MUMBAI: BBC has published a new report on safeguarding its impartiality in the 21st century, together with extensive research on audience expectations and perceptions of impartiality.

It has outlined 12 guiding principles. They include:

1. Impartiality is and should remain the hallmark of the BBC as the leading provider of information and entertainment in the United Kingdom, and as a pre-eminent broadcaster internationally. It is a legal requirement, but it should also be a source of pride.

2. Impartiality is an essential part of the BBC's contract with its audience, which owns and funds the BBC. Because of that, the audience itself will often be a factor in determining impartiality.

3. Impartiality must continue to be applied to matters of party political or industrial controversy. But in today's more diverse political, social and cultural landscape, it requires a wider and deeper application.

4. Impartiality involves breadth of view, and can be breached by omission. It is not necessarily to be found on the centre ground.

5. Impartiality is no excuse for insipid programming. It allows room for fair-minded, evidence-based judgments by senior journalists and documentary-makers, and for controversial, passionate and polemical arguments by contributors and writers.

6. Impartiality applies across all BBC platforms and all types of programme. No genre is exempt. But the way it is applied and assessed will vary in different genres.

7. Impartiality is most obviously at risk in areas of sharp public controversy. But there is a less visible risk, demanding particular vigilance, when programmes purport to reflect a consensus for "the common good", or become involved with campaigns.

Impartiality is often not easy. There is no template of wisdom which will eliminate fierce internal debate over difficult dilemmas. But the BBC’s journalistic expertise is an invaluable resource for all departments to draw on.

Qualitative and quantitative audience research was commissioned for the report. The findings include that 84 per cent of people questioned agreed that impartiality was difficult to achieve but that broadcasters must try very hard to do so; 61 per cent agreed that broadcasters may think they give a fair and informed view but a lot of the time they don’t; and 83 per cent agreed that broadcasters should report on all views and opinions, however unpopular or extreme some of them may be.

BBC Trustee and chairman of the steering group Richard Tait says, "New technologies and changes in society have given rise to a spread of opinion which goes way beyond the traditional divide of left versus right. These new complexities need to be clearly recognised to ensure the BBC's impartiality is sustained.

"We know that audiences demand and value impartiality as essential to the BBC's independence. They particularly value impartiality in news, and they recognise its importance in other programme areas.

"But BBC audiences believe that impartiality should not lead to political correctness. The BBC agrees and one of our new principles makes clear that impartiality is no excuse for insipid programme-making. Providing space for controversial and passionate writers and contributors of all kinds will ensure impartiality is an antidote to political correctness.

"This project, the research and the report shows that to safeguard impartiality in the 21st century, the BBC must strive to provide the full breadth of views in all their complexities so that a complete picture is offered to audiences to make up their own minds. Achieving this requires commitment and a sophisticated approach to match the public's differing expectations for each genre. For programme-makers and journalists, this is a creative opportunity because it means bringing extra perspectives to bear, not limiting horizons or censoring opinion.

"This project signals a new, more open approach to achieving impartiality at the BBC. It is not intended to prescribe definitive solutions or an impartiality template but aims to stimulate further discussion throughout the BBC and so bring impartiality to the forefront of the production process."

BBC deputy DG Mark Byford said, "Impartiality is a core value for the BBC which is non-negotiable and central to its relationship with licence fee payers. We recognise that, as audience behaviours change and the media landscape develops rapidly, the BBC has to keep asking itself how best to safeguard impartiality in this digital age. The new audience insights from this study of external research and the guiding principles will help us do that."