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Media releases > TV coverage of developing countries
New research shows lowest ever levels of TV coverage of developing countries
(5 July 2004)
Factual television coverage of the developing world is at the lowest level ever recorded according to new research published today. The finding is one of many contained in a new report, The World on the Box, by 3WE - a coalition of the UK's leading international development, environment and human rights charities.
The British public are having blinkers slapped on them by TV bosses who are violating the letter and the spirit of their public service obligations. How are UK citizens supposed to understand the world if they aren't even told about it?
(Don Redding, 3WE coordinator)
The report is the seventh in a series of monitoring reports. It reveals that:
- Factual programming about the developing world has halved since the survey began in 1989/90, to its lowest level ever.
- Without exception each of the five terrestrial channels broadcast its lowest ever level of developing country factual programmes. The two mass channels, BBC1 and ITV1, each showed less than 20 hours of factual programming filmed in developing countries in the entire year.
- Only 24 factual programmes in the year dealt with issues of politics, development, environment and human rights in developing countries - a further fall of one quarter since 2000-01.
- The amount of general factual international programming on the four largest terrestrial channels was 40% lower in 2003 than in 1989/90.
- BBC2's factual international output declined to a new low level, which may be partly due to the establishment of BBC4.
- On BBC1 only one factual international programme dealing with development, environment and human rights was broadcast in 2003. On ITV there were no such programmes.
- Conversely, the main evening news bulletins on all the channels have kept up a high proportion of international stories, with some, notably the BBC Ten O'clock News, achieving their highest levels in all samples since 1975.
- The Iraq war's domination of international news in 2003 led to some of the highest ever figures for developing country news. Other regions of the developing world, and other key story subjects, had very limited news coverage.
While news planners have changed their policy to track the post-9/11 world, factual programme-makers appear to be burying their heads in the sand. The statistics make grim reading.
(Paul Mylrea, Head of Media, Oxfam) It's evident that there isn't enough factual programming to help inform public interest in the developing world. What is needed is imaginative coverage telling stories that show how other peoples' worlds and lives are relevant to our own, wherever they are around the globe.
(Penny Lawrence, Director of International Programmes, VSO)
The research report was commissioned from Professor Steven Barnett of the University of Westminster, one of the UK's foremost media academics. 3WE argues that the results of the study show that both broadcasters and regulators are failing to fulfil the public service obligations. While the BBC's performance has been alarmingly poor, there are signs that it is moving to redress the deficits. But with ITV1 and Channel Five clearly failing in their commitments, their regulator, Ofcom, is singled out for particular criticism.
Ofcom are making a mockery of the mandate given to them by parliament. When the Communications Act was passed in 2003, extensive public and parliamentary support helped amend it to include a requirement for adequate programming on 'matters of international significance or interest.
Despite this, Ofcom, as shown in their recent review of public service television broadcasting, seem unwilling to take any action to stop the blatant violations of broadcasters' public service obligations. The lowest-ever level of factual programming from the developing world has therefore been met with a deafening silence from the new regulator.
Worse still, Ofcom's new policy proposals - to free ITV1 and Five from most of their public service obligations and to carve up the BBC license fee - seem designed to sabotage public service broadcasting once and for all. It is time for parliament and the government urgently to look again at the regulator's operations.
(Don Redding, 3WE coordinator) Editors' notes- Read the full report on the 3WE website
- 3WE's members include Oxfam, the RSPB, Christian Aid, Cafod, VSO, Unicef-UK, The United Nations Association-UK, Save the Children, ActionAid, Comic Relief, CIIR, The International Broadcasting Trust, The One World Broadcasting Trust, Sightsavers International, Skillshare International, World Association for Christian Communication, and ITDG.
- Professor Steven Barnett, co-author of the report will also be available for interview.
- For more details, an embargoed copy of the report or interviews please call Brendan Cox at the Oxfam Press Office:
Tel: + 44 (0) 1865 312289
Fax: + 44 (0) 1865 312580
Mobile: + 44 (0) 7957 120 853
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