Caroline Dover and Steven Barnett
Communication and Media Research Institute
University of Westminster
Extracts from a report for the Third World and Environment Broadcasting Project (3WE) funded by the Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust
Television is still a vital source of information about the world beyond Britain. Both
through news bulletins and through factual programmes about or located in other
countries, British viewers are exposed to cultures, landscapes and ethnic groups
which can offer broader perspectives not available in everyday life. In a world where virtually every aspect of our lives has become more global - from the food we eat to our holiday destinations to concerns about immigration and threats to national security - an understanding of the world outside is more important than ever. The importance of international programming has always been accepted as an integral part of the public service tradition of British broadcasting, and even in an age of deregulation and multi-channel television, the new Communications Act
continues to acknowledge its importance in British cultural life. The regulator Ofcom is obliged to ensure that both in news and in their general programming output, terrestrial broadcasters include items or programmes of an international dimension.
The study
The purpose of this study is to analyse to what extent, in the broadcasting
environment of 2003, these public service obligations are being met and how
the nature and pattern of international factual programming today compares with
the last 14 years. This study is the latest in a longitudinal series conducted since
1989-90 by 3WE, the Third World and Environment Broadcasting Project, which
aims to promote coverage of global affairs on British mainstream television. 3WE
is a campaigning body, but the research was conducted by the Communications
and Media Research Institute (CAMRI) at the University of Westminster.
Accordingly, this report seeks only to report the methods and results of our
research, and what we believe this information tells us about current trends in
international programming. As with all our research, we have tried to ensure
that the methods are transparent so that our interpretations and conclusions can
be properly interrogated in the policy debates on British broadcasting which
we hope will follow its publication.
* * *
‘Throughout the report we take a long view of programme trends’
This is the seventh in a series of monitoring research reports. Using comparative
data from the earlier studies published by 3WE, it examines non-news factual
international programming broadcast in 2003. Detailed findings are given in
the next section, and more detailed information on earlier data can be found
in previous 3WE reports.
The amount of factual international programming on the four largest
terrestrial channels was 40% lower in 2003 than in 1989-90. With the inclusion
of Five the reduction was 25%.
The decline began in the early 1990s and, although levels of total output have remained fairly consistent since then, the type of coverage offered to viewers has changed. Increasingly prominent within factual international programming are genres that reveal little about the realities of life for non-British people living outside this country: travel programmes; series following British adventurers; documentaries about ‘Brits abroad’ and reality game-shows in ‘exotic’ locations. These programmes foreground British subjects, albeit in foreign locations. Factual programming about developing countries fell even more markedly. In 2003 it was 49% lower than in 1989-90 on all terrestrial TV, lower than at any other time recorded since 1989-90. This stark finding was only slightly mitigated by the fact that it disproportionately affected non-peak rather than peak times.
Longitudinal changes in both international factual programming and developing
country factual programming were analysed by channel and programme genre.
Contribution of individual channels
• Across BBC1, Channel 4 and Five, factual international output declined
from the unusual peak levels of 2000-01 and returned to those recorded in
1998-99
• BBC2’s factual international output declined to a new low level, which may be
partly explained by the establishment of BBC4
• The only channel to show greater factual international output in 2003 than in
1998-99 and 2000-01 was ITV1. This increase is largely attributable to travel
programming
• BBC2 and Channel 4 continue to show the greatest amount of factual
international programming on terrestrial television
• In developing country factual programming, each of the five channels
recorded its lowest level of output in the 14 years of the study
• ITV’s output returned to the historic low of 1998-99, while BBC1 and Channel 4
fell slightly below 1998-99 levels
• BBC2 and Five both had their lowest output of developing country factual
programming over the last three measurement periods.
Programme types
In factual international programming in 2003, significant trends across
the channels were:
• The continuing low proportion of ‘harder’ factual programmes: conflict
& disaster; politics; development, environment & human rights
• A continuing drop in the amount of wildlife programming
* * *
:
Executive Summary
‘Each of the five channels broadcast its lowest level of
developing country factual programming in the last 14 years’
• The dominance of travel programmes (more than a quarter of the total)
• A significant focus on ‘Brits abroad’
• A rise in the amount of ‘History’ programming.
Within developing country factual programming the key trends were:
• The categories accounting for high totals in 2000-01 fell back to previous levels.
In 2000-01, 79% of programmes were travel programmes (32%), wildlife
programmes (28%), or RCA programmes (19%). These three categories
comprised only 43% of the developing country factual programmes in 2003
• The decline in quantity of programming within these three categories accounts
for the overall decline in developing country factual programming
• Programmes dealing with conflict and disaster were much more prominent in
2003 than in 2000-01 (55 programmes compared with 10 in 2000-01). This is
largely attributable to the Iraq conflict, and is found on BBC2 and Channel 4
• As with overall factual international programming, there was a decline in hours
of wildlife and a rise in hours of history
• Only 24 factual programmes dealt with issues of politics, development,
environment and human rights in developing countries - a further fall of one
quarter since 2000-01.
‘Losing Reality’ (3WE’s previous report), identified a number of trends within
factual international programming in 2000-01, compared to previous years.
In 2000-01 factual international programming and developing country factual
programming had risen compared to the historic lows of 1998-99
These rises were due to an expansion of holiday travel programmes, and the
‘internationalisation’ of entertainment programme formats that had previously
been filmed domestically (ie, docu-soaps and reality game-shows such as
Survivor). In 2003, the overall fall-off to levels similar to 1998-99 is directly
related to the reduction in these formats, which had temporarily inflated the
levels recorded in 2000-01.
By taking the long view over the whole period of the survey, there would seem to
be an underlying trend of continued decline in both factual international
programmes and developing country factual programmes.
Current affairs: developing countries
Overall, current affairs coverage of developing countries was greater in 2003
(34.6 hours) than in 2000-01 (27.8 hours) and in 1998-99 (19.9 hours).
Most of this programming was found on BBC2 and Channel 4. Channel 4’s
contribution rose significantly on 1998-99 and 2000-01. The Channel 4 rise
is not explained by the Iraq conflict but by attention to other issues. BBC1’s
contribution also rose markedly compared to 1998-99 and 2000-01 - this
was largely attributable to the Iraq conflict.
* * *
‘Both BBC1 and BBC2 reduced their developing country
factual programming over the last five years’
4.6 Trends in developing country factual programming
Chart 11: developing country programme units, terrestrial channels
Chart 12: issues in developing country factual, by % of hours terrestrial channels
Key points
i. The proportions of different types of developing country factual programmes
became more evenly spread in 2003, compared with 2000-01, although the
relative amounts of DEH ( Development, Environment and Human Rights), politics, miscellaneous and crime programmes remained approximately the same.
ii. In 2000-01, 79% of all developing country factual programmes were travel
programmes (32%), wildlife programmes (28%), or RCA programmes (19%).
These three categories comprised only 43% of the developing country
programmes in 2003.
iii. The decline in numbers of programmes within these three categories accounts
for the overall decline in developing country factual programming, in spite of
increases in the categories of conflict and disaster, and history.
‘Harder’ programmes
iv. Developing country factual programmes dealing with conflict and disaster
were much more prominent on the terrestrial channels in 2003 than in 2000-01
(20% of all developing country programmes, compared with 2%). They
increased in numbers from 32 in 1998-99 and 10 in 2000-01 to 55 in 2003.
* * *
Overall Channel performance
Overall, given the unstable situation in Iraq and heightened awareness of
how global issues impact on domestic policy and people’s everyday lives, it
is disappointing that our public service television framework is delivering a
lower volume of programming about developing countries - even including
entertainment formats - than ever before.
Our analysis demonstrates that, of all the channels, Channel 4 appears to be
the best performer and should be acknowledged in both its news and factual
programming output as abiding by its public service remit. It is a telling reminder
that commercial funding can, within the right regulatory framework, deliver the
kinds of programmes that can attract audiences as well as widen their horizons.
The BBC’s performance is more disappointing, especially in light of the
additional resources being made available to the digital channels. There is
a real and tangible difference being made by BBC4, but terrestrial analogue
viewers are not getting the kind of benefits from the international programmes
first being aired on BBC4 that might be expected - either in terms of the number
of hours being rebroadcast or the scheduling. Given the growing significance of
the BBC’s public service remit in a multi-channel world, it might be expected to
exploit its digital investment rather more effectively.
As the Ofcom consultation on public service broadcasting has made clear, there
is still a role for the two wholly commercial channels, ITV and Five, in public
service provision. We see no reason why this should not include the area of
factual international programming, particularly in an age where these issues are
becoming more rather than less important.
It may be that Ofcom will need to take account of the growing significance of
international affairs in their assessment of what contribution should be made by
each of the public service channels. It will also need to keep a watchful eye on
the way in which programmes defined as international really do contribute to
audiences’ knowledge of the world beyond Britain: celebrity-based or relocation
programmes have some relevance, but should not be a substitute for
programmes with more substance which tackle real cultural, religious, social
and political issues affecting other countries, but also affecting our own lives in
the UK. In an unstable age, we ought to be looking for more rather than fewer
such programmes.
Contact:
3WE is a coalition of international charities campaigning for high quality
television coverage of ‘matters of international significance or interest’.
Its members include: ActionAid, Amnesty International, CAFOD, CIIR,
Christian Aid, Comic Relief, ITDG, International Broadcasting Trust,
One World Broadcasting Trust, OXFAM, Plan International, RSPB,
Save the Children, Sightsavers International, Skillshare International,
UNA-UK, UNICEF-UK, VSO, and the World Association for Christian
Communication.
3WE’s parent charity is the International Broadcasting Trust, charity number 326150.
Tel: 0778 654 2615
e-mail: dredding@ntlworld.com
www.ibt.org.uk/3WE
CAMRI
University of Westminster
Northwick Park Campus
Watford Road, Harrow,
Middlesex HA1 3TP
Tel: 020 7911 5981
e-mail: S.Barnett@wmin.ac.uk