Ofcom chief warned that the BBC needs to be less London-centric to ensure impartiality.
Melanie Dawes (55) an economist said that Ofcom found viewers’ opinions of impartiality were based on ‘whether they resonate with the stories’ and not balance.
Ms. Dawes claimed that people are more likely to believe the BBC isn’t for them if they live further from London, which is where Broadcasting House, the BBC’s main headquarters, is.
She told The Times: ‘We are pushing them hard on the need to stretch out across the UK much more comprehensively — in how they are run, how they make decisions [and]In who they use behind-the scenes.
Her comments come as Mr Davie’s draws up a £700million plan to move programmes, including Radio 1’s Newsbeat, away from England’s capital to Birmingham, which Ms Dawes described as ‘ambitious’.
Melanie Dawes, an economist (pictured), is 55. Ofcom research revealed that viewers think more about whether the stories are resonating with them than they do balance.
The corporation announced that 400 employees would move from London to other cities, including Birmingham, Leeds and Cardiff in March.
As part of the plans, the BBC is set to create a £50million base in Birmingham, which will become a vital hub for the corporation’s increased regional investment.
Ms Dawes recognised the BBC’s director-general Tim Davie took the challenge ‘very seriously’ but she warned that the firm’s £224million move to Manchester did not change the fact that the decision-making power remained in London.
She also described Mr Davie’s £700million plan to move programmes, including Radio 1’s Newsbeat, away from England’s capital to Birmingham as ‘ambitious’.
Ms Dawes also plans to regulate large tech companies when the Online Safety Bill comes into force in 2023, giving Ofcom the power to impose fines of up to £18million, or 10 per cent of annual turnover, on firms that fail to protect users from online harm.
Nadine Dorries (culture secretary) stated that accents from regional areas don’t “go down well” at BBC. She also said the BBC will benefit from the new licensing fee.
Last month, Mr Davie announced a team of external experts are set to be appointed at the BBC to ensure its content is impartial.
According to The Telegraph, Mr Davie already took steps against the problem by placing restrictions on employees sharing opinions on social media as well as putting emphasis on neutrality when it comes to news roles.
Ms Dawes acknowledged BBC’s director-general Tim Davie (pictured) took the challenge ‘seriously’ and called his £700million plans to move people away from London ‘ambitious’
However, the BBC will now have outside experts who can analyse every broadcaster’s content for possible biases.
Rolling reviews, which examine various areas of output, are a way investigators can do this.
They will cover everything, from tax news coverage to CBeebies programme content. This will ensure impartiality across the organization.
In a 10-point Action Plan, to preserve editorial standards, this initiative has been revealed.
It states that the programme will be known as a strategic review program. The topics will be reviewed by chairs and it is likely to remain independent from BBC.
Further, the action plan states that the reviews will not only examine news and current affairs but will also look at the way the topic is handled across a wider variety of BBC outputs, such as documentaries and children’s programming.
External experts will examine how wider output could contribute to public perceptions about impartiality. However, they must also recognize that different audiences have differing expectations.
BBC business personnel expressed concern about plans to transfer 400 jobs from London, UK to other locations, calling the decision ‘ridiculous.
The World Service business unit expressed concern that BBC chairman Richard Sharp would lose the coverage of their 200-mile journey to Salford.
The Mail received their letter on Sunday asking the chairman if the Salford move was worth the money of BBC licence-payers.
‘[The plan]Includes a proposal for reducing the time spent on business and moving all 40 of our global economy and business journalists posts from London to Salford. It stated, “This decision is absurd and obvious.”
It stated that only two people were considering Salford as an option. Rest cannot move. Loss of business experience in global reporting will undoubtedly damage programmes, and consequently the World Service.
Ms. Dawes claimed that people believe the BBC isn’t for them the farther they travel from London, which is where Broadcasting House, the BBC’s main headquarters, is.
Another setback is the BBC’s attempts to reform its newsroom, which involves moving whole teams to other areas of the UK.
Radio 1 Newsbeat staff refuse to move to Birmingham. Rory Cellan Jones, the veteran technology reporter, quit when he was asked to relocate from Glasgow.
World Service is a business unit that produces radio programs, such as its World Business Report.
This program focuses on programming for international audiences. Staff say that it is even more crucial to be located in London in order to have access to the major corporations, conferences, and business leaders from around the world who visit and work in London.
The letter described Salford’s lack of accessibility to the people. [they]”Meet”
The current team sits right next to London’s BBC World TV Business team and shares resources. This, according to the letter “has undoubtedly reduced duplicate and has thus been a cost effective use of license fee money”.
World Service employees suggested that instead of moving to the UK, they move to another UK-oriented programme or support staff.
According to a BBC Insider, “We’re being asked to also move for a cut in pay because we’ve lost London weight.” [where staff receive a larger salary due to the higher cost of living in the capital]It is not easy to understand the job description.
Another stated that “our sources are located in London, and we fear it’s the start of a cost-cutting exercise whereby they will attempt to cover international stories using domestic reporters.”
The BBC spokesperson stated at that time: “We will continue providing quality business reporting for audiences around the globe, including World Business Report.”