sometimes arguing that there were specialist services available
to meet their needs.
A key finding in the research amongst representatives from television
and radio industries was that it was difficult to define 'multicultural
broadcasting' because it was hard to judge when it has been achieved.
The best test was thought to reflect a series of attitudes and values
such as:
*· relevance to audiences served;
*· diversity of voices and opinions being heard;
*· the way in which portrayals are presented with an understanding
of cultural and ethnic backgrounds.
There was a perception amongst the broadcasters that there has
been an increase in the amount of representation on-air and a growth
of programming which is relevant to ethnic groups.
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