Your Monthly Briefing • July 2020
Sorry, this content is only accessible to registered members.
Register to become a member or existing members can login here.
Sorry, this content is only accessible to registered members.
Register to become a member or existing members can login here.
Sorry, this content is only accessible to registered members.
Register to become a member or existing members can login here.
Sorry, this content is only accessible to registered members.
Register to become a member or existing members can login here.
Sorry, this content is only accessible to registered members.
Register to become a member or existing members can login here.
Sorry, this content is only accessible to registered members.
Register to become a member or existing members can login here.
Sorry, this content is only accessible to registered members.
Register to become a member or existing members can login here.
Sorry, this content is only accessible to registered members.
Register to become a member or existing members can login here.
Sorry, this content is only accessible to registered members.
Register to become a member or existing members can login here.
Sorry, this content is only accessible to registered members.
Register to become a member or existing members can login here.
Welcome to IBT’s June newsletter with an update on our work and relevant news from the media industry. (more…)
Sorry, this content is only accessible to registered members.
Register to become a member or existing members can login here.
Sorry, this content is only accessible to registered members.
Register to become a member or existing members can login here.
Sorry, this content is only accessible to registered members.
Register to become a member or existing members can login here.
Welcome to IBT’s February newsletter with an update on our work and relevant news from the media industry. (more…)
Welcome to IBT’s January newsletter with an update on our work and relevant news from the media industry. (more…)
Welcome to IBT’s December newsletter with an update on our work and relevant news from the media industry.
View the latest IBT_Newsletter in PDF format.
Last month we heard from four newspaper executives who gave a clear idea of the sort of stories they were looking for and the best way to pitch to them. The speakers were Kate Mansey from the Mail on Sunday, Dominic Herbert from The Sunday Mirror, Joe Shute from The Telegraph and Tracy McVeigh from The Observer. Tracy now runs Guardian Development and spoke about some of changes she is planning for the site. All encouraged the IBT members present to get in touch with their ideas. You can find a more detailed note on what was said with contact details of the speakers on the members’ page of the IBT website. We shot a short interview afterwards with Joe who gave some useful advice.
Joe recently wrote a story for Telegraph Magazine on WWF’s campaign to save the tiger.
Later this month we will be running our first digital leadership workshop, which will explore some of the challenges of achieving digital change across an organization. Zoe Amar, who specializes in digital leadership in the NGO sector, will lead the workshop, which will include a detailed case study from an international NGO. This session is suitable for heads of digital or others who wish to know more about how to achieve digital change. It will take place from 9am to 2pm on Thursday December 14th at the IBT offices. If you’d like to attend, please register now via the IBT website.
In January, we’ll be back with our popular social media refresher. Martin Carter will take us through the latest trends across the main social media platforms – Facebook, Snapchat, Instagram and Twitter – and he’ll show us examples of best practice from a range of NGOs. This event is designed for media officers and others who are regular users of one or more of these platforms. Last time we ran this session we received excellent feedback. The session will run from 9-2 on Thursday January 18 2018. Lunch will be included. This is a free event for IBT members. Do share the details with anyone in your organization who you think might be interested. If you’d like to attend, you can register now via the IBT website.
Later this month we will be launching a new award for the best international TV or radio programme broadcast in the UK, to be nominated by IBT members. We are running the award in conjunction with VLV (the Voice of the Listener and Viewer) the influential pressure group that represents the interests of audiences. Of course there are other awards that recognize outstanding media coverage of global issues but this is different as all the programmes that are shortlisted for the award will be nominated by IBT members. This is very much our own award which we hope you will support by nominating your favourite programmes. To do so, just get in touch with us via email, Twitter or Facebook. We will be announcing more details of the award later this month.
ITV News is expanding its presence online with three new shows hosted by some of its top presenters. Robert Peston will host Now What? Julie Etchingham will interview leading women from all walks of life in Ask A Woman. And Rageh Omaar will host a discussion show called Young, British and Muslim.
The changes at ITV News are part of a wider commitment by ITV to public service broadcasting. Sir Peter Bazalgette, ITV’s Executive Chairman, spoke about this at the recent VLV conference and in an article for The Guardian. He argued that there is a crisis of trust in the public sphere so news from trusted sources is more important than ever. Recent Ofcom research shows that audiences have a high level of trust in news from the public service broadcasters – the BBC, ITV and Channel 4. Read more from Sir Peter here.
The media regulator, Ofcom, has published its annual survey of children’s media use. If you are targeting children and want an up to date picture of how they use media, then this is a useful resource. Interestingly, television remains an important source of news for children – and is more widely trusted than social media. Download the survey report (pdf).
The Ofcom research found that many children feel there is not enough content on television that reflects their lives. This concern was addressed recently by Alice Webb, the head of children’s at the BBC, in an interview with The Guardian. She said the BBC is investing extra money to produce British made children’s content.
The Refugee Reporting project has published new research that looks at media representation of refugees and migrants in Europe. The research was carried out in seven European countries including the UK. The project is run by WACC (the World Association for Christian Communication) and CCME (the Churches’ Commission for Migrants in Europe). The researchers found that most stories focused on the issues and failed to give a voice to individual refugees or migrants. Where individuals did feature they were seen as refugees or migrants rather than as people who had a previous life and a job. Some groups, particularly women, were underrepresented. The report includes practical recommendations for media and civil society organisations. An executive summary can be seen here (pdf).
The audience insight agency, Humankind Research, has been running focus groups with Daily Mail readers to find out what they really think about aid and to offer some suggestions for how NGOs can be more effective in reaching these audiences. It appears that they view NGOs as part of the establishment, and that those NGOs who can present themselves as being ‘on their side’ have a better chance of being viewed positively. They want to be sure that the money they give to charity is being well used and is genuinely making a difference. There is a feeling of distance, that the money is being spent far away in a way that gives them little control. Humankind’s conclusion is that emotion is the key way forward, by appealing to shared values. This research will be discussed at the Bond conference in February.
If you’ve been wondering what the thinking behind RT, formerly Russia Today, is then it’s worth taking a look at this article by Guardian reporter Tim Dowling who watched the channel for a week.
Many of you have helped us gather evidence for our new research on fake news, which we will be publishing in January. But if you know of any particular instances where your NGO or another one has been the victim of fake news then please do get in touch. An interesting example of fake news was highlighted recently by BBC online. It identified a fake picture that was appearing on social media purporting to be of the Sinai bombing of a mosque in which more than 200 people lost their lives. The photo was actually 3 years old. The BBC gave some useful advice on how to spot fake photos.
The Global Health Film Festival has just published its programme. The festival takes place at the Barbican on Friday and Saturday with extensive screenings and workshops. I’ll be chairing a discussion on Friday afternoon on two important films, The Heart of the Matter and The Life Equation. These films raise questions about the most effective way of spending scarce resources on global health. See the full programme here (pdf).
Best wishes
Mark
IBT’s mission is to use the media to further awareness and understanding of people’s lives in the developing world and the issues which affect them
Welcome to IBT’s November newsletter with an update on our work and relevant news from the media industry. (IBT Newsletter November 2017)
Later this month we’ll be taking a closer look at four Sunday newspapers, The Mail on Sunday, Sunday Mirror, Sunday Telegraph and Observer, and we’ll hear from key executives who will tell us what they’re looking for and how best to pitch ideas to them. The Sunday papers often feature in depth reporting on global issues and stories so this session should have wide appeal to IBT members. The four speakers will be:
We’ll also be asking the speakers to tell us how the Sunday titles work with their daily counterparts and websites. This event will take place from 10-12 on Tuesday November 28th at our offices in Southwark. Places are limited so please book early.
Register for this Sunday newspapers event
Last month, Alan White, News Editor at BuzzFeed UK spoke to a packed audience and gave us a clear rundown on how the UK operation works and its relationship with colleagues in the US. There’s been a big increase in the number of staff in London since Alan joined and he was clear on the sort of stories that work best for him. Above all, he wants exclusives, but don’t assume that he is only interested in lighter pieces. He’s keen to build the site’s reputation for hard news and investigations, and he urged those present to get to know individual reporters.
Notes on the briefing can be found on the IBT members’ page.
Next month, we will be running our first digital leadership workshop, which will explore some of the challenges of achieving digital change across an organization. Zoe Amar, who specializes in digital leadership in the NGO sector, will lead the workshop, which will include a detailed case study from an international NGO. This session is suitable for heads of digital or others who wish to know more about how to achieve digital change. It will take place from 9am to 2pm on Thursday December 14th at the IBT offices. The workshop will cover:
Ofcom, the media regulator, has published the new BBC operating licence. We are delighted that this now includes a commitment to international factual programming, as one of the high level objectives. The BBC will have a statutory duty to provide a range of international content beyond news and current affairs. This duty was not made explicit in the draft licence. IBT lobbied for this change which will have important consequences, as Ofcom will now be required to monitor the BBC’s international content. We’d like to thank all our members who wrote to Ofcom to argue for this change, namely ActionAid, CAFOD, Concern, DEC, Sightsavers and UNICEF.
For more details see the OFCOM website
Next week, One World Media will be hosting an afternoon of discussion on the theme of ‘authentic storytelling from the global south.’ There will be three separate sessions, all taking place on Thursday November 9th. In one of the sessions, David Lammy, the Labour MP, will be in conversation with Jon Snow. Lammy will be talking about how Africa is represented in the UK media.
Book tickets for this event on the OneWorldMedia website
Later this month, the Sheffield Institute for International Development will host a seminar looking at the latest research on public attitudes to international development. Three different pieces of academic research will be presented and debated. The seminar takes place from 3-5pm on Monday November 13th.
See the Eventbrite page to register
Later this month Quartz will be co-hosting an event looking at fake news. They’ll be debating the role of algorithms in spreading the news, talking to some of the people developing tools to stop fake news from proliferating and discussing the future of the news business. IBT will be publishing its own report on fake news early next year.
The Quartz event will take place at 6.30pm on Tuesday November 14th.
Regsiter to attend this panel debate
Best wishes
Mark
Welcome to IBT’s October newsletter with an update on our work and relevant news from the media industry. (Download/Print this Newsletter) (more…)
Welcome to IBT’s September newsletter with an update on our work and relevant news from the media industry. (more…)
Welcome to IBT’s August newsletter with an update on our work and relevant news from the media industry. (Download/Print this Newsletter)
Next month’s briefing with Vice News
Next month, in our first briefing of the Autumn, we will be hearing from Neil Breakwell, London Bureau Chief of Vice News. Vice News has established a well deserved reputation for reinventing foreign news reporting, with a strong focus on the Middle East and on reaching younger audiences. Neil will talk us through the recent changes at Vice and the best way to pitch stories to him and his colleagues. The briefing takes place at 10am on Wednesday September 27th at the IBT offices in Southwark. If you’d like to attend, please register via the IBT website.
IBT AGM
Last month we held our AGM. This is a formal occasion during which we report back to our members on our activities over the past year and plans for the future. Our Trustees concluded that it had been a good year for IBT with our three main strands of activity – lobbying, research and briefings – working well together. They were particularly pleased that several CEOs from our member organisations had written in support of our call for the BBC Charter to be amended to include a stronger commitment to international factual programming. This lobbying campaign was successful and the Charter was amended accordingly.
BBC call to action
Many thanks to all who responded to our recent call to action and wrote to Ofcom to support our demand that international factual content on the BBC should be tagged. Ofcom received letters from eight CEOs from IBT member organisations. This is a fantastic response and adds considerable weight to our call. We will be meeting Ofcom shortly to pursue this further. Our own submission to Ofcom can be found here:
http://www.ibt.org.uk/lobbying/to-ofcom-consultation-holding-the-bbc-to-account-for-the-delivery-of-its-mission-and-public-purposes-july-2017/
Channel 4’s regional impact
Last month we also made a submission to DCMS which was consulting on plans to move Channel 4 out of London. We have reservations about the move as we feel it will be extremely costly and disruptive and will not necessarily achieve the desired result of increasing regional production. We are also concerned that the Government’s focus on regional production and a wider range of UK voices will detract from Channel 4’s statutory requirement to promote voices from around the world. You can read our submission here:
http://www.ibt.org.uk/lobbying/to-dcms-on-channel-4s-regional-impact-july-2017/
The BBC World Service
Details have been announced by the BBC of the World Service’s expansion and delivery of 12 new language services, mostly in Africa. This is the largest expansion of the World Service since the 1940s and will be funded by the Foreign Office. This means that in future the World Service will be funded jointly by the licence fee and by an FCO grant. The governance implications of this are not yet clear. As part of its new vision, the World Service’s Director, Fran Unsworth, has spoken of its commitment to solutions-focused journalism – an attempt to move the BBC coverage of Africa in particular away from stories of disaster, conflict and famine. It will be interesting to see how this vision evolves. BBC Africa has announced that some of the extra funding will be used to set up a new investigations unit.
Video First – making an impact
As a follow up to our Video First report, Sophie Chalk has written a blog on the DevCommsLab website giving her top tips for how to achieve impact online:
https://devcommslab.org/blog/top-ten-tips-on-how-to-make-videos-about-international-development-issues-work-online/
Why video is the future of learning for charities
Martin Baker, Chief Executive of Clear Lessons Foundation, has written an interesting think piece for The Guardian, arguing that the voluntary sector needs to do more to harness the power of video for learning. He says that our brains absorb and process information 60,000 faster by video than text. Whether you accept this statistic or not, he makes a persuasive case:
https://www.theguardian.com/voluntary-sector-network/2017/jul/21/video-learning-digital-skills-charities
The digital challenge for charities
Zoe Amar has written a thought-provoking article, also for The Guardian, where she examines the challenge of digital for the charity sector. She believes that the sector is responding too slowly to the need for change. Zoe argues that technology is not just about more digital tools and skills but it’s about a fundamental cultural change. She will be running a workshop for us later this year where she’ll be looking in more detail at how NGOs should go about achieving this cultural change. This workshop will be aimed at senior leaders from amongst our membership. If you’re interested in attending please let me know as we would welcome input into the planning the session. Zoe’s article can be found here:
https://amp.theguardian.com/voluntary-sector-network/2017/jul/31/charities-transform-digital-age
Lessons for virtual reality filmmakers
If you’re involved in commissioning or producing a VR video then it’s worth taking a look at a new piece of research commissioned by the BBC. The research looks in detail at the audience response to VR and concludes that VR needs to take audiences on a journey. Experiences for the sake of experiences – without a clear narrative or goal – tend to fall flat with audiences, according to the report’s authors. You can read more in this blog by Tim Fiennes, a market analyst with BBC Audiences:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/internet/entries/c438a2cd-fcd4-42f3-ab69-244d3c579011
The Conservative case for aid
The right wing think tank Policy Exchange has published a new report, Global Britain, Global Challenges – how to make aid more effective. It argues in favour of aid and for the Government’s commitment to 0.7. However, it says that aid can and should be spent more effectively and that ‘the development community should embrace trade and capitalism as vital to reducing poverty and disease.’ In an introduction to the report, the Scottish Conservative leader Ruth Davidson writes that ‘there is a strong centre-right case for putting overseas aid at the centre of a Global Britain.’ You can read the full report here:
https://policyexchange.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/Global-Britain-Global-Challenges-5th-July.pdf
Best wishes
Mark
Welcome to IBT’s July newsletter with an update on our work and relevant news from the media industry. (Download/Print this Newsletter)
Last month’s briefing with Sky News
Last month we heard from Matt Rhodes, Senior Planning Producer at Sky News. Matt talked us through the best way to pitch ideas to him and his colleagues and how to contact the interviews team with suggestions for studio guests. International coverage remains a priority, however, it was clear from Matt’s talk that Sky is devoting more resources to the major international stories and there is therefore less space for off agenda features. Their main focus at the moment is the US and the Middle East, particularly Syria and Iraq, but also Yemen and Libya. A detailed note on the briefing can be found on the members’ page of the IBT website.
IBT AGM
Next week we will be holding our AGM. This is a formal occasion during which we report back to our members on our activities over the past year and plans for the future. The event takes place at 5pm on Thursday July 13th at the IBT offices. Please let me know if you would like to attend, so that I can send you the meeting papers in advance.
BBC call to action
All IBT members should have received an email from me last week, asking you to write to Ofcom to support our call for international factual content on the BBC to be tagged. Thank you to all those who kindly offered to write to Ofcom. The deadline for letters is Monday July 17th. We are happy to help you draft a letter. If you missed the email or would like more information please contact me or IBT’s advocacy consultant, Sophie Chalk, who is leading on this Sophie.chalk@btinternet.com
Save the Children’s new report: The People in the Pictures
Last week Save the Children published The People in the Pictures, an important report which looked closely at the experience of people and communities that have appeared in their communications. The aim was to have a better understanding of how they experienced the image-making process and felt about the way in which their images were used in campaigning, fundraising and other communications. The report makes a number of recommendations, which involve greater recognition of contributors as stakeholders in the image-making process. At last week’s launch event, Save’s CEO, Kevin Watkins, said that they had made a number of changes to their practices to comply with the report’s recommendations. It’s great that Save have published the findings of the report and have provided this stimulus for a sector wide conversation.
http://www.savethechildren.org.uk/resources/online-library/people-pictures
Screening: Sea of Pictures
Later this month the Frontline Club, in collaboration with the Ethical Journalism Network, will screen Sea of Pictures, a documentary which explores how the image of the Syrian toddler, Alan Kurdi, went viral and looks at the wider issue of how the media use images to tell stories. The screening will be followed by a debate discussing how pictures can impact and shape public discourse and policy, often in ways which are unintended. The event, chaired by Dorothy Byrne, Channel 4’s Head of News and Current Affairs, takes place at 7pm on Monday July 31st.
https://www.frontlineclub.com/screening-sea-of-pictures-qa/
Reframing Climate Change
We have been continuing with our reframing climate change project. At last month’s Sheffield Documentary Festival we hosted a short film pitch with The Guardian online and a panel debate in which four leading filmmakers talked about how they had tackled the issue of climate change. Two of the films featured were screened at the festival, Thank You for the Rain and Chasing Coral. Both have now been released in the UK. We also held a brainstorm with the Unreported World team to encourage them to cover more environmental stories. Our next brainstorm will be with Horizon.
Ashden Awards
If you missed last month’s Ashden Awards, it’s worth watching Al Gore’s keynote spech. His new movie An Inconsequential Sequel comes to the UK next month.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iAIXqcHQTD0
New website on attitudes to aid
The team behind the Gates-funded Aid Attitudes tracker has launched DevCommsLab, a new website, which aims to make the findings of the tracker more readily available and to stimulate a sector wide debate about the best ways of building public support for aid. https://devcommslab.org/
Does the Daily Mail’s criticism of aid matter?
In a recent blog, Martin Scott from the University of East Anglia, questions the influence of the press on public attitudes to aid. He makes the point that there has been no significant change in the public’s perception of the effectiveness or wastefulness of UK government spending on aid, in the period 2013-6, despite the Daily Mail’s vociferous anti-aid campaign, launched in 2014, to encourage aid money to be spent on flood victims in the UK.
New book: Caring in Crisis
Bruna Seu and Shani Orgad have published their new book, Caring in Crisis, which documents why and how people respond (or fail to respond) to humanitarian communication. The book highlights what NGOs seek to achieve in their communications and explores how their approach and hopes match or don’t match what the public wants, thinks and feels about distant suffering. It contains essays from a number of academics and industry professionals.
http://www.springer.com/gb/book/9783319502588#otherversion=9783319502595
New report on public attitudes to refugees
The ODI and Chatham House have published new research which examines public attitudes to refugees and migrants. The working paper is intended as a primer, outlining current global polling data on public attitudes, and analysing what the literature has to say about the drivers influencing these attitudes.
https://www.odi.org/sites/odi.org.uk/files/resource-documents/11600.pdf
Reuters Digital News report 2017
If you’re interested in the changing way in which audiences are consuming news, it’s worth taking a look at the latest Reuters Digital News report which was published last month. This year’s report reveals new insights about digital news consumption based on a YouGov survey of 70,000 online news consumers in 36 countries, including the UK and US. The report focuses on the issues of trust in the era of fake new, changing business models and the role of platforms.
http://www.digitalnewsreport.org/
Screening: Calais Children: A Case to Answer
On 4th July, Sue Clayton is screening her new film, Calais Children: A Case to Answer, which follows some of the many unaccompanied minors forced to leave the Calais ‘Jungle’ refugee camp in October 2016. The screening will take place at Birkbeck, University of London, and will be followed by a Q and A with the filmmaker who will talk about her own brand of social activist filmmaking and discuss the question ‘can films change public policy and the law?’ There will be further screenings later this month (see Campaign below).
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/can-films-change-public-policy-and-the-law-tickets-35199993127
Campaign: www.calais.gebnet.co.uk
Screening: City of Ghosts
Finally, one of the most powerful documentaries screened at the Sheffield Documentary Festival was City of Ghosts, which focuses on the work of a group of Syrian exiles, who call themselves Raqqa is Being Slaughtered Silently. They risk their lives to document the atrocities committed by ISIS in their homeland. The film is now on release in the UK and shown on 5th July at the Frontline Club. That screening was followed by a Q and A with the director. You can see the trailer here
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2NCLFoFwrIw
Best wishes
Mark
Welcome to IBT’s June newsletter with an update on our work and relevant news from the media industry. (Download/Print this Newsletter)
This month’s briefing with Sky News
This month we’ll be hearing from Dan Williams, Head of International at Sky News. Dan will talk us through the latest changes at Sky and the best way to pitch ideas to him and his team. Sky News has a positive track record of covering off agenda news stories and is a good outlet for IBT members. The briefing will take place at the IBT offices at 10am on Thursday June 29th. This event was due to take place earlier in the year – those who registered last time do not need to do so again. Others should sign up via the IBT website in the usual way. Any queries, just get in touch. Confirmation emails will go out a few days before the event.
Launch of new IBT report Video first – making an impact
Last month we launched our new research report Video first – making an impact. The report looks at the changing media landscape and the growing importance of video online. It includes lots of practical tips on how NGOs can improve their online video content. The launch took place at Channel 4. Speakers included Daniel Pearl, Channel 4’s deputy head of news and current affairs and Max Gogarty, BBC3’s Executive Editor. Sophie Chalk, the report author, presented a summary of the findings. More details on what the speakers said can be found on the members’ page of our website. The report can be downloaded here:
http://www.ibt.org.uk/documents/reports/video-first-full.pdf
Social media refresher
Last month we also held our first social media refresher – a free training session for IBT members that gave updates on the four main social media sites – Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Snapchat – and lots of examples of how NGOs were using these platforms. The two trainers were social media specialists Zoe Amar and Martin Carter. The feedback from the event was very positive, so we plan to hold another refresher later in the year for those who were unable to attend this time.
Unreported World
Channel 4’s international current affairs strand, Unreported World, is on the lookout for stories for its Autumn run. They’re particularly interested in ideas from Turkey, Libya and the US. They have a strong interest in environmental stories and are looking at the issue of pollution in China and India. They’re also keen to feature urban life in Africa. Stories need to be distinctive, with a narrative that can be filmed in July-September. If you want to find out more, contact the series editor, Monica Garnsey, at Quicksilver or get in touch with me.
Sheffield Documentary Festival
IBT will be hosting two events at this week’s Sheffield Documentary Festival, as part of our work on climate change. If you’re going, please look out for our sessions. On Monday June 12th at 4.30pm we’ll be holding a film pitch with The Guardian, with the shortlisted filmmakers pitching their ideas in front of a live audience. The winner will receive development funding and their film will be shown on Guardian online. On Tuesday June 13th at 10am we’ll be hosting a panel debate with four filmmakers talking about the best way to engage mainstream audiences with the issue of climate change. More information here:
https://sheffdocfest.com/sessions/5405?day=4
https://sheffdocfest.com/sessions/5419?day=5
Al Gore speaking at the Ashden Awards
Next week sees the annual Ashden Awards which celebrate sustainable energy trailblazers. The guest speaker will be former US Vice President and climate change campaigner, Al Gore. The event takes place at the Royal Geographical Society at 7pm on Thursday June 15th. Tickets are available here:
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/2017-ashden-awards-ceremony-tickets-31326533505
New CBeebies series Where in the World
Earlier this week CBeebies launched its new documentary series, Where in the World, which features children from around the world. It’s good to see the BBC making programmes for such a young audience that show how children in other countries lead their lives. This is something IBT has been urging the BBC to do for some time. We hope to hold an event in Parliament later in the year that looks at how children see the wider world and how the media influences children’s views.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/cbeebies/shows/where-in-the-world
One World Media awards
Last night the 29th annual One World Media Awards took place, presented for the first time by Krishnan Guru-Murthy with a guest appearance by the comedian Shazia Mirza. It was great to see such a wide range of media about the developing world coming from so many different media outlets. There were several notable winners including the superb BBC2 series Exodus which won two awards – Refugee Reporting (sponsored by the British Red Cross) and Television Documentary. Its Executive Producer, Will Anderson, is one of the speakers at our Sheffield DocFest panel. A list of all the winners can be found here:
http://www.oneworldmedia.org.uk/awards/winners/
Best wishes
Mark
Welcome to IBT’s May newsletter with an update on our work and relevant news from the media industry. (Download/Print this Newsletter)
We have two events this month – they are open to all IBT members, and our Report launch is open to the general public as well. If you’d like to attend then please either let me know or register online.
Launch of new IBT report Video first – making an impact
On Tuesday May 16th, we will be launching our new research report Video first – making an impact. The launch event will take place at the Channel 4 offices in Horseferry Road. Speakers include Daniel Pearl, Channel 4’s deputy head of news and current affairs, and Max Gogarty, BBC3’s Executive Editor. Sophie Chalk, the report author, will present a summary of the findings. More details here http://www.ibt.org.uk/events/ibt-report-launch/
Social media refresher
On Thursday May 25th we will be running a half day social media training session which will include a refresher on the four main social media sites – Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Snapchat. We’ll look at new features and trends and give advice on the capability and uses for each site. The two trainers will be social media specialists Zoe Amar and Martin Carter. This is a free event for IBT members but places are limited. More details here http://www.ibt.org.uk/events/social-media-refresher/
Last month’s briefing with BBC News online
Last month we heard from Angus Foster, World editor at BBC News online. He talked us through the latest changes at the BBC website and advised on the best way to pitch ideas. His advice was to pitch direct to the regional editors for Africa, Latin America, Asia, Europe and the Middle East and he gave us their contact details. A detailed note on the briefing can be found on the members’ page of the IBT website.
More on briefings
After each briefing I produce a note which I circulate to all the attendees to share with colleagues. The note usually includes email addresses for all the key contacts from that organization so it’s a useful way to keep your contacts up to date. Notes for past briefings can be found on the members’ page of the IBT website.
Climate change film pitch
IBT has launched a competition for the best climate change short documentary proposal. We are running this jointly with The Guardian and Sheffield DocFest. The pitch is open now and the closing date is Tuesday May 9th. The winning proposal will receive £7,500 of development funding and the opportunity to be screened on Guardian online. If you’re planning to attend DocFest, you can watch the shortlisted filmmakers pitch their ideas in front of an audience at 4.30pm on Monday June 12th. More information can be found on the Docfest website.
https://sheffdocfest.com/articles/457-the-guardian-documentary-pitch-in-association-with-ibt
#BiggerBritain campaign
Congratulations to all those involved in the #BiggerBritain campaign urging the Government to reaffirm its commitment to spending 0.7% of GDP on aid. The campaign was successful when Theresa May announced that there would be no change to the commitment in the next Conservative party manifesto. Labour, the LibDems, the SNP and the Greens all remain committed to 0.7.
One World Media awards
Tickets go on sale later this week for the One World Media awards which celebrate the best media coverage of the developing world. The annual awards will take place this year on Tuesday June 6th at BAFTA in the west end. Shortlisted entries for the TV documentary category include The Exodus: Our Journey to Europe (BBC2), The White Helmets (Netflix) and China: Between Clouds and Dreams (Channel 4). Those shortlisted for the international journalist of the year include Guillermo Galdos (Channel 4 News), Christina Lamb (The Sunday Times) and Ian Panell (BBC News). More information here http://www.oneworldmedia.org.uk/awards/
Best wishes
Mark
Welcome to IBT’s April newsletter with an update on our work and relevant news from the media industry. (Download/Print this Newsletter)
This month’s briefing will be with BBC News online
BBC News online has been through a major revamp but it remains without doubt one of the key destinations for audiences wishing to find international content. We are delighted that our next briefing will be with Angus Foster, World editor on BBC News online. Angus will talk us through the changes and the best way to pitch ideas to him and his colleagues. BBC News is often regarded as impenetrable to outsiders so this is a great opportunity for us to get a better understanding of the different points of entry for NGOs wishing to pitch to BBC News. The briefing will take place at 10am on Wednesday April 26th at the IBT offices in Southwark. You can register in the usual way via the IBT website. Apologies to those who wanted to hear from Dan Williams of Sky News – he is still off sick and we will reschedule this event asap.
Launch of new IBT report Video first – making an impact
Next month we’ll be launching our new research report Video first – making an impact. This report looks at the changing media landscape and focuses on online video – who is watching, where are they watching and what are the key lessons for NGOs wishing to produce their own video content? There has been a huge growth in online video and many social media sites actively promote video rather than text or still images. Media organisations are responding by producing more video content but this remains a major challenge for many NGOs. Our report is designed as a practical guide for IBT members. We will be launching it on the morning of Tuesday May 16th at the Channel 4 offices in Horseferry Road. Sophie Chalk will present the key findings and there will be a panel discussion with a range of broadcasters and social media experts. Invitations will go out shortly.
Social media training
We will be running a social media training session in May. This is free to all IBT members. It is mainly targeted at media officers but others are welcome too. The session will provide a refresher on the four main social media sites – Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Snapchat. It will give an update on new features and trends and give advice on the capability and uses for each. This event is specially targeted at NGOs and we’ll be showing examples of how NGOs have made good use of the different sites. The training session will be run for us by social media specialists Zoe Amar and Martin Carter. If you have any queries about the content just get in touch. It takes place from 9am – 2pm on Thursday May 25th. Lunch will be provided. Book your place(s) on this site.
Digital advice for charities
Last month, Zoe Amar and David Evans published Charity Digital Skills Report which is a very useful guide on charities and social media. The report argues that a lack of a digital strategy is hampering the progress of many charities. An estimated 50% do not have such a strategy. Many do not see digital as a priority. You can read more by following the hashtag #charitydigireport on Twitter. The full report is here http://report.skillsplatform.org/charitydigitalreportdetail/
Climate change on TV
Channel 4 has announced that it will show a season of programming on climate change to mark Earth Day on April 22nd. This is the culmination of many conversations that we have had with the channel to encourage them to give more prominence to the issue of climate change. Full details of the season have not yet been announced but it will include Earth from Space, a film from Arrow Media, and Escape to Costa Rica, which follows the writer Gaia Vince as she moves from the UK to a country that is well on the way to achieving carbon neutrality.
Tracking your carbon footprint
The BBC has announced that all TV programming within factual, comedy, drama, entertainment and daytime will have to start tracking their carbon footprints from this month. This is the latest success for the Albert carbon calculator which was developed by the BBC and launched by BAFTA several years ago. The Albert scheme helps to identify carbon hotspots and to inform best practice. It’s great to see the television industry making such a sustained effort to reduce its environmental impact. Several BBC shows have been leading the way on this, notably Casualty, Springwatch, Dragon’s Den and BBC Breakfast. If anyone in the development community is aware of similar initiatives in the sector please let us know as we would be keen to publicise these further.
New BBC regulator
This month marks the beginning of a new era of regulation for the BBC. For the first time in its history it will have an outside regulator, Ofcom. Ofcom has published detailed proposals on how it will regulate the BBC which include a series of targets for the number of hours of news and current affairs which the BBC should produce. IBT will be submitting evidence to Ofcom, arguing that the regulator should also be measuring the total number of hours of international content. In a separate development, the BBC Trust has published its own End of Charter review in which it identifies two key challenges for the future: retaining young audiences and improving BAME representation. It says that many mainstream services ‘skew white.’
Channel 4 saved from privatisation
Karen Bradley, the Culture Secretary has announced that Channel 4 will not be privatized. This brings to an end two years of uncertainty for the channel. Privatisation was strongly opposed by IBT as we felt that it would make some key international programmes such as Channel 4 News and Unreported World vulnerable to cuts. The Secretary of State has announced a new review to look at whether Channel 4 should relocate to Birmingham to ensure that it is less London centric as an organisation. Channel 4 is resisting the move, arguing that it would provide a serious distraction from its main task and that its actual physical location should not affect what is on the screen.
Fake News – what are the implications for NGOs?
Channel 4 has called for the introduction of a social media ‘kitemark’ so that regulated news organisations can make their online content stand out, as the main social media platforms find themselves under increasing political pressure to police fake news more effectively. The Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee has also launched its own enquiry into fake news. The whole debate about fake news may ultimately be good for mainstream quality journalism if it can demonstrate its expertise and ethical values. IBT will be investigating the implications of this debate and the issue of trust in a new report to be published in the autumn. If you have any relevant experience of this issue please let us know.
Bond media group proposed messaging on aid
The Bond media group has identified three key messages that it is asking NGOs to include in their local press releases. The three messages all reflect key drivers that have the potential to persuade those who are marginally engaged to be more actively supportive of aid. The messages (and drivers) are: everyone deserves a fair chance in life (moral driver); making the world a safer place (personal efficacy); and Brits from the NHS through to the Army are playing an important role in tackling poverty (social norms). If you would like the exact wording or would like to find out more about the work of the Bond media group, contact Maryam mmohsin@bond.org.uk or Hratche Hratche.koundarjian@vsoint.org
Best wishes
Mark
Welcome to IBT’s March newsletter with an update on our work and relevant news from the media industry. (Download/Print this Newsletter)
This month’s briefing will be with Sky News
Sky News has been through significant change in recent times but it remains an influential broadcaster with a strong commitment to international content. Later this month, we will hear from Dan Williams, Sky’s Head of International News. Dan will talk us through the changes and the best way to pitch ideas for television and online. The briefing will take place at 10am on Wednesday March 29th at the IBT offices in Southwark. You can register in the usual way via the IBT website.
Last month’s briefing with Unreported World
Our last briefing was with Monica Garnsey, the series editor of Channel 4’s international current affairs strand, Unreported World. She told us that she is keen to hear from IBT members who have potential ideas that might work for the strand – she is looking for stories that have not been covered by mainstream media, with strong characters and a narrative. Ideas can be pitched in a couple of paragraphs by phone or email – they do not need to be fully developed. Monica and her colleagues will start working on the next series in the summer so ideas should be pitched in June for filming in July-September. More detailed notes on the briefing can be found in the members’ area of the IBT website.
IBT at the Bond conference
For the first time, we will have a stand at the Bond conference. Do come and say hello and let us have your feedback on our work and particularly on the briefings and training events. All suggestions for future events will be very welcome. We are keen to recruit new members to IBT so if you have colleagues or friends from other organisations who are attending the conference do point them in our direction or send them a copy of our membership leaflet. http://www.ibt.org.uk/documents/miscellaneous/IBTmembershipleaflet-2017.pdf
Training in media skills
We are keen to hear about your training needs. We run regular training sessions aimed at media officers and CEOs. In the past these have covered virtual reality filmmaking, stills photography, shooting with an iPhone, online slideshows, Twitter, Snapchat and Instagram. We are currently planning some training events for the spring. It’s likely that the first one will be a refresher covering the latest trends on social media and giving some useful tips for how to make the best use of a range of platforms. Let me know if you’d be interested in attending or have other training needs that we can help address.
Talking about climate change
Climate Outreach has published a practical guide to accompany the #showthelove campaign. It looks at how best to communicate with the public, particularly right of centre audiences. The guide contains useful tips on the language that is most effective with these audiences. Some of the key messages include: stress continuity not change; beware of the post Brexit landscape where people are distrusting of elites and top-down messaging; promote the simplicity of sustainability; make climate messages tangible; and be humble with claims about renewables. http://climateoutreach.org/resources/centre-right-post-brexit/
DFID’s new direction
In case you missed it, DFID has published its first ever Economic Development Strategy, which gives a clear indication of its priorities under a new Secretary of State. The main focus of the report is on trade as an engine for poverty reduction. It also highlights the challenge of empowering poor and marginalized people so that they can benefit from economic growth.
Media criticism of aid
DFID, under its Director of Comms, Tim Singleton, has introduced a new section on its website where it responds to media criticism, called ‘DFID in the News’ – its aim is to highlight ‘the facts behind media stories about DFID’s work.’
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/dfid-in-the-news
Tim will be meeting with the Bond media group on Monday March 6th to talk about a more joined up approach to media criticism by NGOs and DFID. In the meantime, Bond has asked its members to pledge additional funds to support a more strategic and collaborative response to the current media criticism of UK aid.
Decline in trust in NGOs
The results of the 2017 Edelman Trust barometer were published last month and they point to a decline in trust in NGOs across 28 countries, down from 66% in 2014 to 53% in 2017 (with actual distrust registered in the UK, Sweden and Japan). The figures for NGOs reflect a decline in trust for all our main institutions including business, government and media. At the bottom of the trust pile is government – and the most trustworthy of the four are NGOs. http://www.edelman.com/trust2017/
Charities promote the positive work that they do
A new report, Charity Today 2017, was published last month as part of a public facing campaign to draw attention to the positive contribution that NGOs make in the UK. The report is the result of a collaboration between ACEVO, the Charities Aid Foundation, the Institute of Fundraising and CharityComms. Its aim is to give people a better understanding of what charities do and how they operate.
https://www.acevo.org.uk/news/charity-today-2017
It’s also worth taking a look at the NCVO’s Constructive Voices project which links journalists with charities in the hope of securing more positive media coverage. https://www.ncvo.org.uk/about-us/media-centre#constructivevoices
The echo chamber effect of social media
Demos has published a new piece of research, Talking to Ourselves, which investigates the echo chamber effect of social media, whereby the breadth of information that we are shown online is being technologically narrowed, filtered by algorithms, and tailored by our increasing power to shape the news that we see. There’s some evidence to suggest that this is resulting in the strengthening of existing biases and political prejudices, and a narrowing of political, cultural and social awareness. This is a serious challenge for NGOs particularly those involved in campaigns that seek to reach mainstream audiences. The Demos paper shows that there is a strong connection between a user’s ideology and the users and news they interact with online. The paper makes no recommendations but it does underline the importance of mainstream news as a place where social media users with different political viewpoints are likely to encounter one another. https://www.demos.co.uk/project/talking-to-ourselves/
New research on public attitudes in sub Saharan Africa
A study by the Pew Research Center has investigated public attitudes in South Africa, Nigeria and Kenya. The report reveals that large segments of the public in all three countries feel that the political and economic system is stacked against them with a major concern being the lack of employment prospects.
If you’re interested in hearing more about the survey, the researchers will be presenting their findings at a Bond event tomorrow afternoon, Thursday March 2nd. If you’d like to attend, contact Luke Stewart lstewart@bond.org.uk
Conference on refugees – call for papers from NGOs
CAMRI, the Communications and Media Research Institute at the University of Westminster is calling for papers on the theme of counter narratives of the migrant and refugee experience. They are keen to hear from NGOs, academics and filmmakers who have documented the ‘hidden opportunities and unspoken challenges faced by migrants and refugees.’ The deadline is March 15th. https://camri.ac.uk/2017/02/16/call-papers-rights-plight-cultural-counter-narratives-migrant-refugee-experiences/
Best wishes
Mark
Welcome to IBT’s February newsletter with an update on our work and relevant news from the media industry. (Download/Print this Newsletter)
New IBT annual report
Today we publish our annual report which covers our work in 2016. We held a number of briefings and training sessions for our members; we published two research reports (Small Screen, Big World which looked at the international content of news on TV and other outlets, and Climate Change on Television which examined media coverage of climate change a year after the all-important UN agreement in Paris) and we lobbied successfully for the strengthening of the global purpose in the new BBC Charter. If you have any questions about our work do get in touch.
http://www.ibt.org.uk/documents/IBT-internal-reports/ibtannual2016.pdf
This month’s briefing will be with Unreported World
Our next briefing will be with Monica Garnsey, the series producer of Channel 4’s international current affairs strand, Unreported World. This is the one space on mainstream television that guarantees coverage to under reported stories from around the world. Monica will talk about the sort of stories they are looking for and how best to pitch ideas to her and her team. She has worked extensively with NGOs in the past, including many IBT members. The last series of Unreported World was one of the best to date. Now entering its 18th year, Unreported World remains an important part of the Channel 4 schedule but its position cannot be taken for granted. If the channel is privatized Unreported World is likely to be an early victim. The briefing with Monica will take place at 10am on Tuesday February 28th. Spaces can be booked in the usual way via the IBT website.
Last month’s briefing with Today
Our last briefing was with Ollie Stone-Lee, the acting deputy editor of Radio 4’s Today programme. Ollie talked us through how the programme selects stories and how best to pitch ideas or suggest studio guests. They are keen to widen the range of voices that they feature. There is also a big digital push happening at Radio 4 with a dedicated online team promoting Today content across social media. Digital is driving change and giving the production team a clearer insight into the stories that audiences are interested in. International content does well online. Ollie also spoke about the move at BBC News for more so called ‘slow news’ which in practice means a greater emphasis on analysis and an attempt to track big picture changes that are taking place in society but are not reflected in the day to day news agenda. A more detailed note on what was said at the briefing can be found on the members’ page of the IBT website.
Defending aid
A meeting took place at Bond last month, bringing together media officers and others from across Bond’s membership, with the aim of developing a series of joint communications and campaign initiatives for 2017 which proactively make the case for maintaining aid spending. It’s clear that certain sections of the media, most notably The Daily Mail, have the Government’s 0.7% commitment to aid spending in their sights. As a result of the meeting, Bond has now set up a media group to coordinate the response from NGOs. The aim of the group is to ‘defend and put the case for UK aid into the media with increased frequency across all media types.’ The media group had its first virtual meeting earlier this week and a number of sub groups have been set up to look at messaging, research, engagement and strategy. If you are interested in joining the group contact Hratche at VSO Hratche.Koundarjian@vsoint.org He is running the group in the absence of a Bond media officer.
New IBT research
IBT is producing a new piece of research to be published in the spring. The main focus will be online video – we will be looking at a range of ways in which video is being viewed online and talking to the key platforms and content producers. The aim of the report is to develop a practical guide for IBT members who are producing online video content. If you’d like to contribute to the research, contact Sophie who is leading on this Sophie.chalk@btinternet.com
Changes at the BBC
In a speech last month Tony Hall, the BBC Director-General, outlined his strategy for the next Charter. A key priority is to reinvent the iPlayer for a new generation. This will inevitably mean more personalization. The thinking behind this, in the words of Tony Hall, is that ‘by finding out more about our audiences and what they like, we can make better content, make it more relevant, and bring it to them more effectively.’ This is of course, a good thing, but there is a danger that audiences will live in a bubble of content they love and be less exposed to content outside their range of interests.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/mediacentre/speeches/2017/tony-hall-ny-message
Regulation of the BBC for accuracy and impartiality
From April, the BBC will be regulated by Ofcom and the BBC Trust will be abolished. This is one of the major changes resulting from the new Charter. IBT is in the process of responding to a series of consultations by Ofcom. One issue of contention is regulation for accuracy and impartiality. At present, the BBC is regulated by the Trust for accuracy and impartiality across all BBC content, including online and the World Service. Under the current Ofcom proposals future regulation will only apply to BBC News on radio, TV and on the iPlayer. This is cause for concern and we have suggested to Ofcom that it finds other ways of monitoring the BBC to ensure that it delivers its commitment to accuracy and impartiality across the whole of its output. You can see our submission here:
http://www.ibt.org.uk/lobbying/ofcom-regulation-bbc-impartiality-accuracy-january-2017/
Fake News
A number of initiatives have been announced by social media platforms and broadcasters to address the issue of fake news. The BBC has launched a new service, Reality Check, which will investigate fake news online and expose it.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/topics/267ada11-b730-4344-b404-63067c032c65/reality-check
At the Today briefing, Ollie Stone-Lee told us that BBC news producers are trying to be more rigorous about fact checking and their use of data, so it’s important that NGOs check carefully any statistics that they supply to BBC News.
Channel 4 has announced a slate of new programmes to be broadcast this month which will also investigate the phenomenon of fake news.
http://www.channel4.com/info/press/news/channel-4-announces-fake-news-week
Newspapers
A new report, Newspaper consumption in the mobile age, makes for interesting reading. Its author, Neil Thurman, from City University, examined 11 UK national newspapers and found that they are still largely read in the printed form – 89% of people read a newspaper as newsprint; 7.5% read it on their mobiles; 4% on their PCs. He also found that time spent reading the newspaper is much greater for those reading the paper itself than looking at the content online. The average time spent reading the paper as newsprint is 40 minutes a day; for those reading online the average time spent is 30 seconds. http://neilthurman.com/timespent.pdf
Human Rights Watch film festival
The Human Rights Watch film festival takes place in London next month, from March 6-17. Tickets go on sale next week. The festival opens with I’m Not Your Negro, a documentary charting the history of racism in the US. It closes with Nowhere to Hide, a documentary telling the story of a male nurse living and bringing up his children in the Iraqi city of Jalawla and filmed over several years. https://ff.hrw.org/london
Best wishes
Mark
Happy New Year and welcome to IBT’s January newsletter with an update on our work and relevant news from the media industry. (Download/Print this Newsletter)
Briefing with Today
Our next briefing will be with John Shields, the Assistant Editor of Radio 4’s Today programme. John is responsible for planning and will talk us through how best to pitch ideas to him and his colleagues and the sort of ideas and studio guests they are looking for. Today is of course the most popular news programme in the UK, reaching a weekly audience of more than 7 million. This event will be held at the IBT offices at 10am on Tuesday January 24th. You can register now via the IBT website. If you have already registered then there’s no need to do anything – you will receive full details of the event a few days in advance.
Tabloid attack on aid
The attack on foreign aid continues across many of the tabloids with the Daily Mail playing a leading role with its ‘charity begins at home’ campaign. The recent spate of attack pieces began with the New Year Honours list and the knighting of DFID Permanent Secretary, Mark Lowcock (Daily Mail and Express). It continued with an attack on cash transfers, focusing mainly on the DFID programme in Pakistan (Daily Mail, Sun and Express). The most recent attack was on DFID for funding super fast broadband in Monserrat whilst many in the UK don’t have this. There has been a strong fightback from NGOs with CEOs Mark Goldring (Oxfam) and Kevin Watkins (Save) writing think pieces, and on cash transfers many NGOs (including Mercy Corps, ActionAid, HelpAge International, Tearfund and International Rescue Committee) all highlighting areas where cash transfers work effectively and reliably. Bond is playing a leading role in coordinating the NGO response and will be holding a meeting for anyone working in campaigns, comms and media who wishes to collaborate on making the case for aid. The meeting will be held from 2-4pm on Thursday January 19th. To find out more contact Alice Delamare, Campaigns manager at Bond adelamare@bond.org.uk
Digital media and coverage of climate change
Last month, the Reuters Institute published new research highlighting the way in which new media has been covering climate change. The report, Something Old, Something New: Digital media and the coverage of climate change, focused on Huffington Post, BuzzFeed and Vice, and found that all three have made coverage of climate change a priority and have successfully changed the tone, style and format of coverage to attract audiences who are interested in the climate change story.
New research website on humanitarian journalism
A group of academics has set up a website to further understanding of how the news media report on humanitarian crises and what shapes coverage. The Humanitarian Journalism project is working in partnership with a number of organisations, including IBT. The lead academics for the project are Martin Scott (UEA) who has authored several IBT reports, Mel Bunce (City) and Kate Wright (now at Edinburgh).
http://humanitarian-journalism.net/
One World Media Awards
Entries are now open for this year’s One World Media Awards which celebrate the best media coverage of developing countries and aim to reflect the social, political and cultural life of people around the world. The closing date for entries is Thursday February 2nd. This annual event will be hosted by Jon Snow and held at BAFTA on Tuesday June 6th. There are 15 different categories of award. The Refugee Reporting Award is sponsored by the British Red Cross and Transparency International sponsors the Corruption Reporting Award. The Special Award goes to an independent media organization based in a developing country that has made an outstanding contribution in holding to account those in power.
http://www.oneworldmedia.org.uk/2017-Awards-Enter
Briefings for CEOs
As part of our work we organise events specially targeted at CEOs to keep them well informed on the latest media trends and technology. Last month we held a training session on virtual reality filmmaking. Later this year we will be organizing our annual dinner and networking event – the guest speaker last year was Jamie Angus, the Editor of the Today programme. Do let us know if you have any suggestions for future sessions for CEOs.
Updating mailing list
Since we are keen that this newsletter goes to everyone who might be interested, please help us to keep up to date and let us know names of colleagues who should be on our mailing list. The newsletter and IBT events may be of interest to those involved in comms, media, digital and campaigns. The newsletter goes exclusively to staff working for IBT member organisations.
Best wishes
Mark
Welcome to IBT’s December newsletter with an update on our work and relevant news from the media industry. (Download/Print this Newsletter)
Climate change on television
Today we are launching our new report Climate Change on Television – what the Paris Agreement means for broadcasters. In the report we look at the track record of mainstream television in covering climate change and related issues, a year on from the historic UN agreement in Paris. Broadcasters are successfully incorporating climate change messaging in some popular programmes like Planet Earth 2 and commissioning some important new content such as Hugh’s War on Waste. There are signs that these are issues that are increasingly being prioritised by broadcasters. But the report calls on TV commissioners to experiment and take more risks, given the importance and urgency of building public awareness. Do share the report with friends and colleagues and let us have your comments on it. You can read it here http://www.ibt.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/IBT-Climate-Change-on-Television.pdf
Climate change round table
This morning we held a round table with broadcasters, independent producers and a range of experts, to discuss the findings of the report. It was a constructive meeting in which the broadcasters disclosed their future programming plans. It was rare to see all the main broadcasters – the BBC, ITV, Channel 4, Sky and Discovery – coming together to talk about one issue. Something which emerged from the discussion was that commissioners and producers said they would like to have a clearer understanding of what the priority areas should be for individual action by the UK public. We are planning to follow this up with some briefing events in which policy experts share this information with producers.
Briefing with Channel 4 News
Last month we held a briefing with Jon Laurence, Digital Editor on Channel 4 News. It was fascinating to hear from Jon about his strategy and the way he has built a substantial young online audience for Channel 4 News with video content on Facebook. This content includes cut down versions of features running on the evening news show but also packages using external content which may come from news agencies or NGOs. Infographics are popular too. Jon showed us some of the most watched videos, and talked us through key lessons about the sort of content that young people watch and share. Jon’s team produces around 60 videos a week and many receive 2 or 3m views. A briefing note on this event can be found on the members’ page of the IBT website.
Briefing with Today
Our next briefing will be in the new year with John Shields, the Assistant Editor of Radio 4’s Today programme. John is responsible for planning and will talk us through how best to pitch ideas to him and his colleagues and the sort of ideas and studio guests they are looking for. Today is of course the most popular news programme in the UK, reaching a weekly audience of more than 7 million. It will be interesting to see how it changes under its new editor, now that Jamie Angus has announced that he is stepping down. This event will be held at the IBT offices at 10am on Tuesday January 24th. You can register now via the IBT website.
Changes at BBC News
James Harding, the BBC’s Director of News has announced that BBC News will shift its focus to provide more analysis and explanation. Harding told BBC staff last month that the BBC is ‘extremely good at reporting the what but we need to be better at the why.’ To aid the strategy, the present BBC News will be divided into two divisions: BBC News for daily news content and BBC Stories for analytical content and the stories of human experience. These changes are very welcome. IBT has been urging the BBC to shift its focus away from the big story of the day and to increase the range of its news content. We also understand that BBC News is looking for ways of telling more positive news stories that have the potential to be empowering, as they feel these are the sort of stories that appeal to younger audiences.
Expansion of the BBC World Service
Fran Unsworth, Director of the World Service has announced that the BBC will launch 11 new language services following an injection of extra money from the Government. This means that the World Service will now broadcast in 40 languages. The expansion will also include extended news bulletins in Russian, enhanced TV services across Africa, more resources for BBC Arabic and for broadcasts aimed at audiences in North Korea. Many of the new resources reflect the Government’s political and foreign policy priorities. The World Service, like the rest of BBC News, will also shift resources to provide more analysis and explanation.
Jagdish Gundara
It is with great sadness that I announce the death of Jagdish Gundara, after a long illness. Jagdish was one of the founders of IBT and served for many years as a Trustee. He stepped down from his role at IBT in 2012. Jagdish held the UNESCO Chair in International Studies and Teacher Education and was Emeritus Professor of Education at the Institute of Education. We will all remember him as someone who was immensely kind and supportive. He will be greatly missed.
Best wishes
Mark
IBT’s mission is to use the media to further awareness and understanding of people’s lives in the developing world and the issues which affect them
If you do not wish to receive this newsletter please reply with unsubscribe in the subject line
Welcome to IBT’s November newsletter with an update on our work and relevant news from the media industry. (Download/Print this Newsletter)
Next briefing will be with Channel 4 News
Later this month we will hear from Jon Laurence, Digital Editor on Channel 4 News. Jon has been remarkably successful in building the show’s online presence with videos receiving 200m Facebook views per month – more than the main BBC News Facebook page and more than ITV and Sky News. Jon will talk us through his online strategy and also advise us on how best to pitch story ideas to the programme. The briefing will be at 10am on Tuesday November 22nd. You can book your place now via the IBT website.
An introduction to virtual reality
Last month we ran our first workshop on virtual reality and 360 video, with two VR experts, Mark Atkin and Tom Millen, taking us through all the key aspects of VR and how it can best be used by NGOs. We also heard from Catherine Feltham about the lessons she had learnt whilst making WaterAid’s 360 film, Aftershock. This was an inspiring event and it’s clear that there is huge potential for charities to use VR and 360 for fundraising and public engagement. If there’s sufficient demand, we plan to run another VR training event early next year.
Virtual reality workshop for CEOs
Given the success of our virtual reality training session and the potential of this new technology, we will be running a much smaller event in mid December aimed at CEOs. This will give CEOs a condensed account of what they need to know about VR and an understanding of its strengths and limitations. We also want to encourage CEOs to think strategically about how this technology can be used for public engagement as well as for fundraising. We’ll be organising a breakfast meeting in mid December. If your CEO is interested in attending please let me know as we are just about to finalise the date.
The BBC’s global coverage
Last month we met Charlotte Moore, the BBC’s Director of Content, to talk about her future strategy for global coverage now that the new Charter has been finalized. Charlotte has overall responsibility for all content on TV, radio and online and she is also Controller of BBC1. It’s clear from our meeting that she has a strong commitment to strengthening the BBC’s non news global coverage and to finding new ways of reaching mainstream audiences with such content. She cited The Chronicles of Nadiya as one example. In this BBC1 show, the former Great British Bake Off winner travelled to Bangladesh to present a personal view of the country. The Refugee Camp and Exodus, both on BBC2, were other examples she gave of attempts by the BBC to commission distinctive international content. Charlotte said she would welcome future dialogue with IBT.
Ethnic minority audiences
The TV analysts, Attentional, have been looking at the viewing habits of ethnic minorities and come up with some interesting conclusions. It appears that there is a general trend of ethnic minority viewers moving away from the main public service broadcasters. https://www.theguardian.com/media/2016/oct/12/ethnic-minority-audiences-not-keen-mainstream-tv-dramas At the same time, diversity on and off the screen continues to be a major challenge for broadcasters. Sky has set quotas whereas others have chosen instead to opt for targets. The Sky strategy has paid off and the broadcaster is close to achieving 20% on screen ethnic minority representation across its output.
The Aid Attitudes Tracker
This Gates funded project continues to track public attitudes to aid in the UK, France, Germany and the US. In the UK, it is using a sample of over 8,000 people. The latest UK poll considers whether attitudes have changes since the Brexit referendum. It finds that there has been no significant change in public attitudes to aid since the referendum. However it appears that the trend of declining engagement with global poverty, which has been tracked for the past three years, is continuing. The percentage of people donating to global poverty organisations has dropped from 36 to 22% in the last 12 months; the number of people who have read, watched or listened to a news article about global poverty has declined from 66 to 54% in the same period. Trust in charities is low with 27% of those polled saying they had very little or no trust in charitable organisations. We are working with the team at Gates to design a new piece of research that will look more closely at media consumption habits and how different types of media content influence attitudes to poverty and other global issues.
Making the case for aid
Save the Children has commissioned Making the case for aid, a new piece of research from the research agency Britain Thinks. The aim of the research is to look at centre-right attitudes to aid and to explore the sort of messaging that works best for this audience. The research was commissioned by the Government relations team at Save to help them in their work with Government Ministers and backbench Conservative MPs. It has not been made publicly available but they are happy for us to share the findings with IBT members. Many of its conclusions will be familiar. This group wants to see evidence of impact and feels proud that the UK is playing a leading role in helping those who are worse off. However, the group is less keen on messaging that emphasises national interest or combatting corruption.
Children and how they experience global events
The NSPCC has reported that there are signs of growing anxiety amongst children about global events. It appears that children’s exposure to global issues through television and social media is leading to an increase in anxiety about world affairs. The BBC and others are trying to redress the balance with more positive coverage of global issues for children. CBeebies has commissioned a new documentary series, Where in the World, which explores the lives of children living around the world. We hope to collaborate with the Where in the World team to host an event next year which looks at how children in the UK experience world events through the media. If you are interested in contributing to this event please let me know.
https://www.pressreader.com/uk/the-guardian/20161031/281668254528403
Digital guide for Trustees
Zoe Amar has written a very useful guide in conjunction with the Charity Commission. Making digital work: 12 questions for Trustees to consider sets out some of the key issues that Trustees should think about when considering the implications of, and the fast changing nature of, digital technology.
Global Health Film Festival
The second annual Global Health Film Festival takes place at the Barbican on November 11th and 12th. Film screenings include A Plastic Ocean (which looks at the consequences of our disposable lifestyle) and The True Cost (on the global clothing industry). Tickets for the festival are on sale now. http://www.globalhealthfilm.org/ghff-2016
European Social Documentary training open for applications
ESoDoc, the EU funded European Social Documentary training initiative is open for applications. This innovative training scheme brings together young professionals from across Europe, working in the documentary, new media and NGO sectors, to collaborate on developing new social action projects. http://www.esodoc.eu/
Best wishes
Mark
IBT’s mission is to use the media to further awareness and understanding of people’s lives in the developing world and the issues which affect them
If you do not wish to receive this newsletter please reply with unsubscribe in the subject line
Welcome to IBT’s October newsletter with an update on our work and relevant news from the media industry. (Download/Print this Newsletter)
New BBC Charter
The Government has now published the new BBC Charter. I’m delighted to report that we have been successful in securing the wording of the global purpose that we lobbied for. This means that ‘factual programmes’ will be included as well as news and current affairs. The new wording also commits the BBC to making international content that appeals to ‘all audiences’. We will be following this up later this month when we meet Charlotte Moore, the BBC Director of Content. I’d like to than all the CEOs of IBT member organisations who signed a joint letter in support of the new wording, which was sent to the Secretary of State at DCMS, the BBC Director General and the Chair of the BBC Trust.
An introduction to virtual reality
Later this month, we will be holding our first training event on virtual reality (VR). It’s becoming an important tool for NGOs and many have successfully used it in their campaigning, communications and fundraising work. In this half day event, organised specially for IBT members, two VR experts, Mark Atkin and Tim Millen, will take us through all the key aspects of VR and how it can best be used by NGOs. They will look at the benefits for NGOs of using this new technology, how to make a VR documentary and the strengths and weaknesses of VR. We’ll also hear from Catherine Feltham who will talk about her own experience of making a VR film for WaterAid about a village in Nepal http://www.wateraid.org/uk/get-involved/virtual-reality The event will run from 9-2 on Friday October 21st. Lunch will be provided. There are a few places left – If you’d like to come, register now via the IBT website.
Last month’s briefing – with ITV’s On Assignment
Last month we heard from the editors of ITV’s international current affairs strand, On Assignment. Natalie Fay, Executive Producer and Delilah Jeary, Series Producer told us how they decide which stories to commission and the kind of mix that works best for them. They encouraged IBT members to get in touch with story ideas for the monthly strand, which is made in house by ITN, with films presented by their main correspondents. A more detailed note about the briefing can be found on the members’ page of the IBT website.
Annual IBT dinner
Last month we also held our annual dinner for CEOs of IBT member organisations. The guest speaker was Jamie Angus, the Editor of the Today programme. Jamie spoke about his ambition to broaden the international agenda of Today and encouraged the CEOs present to get in touch if there were important stories that were being missed. We can’t publish details of Jamie’s speech as the event was held under Chatham House rules. However, we’ll be following it up with a briefing early next year with the Planning Editor of Today.
Charity social media toolkit
Zoe Amar and David Evans have launched an online guide to social media – it’s aimed at small and large charities and has a wealth of useful and practical information on the best ways for charities to use social media.
http://landing.skillsplatform.org/charitysocialmediatoolkit/
Coming up
Film Africa – returns for another year this time showing 52 films from 22 African countries, October 28th – November 6th http://www.filmafrica.org.uk/
Speak Up on Climate Change – a week of action organized by the Climate Coalition, October 6th-16th http://www.theclimatecoalition.org/
Before the Flood – Leonardo Di Caprio’s documentary on climate change will be screened at the London Film Festival on October 15th https://whatson.bfi.org.uk/lff/Online/default.asp?BOparam::WScontent::loadArticle::permalink=beforetheflood&BOparam::WScontent::loadArticle::context_id=
Unreported World – the new series is back in its usual slot, Fridays at 7.30pm on Channel 4. This week’s episode is India’s Blind Dates. If you missed last week’s, Yemen – Britain’s Unseen War, it’s well worth watching http://www.channel4.com/programmes/unreported-world/
Best wishes
Mark
IBT’s mission is to use the media to further awareness and understanding of people’s lives in the developing world and the issues which affect them
If you do not wish to receive this newsletter please reply with unsubscribe in the subject line
Welcome to IBT’s September newsletter with an update on our work and relevant news from the media industry. (Download/Print this Newsletter)
Next briefing – with ITV’s On Assignment
Our next briefing will be with the editors of ITV’s international current affairs strand, On Assignment. It will take place at 10am on Tuesday September 20th. If you’d like to attend please register via the IBT website. The speakers will be Natalie Fay, Executive Producer and Delilah Jeary, Series Producer. They will show clips from the programme and talk about the ideas they are looking for and how best to pitch to them. The monthly strand is made by ITN and features three specially commissioned short films – it’s a great opportunity for IBT members to get off agenda stories onto prime time television.
http://www.itv.com/news/topic/on-assignment/
Next training event – an introduction to virtual reality
Virtual reality (VR) is an increasingly important tool for NGOs and many have successfully used it in their campaigning, communications and fundraising work. In this half day event for IBT members, two VR experts, Mark Atkin and Tim Millen, will take us through all the key aspects of VR and how it can best be used by NGOs. They will look at the benefits for NGOs of using this new technology, how to make a VR documentary and the strengths and weaknesses of VR. We’ll also hear from Catherine Feltham who will talk about her own experience of making a VR film for WaterAid about a village in Nepal http://www.wateraid.org/uk/get-involved/virtual-reality The event will run from 9-2 on Friday October 21st. Lunch will be provided. If you’d like to come, register via the IBT website.
Climate change think piece
We will be publishing a new research report in December, a year after the COP21 global climate change talks in Paris. The aim of the report will be to look at media –particularly television – coverage of climate change and whether it has changed significantly since Paris, given the global consensus that climate change requires urgent action to mitigate its impacts. The report will be written by Professor Joe Smith from the Open University, who has collaborated with us before on our climate change work. It will be presented to a round table of media industry leaders. The speaker at this event will be Christiana Figueres, the former UN climate chief. We are keen to hear from IBT members who have been working on the issue of climate change. If you have had any dealings with the media on this topic and are happy to share your experience please let me know.
BBC Charter and Channel 4 update
The draft BBC Charter is due to be published later this month. We will be looking out in particular for the wording of the new global purpose – something we have been actively lobbying on in recent months. We will also be arguing that international content on the BBC should be measured and used as a marker of distinctiveness. Although there is a new Secretary of State at DCMS, it’s not yet clear what impact this has had on the Charter renewal process. In the meantime, Channel 4 has asked for clarity over its future. It had been thought that privatization of the channel had been ruled out but the new team at DCMS has said that it remains an option. IBT has strongly opposed privatization as we believe that it is likely to result in a diminution of the channel’s public service content – and international programmes such as Unreported World are especially vulnerable.
Book launch – media coverage of Africa
Africa’s Media Image in the 21st Century – this new book looks at media coverage of Africa and tries to go beyond the usual stereotypes of ‘darkest Africa’ or ‘Africa rising’. The launch takes place at 7pm on Tuesday September 13th at SOAS. http://www.royalafricansociety.org/event/africas-media-image-21st-century
NGO communications
Charity Comms has launched its Inspiring Communicator Awards for 2016. The aim of the awards is to recognize and celebrate inspirational communicators in the charity sector. It’s free to enter and anyone can be nominated. http://www.charitycomms.org.uk/awards?utm_source=Email&utm_medium=ICA%20launch%20email&utm_content=05092016&utm_campaign=ICA%202016
Coming up – on radio, television and in the cinema
Costing the Earth – in this week’s episode, Big Oil Big Trouble, Tom Heap examines how the oil companies have responded to the threat of climate change. First broadcast is on Radio 4 at 3.30pm Tuesday September 6th. http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b07syt8k
When Two Worlds Collide – a superb documentary charting the violent conflict in Peru, between the Government and the indigenous people, over natural resources in the Amazon rainforest. Opens at Picturehouse Central in London on Friday September 9th
https://www.picturehouses.com/cinema/Picturehouse_Central/film/when-two-worlds-collide
The True Cost – this feature length documentary investigating the impact of the global clothing industry on people and the planet, will be screened at the RSA on Monday September 19thhttps://www.rsm.ac.uk/events/events-listing/2015-2016/groups/global-health/fig07-global-health-film-initiative-the-true-cost-screening.aspx
The Chronicles of Nadiya – this BBC1 documentary series is still available to watch on iPlayer. It featured Nadiya Hussain, winner of last year’s Great British Bake Off, travelling to Bangladesh and exploring the country and its food. It’s refreshing to see BBC1 making such populist and accessible content about a country like Bangladesh.
Best wishes
Mark
IBT’s mission is to use the media to further awareness and understanding of people’s lives in the developing world and the issues which affect them
Welcome to IBT’s August newsletter with an update on our work and relevant news from the media industry. (Download/Print this Newsletter)
Briefing with ITV’s On Assignment
Our next briefing will be with the editors of ITV’s international current affairs strand, On Assignment. The strand appears once a month and features three specially commissioned short films – it’s a great opportunity for IBT members to get off agenda stories onto prime time television. The speakers will be Natalie Fay, Executive Producer and Delilah Jeary, Series Producer. Natalie and Delilah will show clips from the programme and talk about the ideas they are looking for and how best to pitch to them. On Assignment recently won the Women’s Rights in Africa award at the One Media Awards for its reporting from South Africa. You can find out more about the strand here http://www.itv.com/news/topic/on-assignment/ The briefing will take place at 10am on Tuesday September 20th. If you’d like to attend please register via the IBT website.
New Trustees
At last month’s AGM, we elected six new Trustees who join the IBT Board with immediate effect. We’re delighted to welcome Lily Caprani (from UNICEF), Paulette Cohen (Barclays), Michelle Davis (Malaria Consortium), James Georgalakis (IDS), Richard Grange (ActionAid) and Jack Lundie (Oxfam). If you have any issues concerning IBT or its governance, do feel free to get in touch with a member of staff or a Trustee.
Record ratings for Today programme
Radio 4’s Today programme has had its highest ever audiences. The latest Rajar figures cover the period April – June and coincide with the Brexit campaign and referendum vote. Today’s weekly reach in this period rose to 7.4m compared with 6.8m in the previous quarter. Jamie Angus, the Editor of Today, will be the guest speaker at our annual dinner for CEOs in September.
Channel 4 News cracks Facebook
Channel 4 News has enjoyed a remarkable success on Facebook. In the last year it has virtually stopped posting text and stills on social media and concentrated almost exclusively on video. This has paid off and Channel 4 News now has 200m Facebook video views per month – more than the main BBC News Facebook page and more than Sky and ITV News. We hope to organize a briefing with Channel 4 News’ digital editor later this year. http://digiday.com/publishers/channel-4-news-grew-monthly-facebook-video-views-200-million/
On TV
There have been some standout TV programmes in recent weeks. Hugh Fearnley-Whittigstall brought his campaigning zeal to a new episode of War on Waste on BBC1. His focus was non-recyclable coffee cups and packaging. It was good to see the BBC dealing with sustainability in such an accessible way on prime time TV. The BBC also brought us The Refugee Camp, shown on BBC2. This looked in detail at life in Zaatari and provided a useful insight into how aid actually works on the ground. Both programmes are still available to view on the BBC iPlayer.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b07m8qwz
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b07lpgqz/episodes/player
Twitter event for NGOs
Twitter is organizing a training session for NGOs to offer top tips on how to use the social media site to extend the reach of your message. The event will take place at 5pm on Tuesday August 30th at Twitter’s London HQ. It will cover best practice, how to plan an online campaign, engaging with conversations on Twitter, how to use its safety, analytics and multimedia tools. Places are free but limited to three per organisation. You can register here https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSe4tHuHE-9qk5PZcnwUFlxbdZMZCvleFpe1Ar6EJF7Ekl8rKA/viewform
Best wishes
Mark
IBT’s mission is to use the media to further awareness and understanding of people’s lives in the developing world and the issues which affect them
Welcome to IBT’s July newsletter with an update on our work and relevant news from the media industry. (Download/Print this Newsletter)
IBT AGM
Our AGM takes place later this month – at 5pm on Tuesday July 12th at the IBT offices in Southwark. It is open to all and is the one occasion in our calendar when IBT members can hear about what we have achieved in the past year and our future plans. It’s also the occasion when we elect our Trustees. This year we have a number of old Trustees stepping down and new ones taking over. Please get in touch if you’d like to attend or see the meeting papers.
Strengthening the BBC’s global purpose
Many thanks to the thirteen CEOs from IBT member organisations who signed letters last month to the Secretary of State at DCMS, the BBC Director General and the Chair of the BBC Trust. These letters have helped to support our case. We have been told that the Government is now actively considering ways of strengthening the global purpose in the new Charter. They are looking into changing the wording of purpose 1 which covers news and current affairs but could now be extended to include factual programmes. They are also investigating whether international content could be one of the criteria used to measure distinctiveness – if this happens, it will be a major step forward and will almost certainly result in the BBC commissioning more international content. We will know more when the new Charter is published in September. In the meantime if you would like more information on this please contact Sophie Chalk, our Head of Advocacy: sophie.chalk@btinternet.com
Last month’s briefing with Al Jazeera English
Last month we heard from Al Jazeera English’s Head of News, Ben Rayner. Ben talked about Al Jazeera’s continuing commitment to set a different news agenda from western broadcasters and its affinity with NGOs and the stories that they seek to tell. He gave us useful, practical information on how to pitch ideas to the different planning editors and how to suggest studio guests. Al Jazeera English now broadcasts from only two locations, Doha and London. London is currently on air daily from 5 -11.30pm. A more detailed note on the briefing is available on the IBT website.
Climate change on television
Last month we held a panel discussion at the Sheffield Documentary Festival entitled How to pitch your climate change idea. The session featured independent producers and broadcasters talking about the challenges of pitching climate change related ideas. It also identified opportunities in the schedule for mainstream content that tackles climate change. We also organized a film competition at Sheffield for the best climate change project. The quality of entries was high. Congratulations to filmmaker Jared Scott on winning the pitch for his Windfall project.
Can documentaries help us tell a different story about global development?
Last month we co-hosted a debate with the Institute of Development Studies, looking at the potential for documentaries to engage mainstream audiences with development. The speakers included the multi award winning filmmaker Jezza Neumann who spoke eloquently about both the opportunities and challenges of such films. There was an animated audience discussion which highlighted the need for NGOs and academics to ask more questions when they collaborate with filmmakers. It also made clear the importance of greater differentiation and a better understanding of how different types of documentary are able to reach different audiences. See my blog for IDS:
http://www.ids.ac.uk/opinion/can-documentaries-help-us-to-tell-a-different-story-about-development
One World Media Awards
Last month’s One World Media Awards was hosted for the first time by Alex Crawford from Sky News and showcased the best of international journalism. The television documentary prize went to The Truth About Ebola, a This World film for BBC2 made by Quicksilver, producers of Channel 4’s Unreported World strand. The journalist of the year was Erika Solomon from the Financial Times, with Patrick Kingsley of The Guardian and Gabriel Gatehouse of Newsnight, the runners up. It was good to see ITV’s On Assignment strand winning the Women’s Rights in Africa award. We will be hosting a briefing with the editors of On Assignment in the Autumn. A full list of winners is here: http://www.oneworldmedia.org.uk/2016-winners
Public trust in charities falls
New research from the Charity Commission has found that people are increasingly concerned about how charities spend their money and perceived aggressive fundraising techniques. The main reason given for trusting charities less was media coverage. Overall trust has declined from from 67% in 2014 to 57% in 2016. The research is based on a representative sample of 1,000 people and a number of focus groups. 74% of people surveyed said they were uncomfortable with some fundraising methods, up from 66% in 2014.
Best wishes
Mark
Welcome to IBT’s June newsletter with an update on our work and relevant news from the media industry. (Download/Print this Newsletter)
BBC global purpose letter from CEOs
The Government has published its plans for the future of the BBC, which include a change to the overall purposes of the BBC. The global purpose has been split into two – one aspect focuses on the World Service and the other covers international content for UK audiences. We are concerned that this second aspect has been diluted as it now includes only news and current affairs. We have been organizing a joint letter from IBT members to the DCMS, BBC Executive and BBC Trust, urging them to agree to new wording which includes all factual programmes. I’d like to thank the CEOs who have agreed to sign this letter. We are up to nine CEOs now. If you haven’t signed and would like to, please get in touch today. Our deadline for signatures is Monday at noon. We are optimistic that we will achieve the change that we are lobbying for but this letter from CEOs will strengthen our case considerably. Contact Sophie Chalk, IBT’s Head of Advocacy if you’d like to sign the letter: sophie.chalk@btinternet.com
This month’s briefing will be with Al Jazeera
Later this month we will be hearing from Al Jazeera’s Head of News, Ben Rayner. This will be our last briefing before the summer, so do come along if you can. Ben will talk about how to pitch ideas to Al Jazeera and the sort of stories and studio guests they are looking for. In our recent report Small Screen, Big World, Al Jazeera was the broadcaster with the highest percentage of international stories (more than the BBC World Service) and its coverage had a strong Middle East focus. Ben will be talking to us at 2pm on Tuesday June 21st. Please note the 2pm start as opposed to our usual morning slot. If you’d like to come, book your place via the IBT website.
Last month’s briefing with ITV News
Last month we heard from Alok Jha, Science correspondent for ITV News. He gave us a lot of useful tips on how to pitch stories to him and his colleagues and drew our attention to On Assignment, ITV’s monthly international current affairs show. He is a regular contributor and there is demand from the show for strong international stories. A briefing note on Alok’s talk can be found on the members’ page of the IBT website.
The Syrian refugee crisis – are we getting it right?
Last month we co-hosted a parliamentary briefing on the Syrian refugee crisis with Channel 4 and Amnesty. We played clips from the recent Channel 4 film Children on the Frontline: the Escape and two of the family featured in the film spoke movingly at the event. Other speakers included Rae McGrath from Mercy Corps, Yvette Cooper for Labour and Andrew Mitchell for the Conservatives. Our thanks to all who attended the event and contributed to a very lively discussion.
Can documentaries help us tell a different story about global development?
Later this month we will be co-hosting an event with the Institute of Development Studies, exploring the role that documentaries play in telling stories about development. The speakers include Jezza Neumann, from True Vision. Jezza is a multi-award winning director whose credits include Children of Gaza and Zimbabwe’s Forgotten Children. Other speakers will be James Georgalakis and Keetie Roelen from IDS. The event will take place at 1pm on Wednesday June 22nd at the University of Sussex campus near Brighton. Please share details of the event with friends and colleagues who live or work in the area. http://www.ids.ac.uk/events/can-documentaries-help-us-tell-a-different-story-about-global-development
Climate change at Sheffield DocFest
If you’re going to the Sheffield Documentary Festival, look out for our two sessions. How to pitch your climate change idea takes place on Tuesday June 14th at 10am. We’ll be hearing from the heads of development from three leading independent production companies about their experience of researching, developing and pitching a range of ideas linked to climate change. Tom McDonald, the BBC’s lead commissioner for natural history and factual formats will respond. Later that day we will be holding our climate change pitch in which five filmmakers pitch their ideas to a panel of commissioners from Channel 4, Discovery and the BBC. Both sessions will be chaired by Tom Heap, the Countryfile and Panorama presenter. https://sheffdocfest.com/events/4845https://sheffdocfest.com/sessions/4855?day=4
The Community Channel – for just £50 you can become a co-owner
The Community Channel has launched a radical initiative to secure its future. It plans to sell shares to the general public so that it will become the first people-owned TV channel for social impact anywhere in the world. The money raised will help cover costs while the channel builds its team, develops new digital platforms and grows its audiences, income and impact across TV, digital and social platforms. It will enable the channel to boost existing income and launch new income streams to sustain itself in the long-term. http://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/community-channel?utm_source=Media%20Trust&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=7171710_Community%20Shares%20Launch&dm_i=46N,49PQ6,BNIKCF,FLRCL,1
Best wishes
Mark
Welcome to IBT’s May newsletter with an update on our work and relevant news from the media industry. (Download/Print this Newsletter)
Small Screen, Big World
Today we publish our new research report Small Screen, Big World which looks at the content of TV news in January 2016. This detailed analysis covers all the main UK TV and radio bulletins and online news websites during a two week period. We found that there has been an increase in the amount of international news coverage but much of this was devoted to Syria and the refugee crisis. The range of countries and stories covered, compared with the last time we conducted this research, has narrowed. We also looked at who was being interviewed by reporters and found that there is a strong emphasis on first person testimony and far fewer opportunities for NGO representatives to be interviewed. To put this analysis in context we interviewed news editors, NGOs and academics. See http://www.ibt.org.uk/reports/smallscreen_bigworld/
Next briefing is with ITV News
We have a few places left for our briefing with Alok Jha, the Science correspondent of ITV News. Alok will talk about his own brief which includes science, weather, climate, water, medicine and technology. He’ll also talk about the best way to pitch ideas to ITV News, the sort of ideas that work best for them and the changes that have taken place including to the flagship News at Ten bulletin. This event will be at 10am on Wednesday May 25th and places can be booked via the IBT website.
Last month’s briefing with The World Tonight
Last month we heard from Roger Sawyer, the recently appointed editor of The World Tonight, Radio 4’s international news and current affairs show. Roger talked about how the tone and content of The World Tonight is changing and his emphasis on finding new angles to a running story, breaking new stories and featuring new voices. The merger with the World Service programme, Newshour, means that there are now more funds to send reporters abroad. Roger manages four hours a day of World Service content. Here the emphasis is on the main stories of the day. He is keen to identify potential studio guests with a strong emphasis on women and ethnic minorities – both groups are currently under represented. A detailed note of what was said at the briefing can be found on the members’ page of the IBT website.
Advanced Twitter training
We have a few places left at our advanced Twitter training session. This is aimed at those engaging regularly with Twitter and wanting to think more about defining and measuring success, as well as learning about new ways to use the platform. The session will cover: content, frequency, paid advertising capabilities, and using video content through interrogations with services like Periscope and Vine. With practical exercises and a chance to learn from the experiences of others in the sector, participants will leave with fresh ideas for how to make the most of Twitter and ensure it ties into overall organisational marketing strategy. The event is free to IBT members and takes place on Tuesday May 17th from 9.30am to 1pm at the IBT offices in Southwark. Places can be booked via the IBT website.
Call for more constructive news
Last month’s call by the UN for a more constructive approach to news received widespread media coverage including an interview on the Today programme with Michael Møller, Director General of the UN Office at Geneva. He gave an eloquent explanation of what he means by ‘constructive’ news and made it clear that he was not talking about more ‘good’ news and less ‘bad’ news. His argument was that there should be space for more nuanced coverage and a bigger emphasis on solutions-focused reporting. Interestingly, this was something that Roger Sawyer of The World Tonight spoke about in our briefing with him. Michael Moller felt there was a need to rethink international news coverage to combat potential apathy and indifference. NCVO, the charity umbrella group, has also announced the launch of its own Constructive Voices project. The aim of the NCVO project is to help charities to tell their story by linking them with journalists. See https://www.ncvo.org.uk/about-us/media-centre/2-content/1250-constructive-voices-helping-charities-tell-their-story
Call for charities to adapt better to the digital age
There is a tension in the way many charities view digital technology according to new research by Eduserv in partnership with CharityComms. Although many in the charity sector are enthusiastic about social media in particular, the report’s authors argue that digital technology requires a fundamental shift in the way charities work – and this is not taking place. The charity sector has a lower level of digital skills amongst its workforce than other sectors. The lack of skills is also a governance issue with the report’s authors calling for Trustees to develop a better understanding of how audiences use social media. http://www.charitycomms.org.uk/articles/a-manifesto-for-digital-change-in-2016
BBC’s global audience grows
The global audience for BBC news continues to grow. The latest figures show that the BBC reaches 348 million people around the world – which puts it ahead of schedule to reach its target of 500 million by 2022. For the first time, TV news, with a global audience of 162m is ahead of radio with an audience at 147m. The top five markets for the BBC’s international news services are: USA, Nigeria, India, Pakistan and Iran.
Best wishes
Mark
Welcome to IBT’s April newsletter with an update on our work and relevant news from the media industry. (Download/Print this Newsletter)
This month’s briefing with The World Tonight
We have a few places left for our next briefing, which will be with Roger Sawyer, the recently appointed editor of The World Tonight, Radio 4’s flagship news and current affairs show. Roger also edits the World Service programme, Newshour. He has a strong interest in international issues and stories and The World Tonight has always had significantly more international coverage than other radio and tv news bulletins. Roger will explain to us how content is commissioned by the two programmes, how studio guests are recruited – and where this fits in with the rest of the BBC News operation. This event is free and open to all IBT members. It will take place from 10 -11.30 on Wednesday April 27th at the IBT offices in Southwark. If you’d like to attend, please register now, using the members’ area of the IBT website. Any problems registering, just let me know and I’ll be happy to help.
Last month’s briefing with Marie Claire and GQ
Last month we heard from Andrea Thompson, Features Editor at Marie Claire and Stuart McGurk, Senior Commissioning Editor at British GQ. These are two magazines that have remained strongly committed to running in depth global stories. Both Andrea and Stuart said they did not receive many pitches from NGOs and they are keen to receive more. But the pitches should not be generic – original journalism with a new angle on a familiar story would work well for GQ; a case study with a strong female angle about an important global issue or story would work well for Marie Claire. Pitches should go direct to Andrea and Stuart by email – bear in mind that both magazines have long lead times. Notes from this event are available on the members’ page of the IBT website.
Training sessions next month
We have three training events next month. Places are limited as these sessions work best with small groups. All three will be run by Mary Mitchell, our regular social media trainer. If you’d like to attend, please register via the members’ page of the IBT website. If you’re not sure whether these sessions are right for you, please get in touch and I will provide more details.
This hands-on training session will introduce participants to the capabilities of Instagram and Snapchat, ideas of when to use these platforms for campaigns and an overview of the audiences on each platform. With exercises including image editing and writing captions, this session is designed for users who are familiar with social media but have limited experience of Instagram or Snapchat. It will take place on Tuesday May 3rd from 9.30am to 1pm at the IBT offices in Southwark.
This hands-on session is aimed at newcomers to Twitter. It will cover the basics of the platform and its functionality, tips on finding and scheduling content, measuring success, using Twitter to fundraise, and how to spark conversation. The session will showcase case studies from the international development sector and provide ideas for how to get started building a charity brand and engaging your audience in conversation. It will take place on Tuesday May 10th from 9.30am to 1pm at the IBT offices in Southwark.
This interactive training session is pitched at those engaging regularly with Twitter and wanting to think more about defining and measuring success, as well as learning about new ways to use the platform. The session will cover topics including content, frequency, paid advertising capabilities, and using video content through interrogations with services like Periscope and Vine. With practical exercises and a chance to learn from the experiences of others in the sector, participants will leave with fresh ideas for how to make the most of Twitter and ensure it ties into overall organisational marketing strategy. This session takes place on Tuesday May 17th from 9.30am to 1pm at the IBT offices in Southwark.
Other news in brief
Framing the future of water – tonight
I’ll be chairing an event at the Frontline Club tonight which examines how the media can be more effective in engaging target audiences with the complex issue of water. Tickets are still available. If you’re unable to attend, you can follow on Twitter using the hashtag #futureofwater.
Best wishes
Mark
Welcome to IBT’s March newsletter with an update on our work and relevant news from the media industry. (Download/Print this Newsletter)
This month’s briefing with Marie Claire and GQ
Later this month we’ll hear from Andrea Thompson, Features Editor at Marie Claire and Stuart McGurk, Senior Commissioning Editor at British GQ. These are two magazines that have remained strongly committed to running in depth global stories. Andrea and Stuart will talk us through the commissioning process, the kind of stories they are looking for, their experience of working with NGOs. They’re keen too to hear what we think they should be reporting on. The briefing will take place from 10-11.30am on Thursday March 17th. If you’d like to attend please register now via the IBT website.
Last month’s briefing with CNN
We had an excellent briefing last month with Victoria Eastwood, Head of Planning at CNN in London. CNN has a strong reputation for its international reporting and the range of stories covered. Victoria explained how best to pitch ideas for TV and online – and the growing emphasis at CNN on original and distinctive reporting. A more detailed note on the briefing can be found on the members’ page of the IBT website.
Media reporting of migration criticised by new research report
The Ethical Journalism Network has published a new research report, Moving Stories – International Review of How Media Cover Migration, which looks at media coverage of the refugee crisis in 14 countries including the UK. The report concludes that media attention is necessary for the outside world to take note and to do something about humanitarian crises. With some neglected crises it asserts that the lack of funding is often linked to the lack of media coverage. The report documents certain trends in media coverage of refugees – there is a mix of good and bad coverage but this issue is often reported through the prism of politics. Coverage is dominated by numbers and emotions. Reporting is often simplistic with migrants seen as a threat and there is little reporting of the benefits of migration. It recommends that news organisations employ specialist reporters to cover this issue; ensure that their own staff come from diverse backgrounds; monitor their own coverage on a regular basis and have internal debates about the quality and range of their coverage. It recommends that NGOs become more skillful in their dealings with journalists.
http://ethicaljournalismnetwork.org/assets/docs/054/198/8feb836-108e6c6.pdf
BBC3 now online
BBC3 has now been launched as an online only channel – the look and content is still evolving. In addition to full-length programmes, the network will offer a daily stream of content including short films, blogs and news and sport updates – delivered through a new online platform called The Daily Drop, combining original content with material produced by other BBC services including Trending and Radio 1’s Newsbeat. IBT is in talks with BBC3 about producing online content on the issue of climate change.
Climate change film pitch
IBT is sponsoring a film pitch at this year’s Sheffield Documentary Festival. We are looking for filmmakers with projects that aim to engage mainstream audiences with climate change. The shortlisted entrants will receive pitch training and present their ideas in front of a panel of commissioning editors at Sheffield. The winner will receive £4,000 of development funding. The deadline for entries is March 31st.
https://www.sheffdocfest.com/articles/365-international-broadcasting-trust-climate-change-pitch
BBC Charter update
The BBC Charter debate is gathering momentum. Two key committees have now reported, the House of Commons Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee, and the House of Lords Communications Committee. The Lords Committee has argued in favour of the present scale and scope of the BBC, and its report quoted extensively from our written evidence and from Sophie Chalk, our Head of Advocacy, who gave oral evidence. The Commons Select Committee was more critical of the status quo and focused on governance, accountability, regulation, transparency and the Charter review process. It’s now clear that the BBC Trust will be abolished and in future the BBC will be regulated by Ofcom. But the Secretary of State is also considering more radical measures including a narrower remit for the BBC and a contestible fund so that the licence fee does not go entirely to the BBC. IBT is opposed to both of these proposals. All will be revealed when the DCMS publishes its White Paper in July. If you’d like to get involved in campaigning on the future of the BBC, please sign up to join Public Voice, a civil society wide grouping that we have been instrumental in setting up.
Lords Communications Committee report:
CMS Select Committee report:
http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201516/cmselect/cmcumeds/398/39802.htm
New code of conduct for reporting on children
The Ethical Journalism Network has also launched a new code of ethics to guide media organisations reporting on children. This should be of interest to IBT members that work with children. The new code focuses on the best way to protect the privacy and dignity of the child; participation and consent; and the responsibilities of journalists and picture editors.
New guidance for NGOs sending staff abroad
The solicitors Leigh Day have produced new guidance for employers sending staff to work abroad. There have been a number of recent legal cases where NGO employers have been held liable and their travel policies have been found wanting. Further information is available from Christine Tallon, a partner at Leigh Day.
http://www.2tg.co.uk/ImageLibrary/nw43_A_Practical_Guide_to.An_Employers_Duty.pdf
Trustee vacancies at IBT
IBT is recruiting new Trustees. Three of our Trustees will be stepping down in the summer as their terms of office have come to an end. Since we are a membership-based organisation, it’s important that our Board of Trustees includes representatives of our member organisations. I will be sending out further details in an email to all members next week. If you are interested, look out for the email or get in touch. You do not need to have been a Trustee elsewhere to be eligible but you do need to have a clear understanding of the role of a Trustee. This is spelt out on the Charity Commission website.
Dramatic growth in newspaper websites
Last month all the major UK newspapers recorded big increases in their web traffic. The Sun was up 25%; The Guardian and Mail were both up 12% and The Telegraph was up 14%. MailOnline remains by far the biggest UK newspaper website with more than 14 million daily users, followed by The Guardian, with The Telegraph in third place.
http://www.theguardian.com/media/2016/feb/18/sun-website-traffic-news-uk-abcs
In search of artists working on the issue of climate change
The Culture and Climate Change group has launched three artists’ residencies for artists or collectives working in any art form and living and working in the UK. Each of the winners will be awarded £10,000 for a year long residency to explore how society represents the range of possible future climates and develop their own artistic work within climate change research and policy networks.
http://www.creativecarbonscotland.com/cultureandcc/
Human Rights Watch Film Festival
The annual Human Rights Watch Film Festival starts takes place month and will feature a series of films and events from March 10-17. Highlights include Hooligan Sparrow which looks at activists on the run in China; If The Dead Could Speak a special event looking at the thousands of people who have died in Government custody in Syria and Desperate Journeys on Europe’s refugee crisis.
Two events that may be of interest
The Rise of Women Journalists in the Arab World – at the EBRD tonight at 6pm
Are You Being Heard? with Lenny Henry – at Goldsmiths on March 22nd
http://www.gold.ac.uk/news/are-you-being-heard/
Best wishes
Mark
Welcome to IBT’s February newsletter with an update on our work and relevant news from the media industry. (DownloadPrint this Newsletter)
This month’s briefing with CNN
Later this month we’ll hear from Victoria Eastwood, Head of Planning at CNN. This is the first time we’ve heard from CNN and a great opportunity to get an inside track on how their London office works and the sort of stories they would be interested in. London is the biggest CNN’s bureau outside the US and a key hub for stories from Europe and Africa. The briefing will take place from 10-11.30am on Wednesday February 24th. If you’d like to attend please register now via the IBT website.
Last month’s briefing with The Independent and The Daily Telegraph
We had a good briefing last month with two newspaper Foreign Editors, David Wastell from The Independent and Hannah Strange from The Daily Telegraph. Both said they were keen to receive ideas from NGOs – and gave useful practical tips on how to pitch to them and their colleagues and the sort of stories they were looking for. A more detailed note on the briefing can be found on the members’ page of the IBT website.
News analysis
We have now completed the first stage of our news analysis, looking in detail at coverage across UK TV, radio and online, for the two week period January 11-24. Several international stories featured prominently including Syria, the refugee crisis in Europe, Cameron’s negotiations with the EU and the Zika virus. One of the aims of the study is to look at the range of international stories covered. Now that the big international story of the day is more dominant, we’re also keen to examine whether this has this resulted in a narrowing of the range of stories covered by mainstream new bulletins. Another issue that we will be looking at is the range of voices – it appears that NGO voices are not being heard as much as we might expect. The next stage of this research is to gather opinions from news editors, NGOs and other commentators. If you would be interested in being interviewed for this research please let me know.
Reporting on refugees and the terrorist threat
Later this month Polis, the LSE media think tank, will be hosting a debate on media coverage of Syria, the refugees crisis and the terrorist threat. They will be asking what responsibility journalists have and whether coverage of these issues has been fair and impartial. The panel debate takes place at 7pm on Thursday February 11th.
Tickets here: http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/polis/2015/12/04/migrants-terror-and-the-media-reporting-and-responsibilities-on-the-front-line/
Public Voice update
We have now had the first steering group meeting for Public Voice and we will soon be launching a major recruitment drive. Public Voice is a civil society coalition which we have set up to help secure the future of the BBC and Channel 4 as public service broadcasters. Both are under threat. Channel 4 may be privatized and the BBC may find that some licence fee income goes to other broadcasters. We will be holding a public event for anyone interested in supporting Public Voice – look out for an invitation to this. In the meantime, if you’d like to find out more about Public Voice, please contact Sophie Chalk, our Head of Advocacy: sophie.chalk@btinternet.com
Climate change on BBC3
Last month we held a round table on the subject of climate change. A group of commissioners and producers from BBC3 met with experts and young people to brainstorm ways in which the new look BBC3 could engage its target audience with stories related to climate change. Now that BBC3 is going online there are many new opportunities for short form content and a season of programmes on climate change is now under active consideration.
Best wishes
Mark
Welcome to IBT’s January newsletter with an update on our work and relevant news from the media industry. (Download/Print this Newsletter)
Briefing with The Independent and The Daily Telegraph
Our next briefing will be with the Foreign Editors of The Independent and The Daily Telegraph, David Wastell and Hannah Strange. Although there has been much criticism of newspapers for reducing their foreign pages, these two papers have maintained a range of coverage, including a number of unique stories. David and Hannah are both keen to hear from IBT members about stories they could or should be covering. The briefing will take place at 10am on Thursday January 21st, at the IBT offices in Southwark. There are a few places left. These will be allocated on a first come basis. Registration is via the member’s page on the IBT website. If you have already registered, you don’t need to do anything.
New news study
Later this month we will be conducting a quantitative analysis of news output on tv, radio and online. The analysis will cover the main bulletins and news programmes on BBC1, BBC2, Channel 4, ITV, Sky and Channel 5, and some key radio and online content, over a two week period. It appears that the range of stories covered and the number of unique stories has diminished in recent years, so this is one issue that we will be investigating. Our last study, The World in Focus, was published in 2009 and provided us with a good evidence base for lobbying broadcasters. We would be interested in hearing from any IBT members who have views on the changing nature of tv coverage of global events and issues. The final report will be published in the spring.
The future of Channel 4
The debate over the future of Channel 4 is gathering pace. Some former tv grandees like Michael Grade have surprisingly come out in favour of privatization; most of the tv industry has come out against, including Peter Kosminsky, the Wolf Hall director, writing in The Guardian today.
Peter is right. If Channel 4 is privatised it’s likely that its more risky content will disappear, including international current affairs. Channel 4 has a statutory duty to broadcast international coverage and particularly ‘voices from around the world.’ IBT was instrumental in securing this aspect of the Channel 4 remit, when we successfully lobbied MPs and peers for its inclusion in the Digital Economy Bill, a number of years ago. It’s likely that a privatized Channel 4 would seek to dilute the remit.
BBC3 going online
Next month BBC3 will go online and cease to broadcast as a tv channel. This is a big experiment for the BBC. The channel will still commission the long form international current affairs content for which it is best known, from presenters like Stacey Dooley and Reggie Yates. But this will be broadcast on BBC1 and 2 instead. There will be a big increase in short form content specially commissioned for the online channel. We have been talking to Damian Kavanagh, the Controller of BBC3, and encouraging him to commission a season on climate change. We will be holding a round table with the BBC3 commissioning team, independent producers and some climate change experts later this month.
Sheffield DocFest
This year we will be working with Sheffield DocFest again. It’s becoming an increasingly important event for documentary makers and tv professionals from around the world. We’ll be organizing a film competition and panel event to promote tv coverage of climate change and its likely impacts. DocFest has also just launched a new online platform called Postcards, and a film fund, to support new and established short form documentary talent.
One World Media Awards
The call for entries is now open for this year’s prestigious One World Media Awards, which celebrates excellence in international media content. The deadline for applications is February 4th 2016. The awards will take place in June.
http://www.oneworldmedia.org.uk/awards
CBBC
It’s good to see that CBBC continues to commission international factual content for children. If you missed it, Boy on the Bicycle is still available on the iPlayer. This single film ran as part of the My Life strand and followed a group of children living in Zaatari refugee camp in Jordan. It was made in conjunction with UNICEF.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/cbbc/episode/b06s65rj/my-life-series-7-4-the-boy-on-the-bicycle
Whicker’s World Foundation
The newly established Whicker’s World Foundation has announced a number of awards to encourage film makers to develop their own authored documentary content. The deadline for applications is January 31st 2016. http://whickersworldfoundation.com/awards/
Best wishes
Mark
Welcome to IBT’s December newsletter with an update on our work and relevant news from the media industry. (Print this Newsletter)
Training session on Instagram and Snapchat
Our next training event takes place next week. We still have a couple of places left so let me know if you’d like to attend. It will cover the use of images in social media, particularly Instagram and Snapchat. The session is introductory – and aimed at users who are familiar with social media but have limited experience of these two platforms. It will take place from 9.30-12.30 on Thursday December 10th at the IBT offices in Southwark. This is a free event – if you are receiving this newsletter, you are eligible to attend.
Briefing with Tulip Mazumdar
Our last briefing was with Tulip Mazumdar, the BBC’s global health correspondent. She explained how the BBC’s health unit works and gave a number of suggestions for the best way to pitch to the unit. Tulip has a wide brief and is keen to report on health issues that don’t normally make the news – such as neglected tropical diseases. She encouraged everyone present to send her ideas for future news reports. A detailed note on what Tulip said is on the members’ page of the IBT website.
IBT expresses concern about the future of Channel 4
We have written to a number of newspapers to express concern about the future of Channel 4. The Government has confirmed that it is considering privatization. Our understanding is that this is being driven by DCMS, not the Treasury, and the motivation is ideological rather than to raise revenue. A decision will be announced early next year. If the Government does go ahead, it will need to introduce primary legislation and the proposal is likely to be scrutinized by the Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee. We are opposed to the privatization of Channel 4 because we believe it will mean that certain programmes will suffer as money is diverted from the programme budget to shareholders. Lord Burns, the Channel 4 Chair and former Treasury mandarin, confirmed this week that if privatisation goes ahead, Channel 4 News is unlikely to survive in its present form. Political opposition is growing, so please mention the issue in any conversations you have with parliamentarians. If you would like a full briefing on the threat to Channel 4, contact Sophie Chalk, our head of advocacy, who is leading on this for IBT.
Unreported World
Channel 4’s weekly current affairs strand, Unreported World, is back on the air next spring and the production team are keen to receive programme ideas for stories that could be filmed in January and February. They have a particular interest in the Middle East. The last series was one of the best to date and included films from Cambodia, Cameroon, Brazil, Mexico, South Korea, South Africa and Sicily. If you have a story idea, do get in touch with Monica Garnsey, the series producer, and mention IBT in your email.
New money for the World Service
As part of the recent Defence Review, the Government announced a big increase in funding for the World Service. It will receive an extra £85m a year from 2017-20. In effect, this means that the present budget for the World Service will be ring fenced and will not be cut disproportionately when the new licence fee comes in. The extra money will be spent across the board – with enhanced TV services for Africa, new radio and digital services for Ethiopia and Eritrea, additional language services for Nigeria and India, new radio services for North Korea and enhanced digital and TV services in Russian. This expansion will help the World Service move towards its goal of reaching an audience of 500 million people weekly by 2022. It will also help the BBC to respond to the challenge posed by growing investment in other global news services such as CCTV and RT.
European Social Documentary
The deadline for applications for next year’s ESoDoc training is January 29th. This is an innovative training scheme that brings together documentary filmmakers, graphic designers, programmers, game developers, journalists and those working in NGO communications. The aim of the training is to help the participants develop crossmedia projects related to social, political or human rights issues.
New book on international NGOs
Last month saw the publication of International NGO Engagement, Advocacy, Activism. The author, Professor Helen Yanacopulos of The Open University, interviewed a number of IBT members when she was researching the book. Its aim is to investigate the role of INGOs in the UK and abroad, to interrogate what they are seeking to achieve and the methods that they use, particularly communications. The book argues that NGOs need to utilize political values and political spaces more strategically if they are to be better agents of change. If you’d like to buy a copy, a 30% discount is available for IBT members (use the discount code PM15THIRTY).
Best wishes
Mark
Welcome to IBT’s November newsletter with an update on our work and relevant news from the media industry. (Print this Newsletter)
Next briefing will be with Tulip Mazumdar
Our next briefing will take place later this month with Tulip Mazumdar, the BBC’s global health correspondent. Tulip reported extensively during the Ebola epidemic and she is currently back in Sierra Leone reporting again on Ebola. She will explain how she decides which stories and issues to cover and how she pitches to editors. This briefing is aimed at media officers and others who have an interest in how BBC News covers global health issues. It will take place from 10-11.30am on Tuesday November 24th at the IBT offices in Southwark. If you’d like to attend, please register via the members’ page of the IBT website.
Our last briefing was with MailOnline
Last week we heard from Marianna Partasides, deputy news editor at MailOnline. She explained how the site has grown in popularity to become the biggest newspaper website in the world. Although it carries the name of the newspaper, it is run as a separate entity, with its own editorial team and it does not promote the political agenda of the Daily Mail. The site is best known for its coverage of celebrities, but news features often receive more hits. It has a wide range of stories, usually accompanied by pictures or video. The site is keen to receive story ideas from IBT members. If you missed the briefing, notes on what Marianna said can be downloaded from the members’ page of the IBT website.
Training session on Instagram and Snapchat
Our next training event will cover the use of images in social media, particularly Instagram and Snapchat. These two platforms are growing rapidly but many NGOs have failed to take advantage of the opportunities that they offer. The session is aimed at users who are familiar with social media but have limited experience of these two platforms. It will take place from 9.30-12.30 on Thursday December 10th at the IBT offices in Southwark. This is a free event – if you are receiving this newsletter, you are and your colleagues are eligible to attend. Places are limited and can be booked via the IBT website. This training session will cover:
IBT gives evidence to peers
Last month we gave evidence to the House of Lords Communications Committee on its inquiry into the future of the BBC. In a special session looking at the BBC’s international coverage, Sophie Chalk, our Head of Advocacy, spoke about the important contribution that the BBC makes to our understanding of the wider world – through news and other genres including current affairs, documentaries, drama and entertainment. You can watch the evidence session here:
http://parliamentlive.tv/event/index/2b1a1b7d-eebe-4751-91e6-fe6c229ec8b5?in=16:38:14
Launch of Public Voice
The future of the BBC and the possible privatization of Channel 4 are important issues for civil society, and we believe that it is vital that civil society organisations make their voices heard. We understand that this may not be a priority issue for many IBT members but we urge you to lend your support to Public Voice. This is a coalition which existed a decade ago to lobby on broadcasting issues and which we have relaunched to enable us to bring together a wide range of organisations, both IBT members and non-members. To find out more please take a look at the Public Voice website.
Public engagement 1 – how to change attitudes towards development
Bond has published a briefing on current attitudes towards development – it shows that the public is more concerned about poverty in the UK than about poverty globally, has a low tolerance for corruption and little awareness of the sustainable development goals. The briefing argues that it is useful to divide the public into segments so that NGO resources can be more targeted, to increase support for development. The aim of Bond’s work in this area is to learn something new about how to change public attitudes.
https://www.bond.org.uk/resources/uk-public-attitudes-towards-development
Public engagement 2 – how to reach young people
Livity, the youth marketing agency, has authored Engaging Generation Z, a report commissioned by Bond, which may be of interest to IBT members. It looks at ways of motivating young people to engage positively with international development and draws evidence from a number of successful initiatives that have come from a range of sectors. The report’s findings indicate that NGOs need to be more effective at collaborating with young people and taking the conversations to the digital spaces that they occupy.
https://www.bond.org.uk/resources/engaging-generation-z
Humanitarian News 1 – launch of research network
The Humanitarian News Research Network has been launched – with the aim of bringing together researchers and practitioners interested in humanitarian media and communications. If you’d like to find out more about the network, contact Mel Bunce at City University melanie.bunce.1@city.ac.uk or fill in this online form:
http://city.us12.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=6103254adcc6a6d072723c281&id=610d6c09f9
Humanitarian news 2 – new book on humanitarianism and communications
Last month saw the publication of Humanitarianism, Communications and Change, a series of essays by practitioners and academics. The book considers how communications is changing and the impact of these changes. Authors include Glenda Cooper, Richard Sambrook, Liz Scarff and Alice Klein.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Humanitarianism-Communications-Change-Global-Crises/dp/1433125269
Humanitarian news 3 – new research paper on broadcasting in emergencies
BBC Media Action has published a briefing paper on broadcasting in emergencies, drawing lessons from a number of case studies, including the Ebola epidemic. The briefing evaluates the research that has already been conducted in this field, looks at the challenges of carrying out effective research and makes recommendations for the future. It concludes that whilst mass media is effective in reaching large numbers of people with potentially life-saving information, it is less effective at providing more context specific localised information that people also need. Social media is particularly effective at giving audiences a voice and responding quickly to emerging issues.
Film Africa
Film Africa has now opened and over the course of the next week or so will show dozens of films and documentaries – and will feature panel debates on migration, democracy, LGBT issues and the ethics of making documentaries.
Best wishes
Mark
Welcome to IBT’s October newsletter with a brief update on our work and relevant news from the media industry. (Print this Newsletter)
Next briefing will be with MailOnline
Our next briefing will take place later this month with Liz Hazelton, the managing editor of MailOnline. The site has grown rapidly in the last few years to become the biggest newspaper website in the world. Although its main focus is celebrity news it also frequently runs stories from NGOs. Liz will talk about the sort of stories and pictures that work best for them and who to pitch ideas to. The event is free and open to all IBT members. It will take place from 10-11.30am on Thursday October 29th at the IBT offices in Southwark. If you’d like to attend, please register via the members’ page of the IBT website.
Our last briefing was with Sky News
Earlier this week we heard from Kate Sullivan who heads up the mobile team at Sky News. Kate talked about the recent changes at Sky which have brought television, radio, tablet and mobile teams together. Mobile content is growing rapidly and Sky is building its online audience. Short videos work particularly well on the mobile site and Kate encouraged those present to pitch ideas to her and her colleagues.
Twitter training
We have two Twitter training sessions coming up later this month, one is for beginners and the other is for more advanced users. The sessions will take place on Wednesday October 7th. There are a few places left. For more information and to book a place see the IBT website home page.
IBT dinner with James Harding
Last week we held our annual dinner for CEOs. The guest speaker was James Harding, the BBC’s Director of News. James spoke about the threat that the BBC faces, with many seeking to use charter renewal as a way of reducing its size and scope. He encouraged us to speak out in support of the BBC and in particular its commitment to international content. James spoke about changes that he was making at BBC News to create opportunities to stand back from the news cycle and cover key issues that might not otherwise make it on air. He agreed that international development was a challenging issue for tv news to cover and said he would be happy to look again at this issue. He suggested that we co-host a brainstorm for BBC journalists to hear from a range of experts working in the international development sector.
Opportunity for IBT members to have their say on BBC charter renewal
IBT will be responding to the Government’s Green Paper which outlines the key issues which it believes the BBC is facing in the coming years. A key aspect, as James Harding pointed out, is the scale and scope of the BBC. Critics of the BBC would like to see an organization that is much smaller and doing a lot less. Our view is that the BBC needs to be of a scale that enables it effectively to deliver its public purposes, including providing international content for UK audiences. If you would like to have your say, we have drafted a short submission that IBT members can adapt and submit in in their own names: http://www.ibt.org.uk/2015/09/bbc-charter/ The deadline for submissions is Thursday October 8th. If you have any queries about this please get in touch with our head of campaigns, sophie.chalk@btinternet.com
Here is more information on the consultation and how to have your say: http://www.radiotimes.com/news/2015-07-20/how-do-i-have-my-say-on-the-future-of-the-bbc
Privatisation of Channel 4
It was recently revealed that the Government, despite earlier denials, is seriously considering the privatization of Channel 4. The channel is a commercial public service broadcaster, a publicly owned corporation with no shareholders, and all its profits go back into programme making. IBT is very concerned about the Government’s plans. If Channel 4 were to be privatized this would pose a serious threat to is non-commercial content including Channel 4 News, Unreported World and the rest of its international output. We’ll be working to draw attention to this threat in the coming months. The views of Conservative MPs and peers are likely to be highly influential. If you or your colleagues are attending the Conservative Party conference, please raise this issue with any politicians you meet.
Unreported World
The new series of Unreported World launches next week, in its usual 7.30pm slot, on Friday October 9th, with a shocking report documenting the use of ECT in Chinese hospitals as a so called cure for homosexuality. Other programmes later in the series cover eye surgery in Malawi, acid attacks in Bangladesh and families being reunited after years apart in South Sudan. Many of these films were made in close collaboration with NGOs including UNICEF, Sightsavers and Save the Children. Filming for the next run of Unreported World is currently planned for January/February.
Reframing climate change
Earlier this year we hosted a panel debate at the Sheffield Documentary Festival to discuss how tv could improve its coverage of climate change. We brought together commissioners from the BBC, Channel 4, a climate scientist and an academic – with the active participation of an audience of producers and filmmakers. That session is now available to view online: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9nmdLhHh_cA&feature=youtu.be
Film festivals
It’s truly film festival time – here is a round-up of several which may be of interest:
Best wishes
Mark
Welcome to IBT’s September newsletter with a brief update on our work and relevant news from the media industry. (Print this Newsletter)
Reflecting a Changing World?
Today we publish a new research report Reflecting a Changing World?which looks at how UK television covers global stories and issues. This is the latest instalment of a unique study which we have been undertaking since 1989. It examines in detail how much non-news international content there is on which channels, covering what topics, through which genres, in what countries and how this has changed over time. Our hope is that this provides the basis for an informed debate about the contribution such content makes to our understanding of the wider world. The latest findings also underline the important role of BBC television and provides us with an evidence base for our lobbying over the new BBC Charter. The channel with the most international content is BBC2. The report can be downloaded from the IBT website
http://www.ibt.org.uk/reports/reflecting-a-changing-world/
Next briefing will be with Sky News
Our next briefing will take place later this month with Kate Sullivan from Sky News. There have been many changes at Sky in recent months, which has been restructuring its news operation around story teams rather than time slots. It has merged TV and online so that one person is in charge of a story across all platforms. Kate is an output editor and she will talk us through these changes and the best way to pitch to Sky. She has worked extensively on Sky online so she will explain how that works. The event is free and open to all IBT members. It will take place from 10-11.30am on Wednesday September 30th at the IBT offices in Southwark. If you’d like to attend, please register via the members’ page of the IBT website.
Annual IBT dinner for CEOs of our member organisations
Our annual dinner for CEOs will take place later this month and the guest speaker will be James Harding, Director of News at the BBC. We’re delighted that he will be joined by Tulip Mazumdar, the BBC’s global health correspondent. This is, of course, a crucial time for the future of BBC News. Many of the BBC’s latest proposals, in response to Charter renewal, include changes to its news operation – the introduction of a streaming news service; hiring 100 regional reporters who will share their content with local newspapers; expansion of the World Service to include new services for Ethiopia, Eritrea and North Korea, and an expansion to its Middle East service. It promises to be a fascinating evening. Most CEOs have already confirmed whether or not they are coming to the dinner but if you have any queries regarding the event do get in touch. A full briefing for those attending will be sent out later this week.
The new BBC Charter
The BBC has now responded to the Government’s Green Paper and has begun to flesh out its vision for how the corporation will evolve in the coming years. There is a strong emphasis on openness and partnership, and responding to technological changes. The latest proposals include a new children’s service called iPlay, and a partnership to create an Ideas Service which will bring together what the BBC does across arts, culture, science, history and ideas and add to it work done by other arts, cultural and educational institutions. What the BBC has not yet made clear is where cuts will take place. There has been much talk of the axe falling on BBC4, the BBC News Channel and some children’s services. We will continue our lobbying effort to ensure that international content is not an area that is cut back any further. If you’d like to lend your support to our lobbying efforts please get in touch with Sophie Chalk, IBT’s Head of Campaigns, who is leading on this sophie.chalk@btinternet.com
You can also read Sophie’s blog, about why we need the BBC, on the Bond website
https://www.bond.org.uk/news/2015/08/bbc-and-international-understanding
Best wishes
Mark
Welcome to IBT’s August newsletter with a brief update on our work and relevant news from the media industry. (Print this Newsletter)
New BBC Charter
The debate about the future of the BBC has moved forward with the Government’s publication last month of its Green Paper. This is a consultation document which asks a number of questions about the size and scope of the BBC and its governance. There is now a public consultation to which IBT will be submitting evidence. The deadline for submissions is October 8th. We will be arguing that in order to fulfil the global purpose, of bringing the world to the UK, the BBC need to have the sort of scale and scope which it currently has. However, with the licence fee settlement having already taken place in the run up to the Budget, it’s clear that the BBC faces further cuts in the years ahead. A copy of the Green Paper can be found here:
Meeting with Tony Hall
Last month a group of IBT members met Tony Hall, the BBC Director-General. The aim of the meeting was for us to talk to him about the importance of the global purpose and of the BBC’s commitment to high quality international content across a range of genres and services. We had a useful discussion with Tony and other BBC executives who were present. He encouraged us to make our voice heard in the Green Paper consultation.
Launch of Public Voice
Next month, IBT will be launching a new group, Public Voice, which will bring together a number of civil society organisations to lobby on issues related to public service broadcasting, including the future of the BBC and the possible privatization of Channel 4. If you are interested in joining this group, please contact Sophie Chalk, IBT’s Head of campaigns: sophie.chalk@btinternet.com
Autumn events
We will continue with our briefings for IBT members in the Autumn. Details will be available in early September. We hope to hear from Sky News, Mail online, Telegraph online and CNN. We are also planning a number of training events which will be free to IBT members. On October 7th there will be two Twitter training sessions, one for beginners and one for more advanced users. The trainer will be Mary Mitchell, a social media expert, who has run some excellent sessions for us in the past. On December 10ththere will be an Instagram training session. Although these training events are principally aimed at media officers, other NGO staff who wish to develop their skills on social media will also find them useful. The training events can be booked via the IBT website.
Happy holidays!
Mark
Welcome to IBT’s July newsletter with a brief update on our work and relevant news from the media industry. (Print this Newsletter)
Last month’s briefing – with BuzzFeed and New Statesman online
Paul Hamilos from BuzzFeed told us how the UK site is expanding and hiring new specialist correspondents. There’s a strong appetite amongst its audience for both short, pithy news pieces and longer in-depth reports. Buzzfeed does both. Caroline Crampton from New Statesman told us how the website is run – completely separately from the magazine – with its own team of reporters and its own agenda. In terms of commissioning content, there was an emphasis from both on original journalism and stories with a strong human interest element. It was also clear from both editors that NGOs need to think carefully, when pitching, about the sites and their particular audiences. A detailed note on the briefing can be found on the members’ page of the IBT website.
IBT AGM
Our AGM took place last week. Those present noted the wide range of IBT’s work over the last year – covering climate change, HIV/AIDS, media attitudes to aid and development and much more. It was agreed that IBT should lobby in the coming months for a clear commitment in the next BBC Charter to the global purpose ‘bringing the UK to the world and the world to the UK.’ IBT was instrumental in securing this global purpose when the present Charter was being negotiated.
The future of the BBC
In a letter to IBT, John Whittingdale, the new Secretary of State at DCMS has promised that the Charter renewal process will be (in his words) ‘as open as possible.’ He said he would welcome input from IBT. This is good news, although since writing to us, it appears almost certain that the Chancellor will use this week’s Budget to try to transfer the cost of free licence fees for the over-75s from the Exchequer to the BBC. This is a huge blow for the BBC as it will now have to find a further £650m of savings. This sum represents roughly a sixth of the BBC’s current licence fee income. In other developments, the BBC Trust has approved plans for BBC3 to move online and Tony Hall, the BBC Director General has announced that 1,000 jobs will go so that the organization is ‘simpler, leaner and more effective for the future.’ We will be meeting Tony Hall later this month to talk about the future of the BBC.
Channel 4
Channel 4 has been told by Ofcom, the media regulator, that it needs to make efforts to enhance its international coverage. Ofcom has just published its review of Channel 4 in which it praisedChannel 4 News for its distinctive approach and its ability to attract hard to reach audiences (18-34s and BAME viewers). The review also noted that the number of hours of international content outside news has fallen, and the range of genres covered has narrowed. Channel 4 has responded by saying ‘we are continuing to explore ways in which we can further harness our international credentials.’ IBT has been in discussions with Channel 4 about its international content and we hope to meet the Chairman of Ofcom to discuss this further. In the meantime, Channel 4 has announced the launch of a new foreign language drama channel to be called 4WorldDrama. And, if you missed the recent Channel 4 series The Tribe, it’s well worth watching on All4:
http://www.channel4.com/programmes/the-tribe/on-demand/58364-001
Changing viewing habits
Ofcom’s recently published public service broadcasting review has noted some significant changes to viewing habits. Although live television remains hugely important, catch-up TV watched over the internet and content premiered online is increasingly important, particularly to younger audiences. For 16-14 year olds only 50% of their viewing is live TV, compared to 69% for the population as a whole. Viewing of TV news has dropped considerably. 45% of young people now consider the internet to be their primary source of news. One of the major sources of news for young people, according to Ofcom’s analysis, is short form video content from media organisations such as Vice News.
The changing role of UK-based NGOs
Bond has published a useful think piece, analyzing how the aid and development landscape is changing and putting forward proposals for how NGOs should respond. The proposals include a call for greater efforts at public engagement with ‘a more nuanced narrative around development.’ The report’s main conclusion is that ‘British INGOs have a crucial role to play in promoting global development – but to do this they must change their strategies and approaches.’ The report notes that the legitimacy of NGOs is increasingly being challenged and argues that ‘securing better public understanding of aid and development is a key element driving the legitimacy of UK-based INGOs with their home audience.
http://www.bond.org.uk/data/files/reports/Fast_Forward_0515.pdf
Best wishes
Mark
Welcome to IBT’s June newsletter with a brief update on our work and relevant news from the media industry. (Print this Newsletter)
Our next briefing – with BuzzFeed and New Statesman online
We have a few places left at our next briefing, which will focus on two online platforms that have both achieved considerable success – in different ways. BuzzFeed is one of the fastest growing and most influential news and entertainment sites, known for its shareable content and now committed to spending more money on original journalism. NewStatesman.com is the online site of the weekly political and current affairs magazine – its stories and features are also widely shared online. The speakers will be Paul Hamilos, World Features editor at BuzzFeed UK and Caroline Crampton, Web editor at the New Statesman. The briefing will take place from 10-11.30am on Thursday June 25th at the IBT offices in Southwark. You can book your place now, in the usual way, via the members’ area of the IBT website.
Last month’s briefing – with Radio 5 Live and Radio 1 Newsbeat
Our last briefing was with Radio 5 Live and Radio 1 Newsbeat. It was a very useful session with the speakers giving lots of tips on the best way to pitch ideas to the two radio stations. It was also clear that it is no longer feasible to send generic press releases to news editors and expect them to respond. Both Chris Hunter, assistant editor of the Radio 5 Live Drive show and Anna Doble, online editor at Radio 1 Newsbeat, made it clear that each pitch should indicate the angle that makes the story relevant to their audience. Both stations have very different audiences of course, with Radio 5 appealing to an older mainstream audience that does not consume much news and Radio 1 appealing to a much younger audience. Both speakers also emphasized how quickly the news cycle moves on nowadays and the need for NGOs to be more opportunistic by seizing the moment when a relevant issue is in the news. A more detailed briefing note on this event is available via the members’ area of the IBT website.
New contacts for BBC News Online
Earlier this year, at our briefing with BBC News Online, Steve Hermann, the Editor of the BBC News website, promised to give us contact details and phone numbers for all the section editors, in response to criticism that finding the right person to pitch to was very challenging. Steve has now supplied these names and contact details. I have updated the notes for this briefing to include this information. The notes can be found in the members’ area of the IBT website.
The future of the BBC
Over the next few months, IBT will be lobbying over the future of the BBC whose Charter expires at the end of 2016. The current licence fee settlement expires early in 2017.We will be arguing that the BBC needs to be properly funded in order to continue to contribute effectively to UK society. Its budget has been reduced considerably in recent years whilst it has been asked to deliver more services. The BBC’s critics will be arguing for further cuts which could have major consequences for all of us. The BBC’s international coverage plays an important role, on tv, radio and online, in informing people in the UK about global issues. We are concerned that some of this coverage is under threat. We will be preparing a briefing for IBT members. If you’d like to support this strand of work, please get in touch with Sophie, our head of campaigns sophie.chalk@btinternet.com Broadcast magazine, which covers the television industry, has launched an online campaign to support the BBC, asking everyone to sign a statement of support. You can sign the pledge here: http://www.broadcastnow.co.uk/SPIN2.aspx?navCode=5535 You can follow the campaign on Twitter using the hashtag #BackingTheBBC
Reframing Climate Change at Sheffield DocFest
If you are planning to go to the Sheffield Documentary Festival, please look out for our two session which both take place on Tuesday June 9th. The first is a panel debate on the theme of Reframing Climate Change with speakers from the BBC, Channel 4, the British Antarctic Survey and the Open University. More details here:https://sheffdocfest.com/events/4173
The second session will feature 5 filmmakers pitching their documentary proposal to a panel of commissioning editors from Sky, Discovery and Channel 4. The best idea will win development funding. More here: https://sheffdocfest.com/events/4179
IBT AGM
Our AGM is coming up soon and all IBT members are welcome to come along and make their views heard. It will take place at 5pm on Thursday July 2nd at the IBT offices. Please let me know if you would like to attend.
Coming soon…
In addition to Sheffield, there are several documentary festivals coming up:
Open City Docs takes place from June 16-21:
http://opencitylondon.com/programme?_ga=1.149231924.38363632.1433176752
Seret 2015, the Israel/Palestine Film Festival runs from June 11-21:http://www.seret.org.uk/
Bertha DocHouse is currently running a series of international documentaries:http://www.dochouse.org/
This month also sees the release of The Look of Silence, Director Joshua Oppenheimer’s sequel to his multi award winning film, The Act of Killing, about the Indonesian genocide:
http://www.curzoncinemas.co.uk/comingsoon/2015/6/14/the-look-of-silence-15-plus-qa-via-satellite
Best wishes
Mark
Welcome to IBT’s May newsletter with a brief update on our work and relevant news from the media industry. (Print this Newsletter)
Next briefing – with Radio 5 Live and Radio 1 Newsbeat
Our next briefing focuses on radio. Radio 5 Live has established a strong reputation for its coverage of breaking news and some of the best broadcast interviews. We’ll be hearing from Chris Hunter, assistant editor of the breakfast show. Radio 1 Newsbeat has successfully targeted young audiences and is reinventing itself as an online brand. We’ll hear from Anna Doble, assistant editor (and former digital editor of Channel 4 News where she won awards for her innovative approach to online news). The briefing is scheduled for 10am on Wednesday May 20th – subject to final confirmation from the speakers. Both have been heavily involved in election coverage. This is a free event open to all IBT members subject to availability. Book your place now via the IBT website.
Last month’s briefing – tips from travel law experts
Last month we heard from two lawyers specializing in accidents abroad. The overriding message was that UK based employers have a duty to take all reasonable steps to ensure the safety of their staff at all times. This is an onerous duty and the courts expect an employer to check all the arrangements that are in place when employees undertake foreign travel. If a helicopter is being hired, for example, the employer will be expected to check the safety record of the company, verify its insurance cover, check the pilot’s licence etc. The employer’s duty is much less onerous with freelance staff. IBT will be working with the law firm Leigh Day to draw up a protocol for NGOs to incorporate into their risk assessments. A detailed note of this briefing is available now in the members’ area of the IBT website.
HIV stigma – the media challenge
Last month we also hosted a round table discussion to explore the opportunities for the media to play a bigger role in helping to tackle HIV related stigma. It was an impressive group, with representatives from the drugs companies and funders including the Global Fund, Comic Relief, the Elton John AIDS Foundation and Rush. Victoria Macdonald, health correspondent on Channel 4 News, was in the chair. Special thanks to Solenn Honorine from MSF who travelled from South Africa to take part. There was general agreement that stigma does exist and remains a major barrier – but there was no appetite for a mass media campaign challenging stigma. The preferred route was more targeted use of media, particularly community media, with a focus on access to treatment – getting more people tested and onto medication. The funders said they would welcome funding applications with more of a focus on media which they felt was often lacking from the HIV proposals that they usually received. There was agreement that IBT could play a role in working in partnership with NGOs to improve the media element of their funding applications. Further details of the discussion can be obtained from Sophie Chalk sophie.chalk@btinternet.com
Reframing Climate Change
As part of our Reframing Climate Change project, we have a number of events planned for the next couple of months. Later this month we will be co-hosting a round table discussion with the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit, inviting producers and commissioners to hear how a number of organisations which could be said to represent middle England – including the National Trust, Women’s Institute, RSPB and the Church of England – are responding to the challenge of climate change. In June we will be co-hosting a brainstorm with the BBC’s Natural History commissioning team, enabling producers to hear from a range of experts talking about key issues connected to two subject areas, oceans and weather. Also in June we will be at the Sheffield DocFest hosting a panel discussion on the morning of Tuesday June 9th when we will be challenging broadcasters from the BBC and Channel 4 to take a more creative approach to their coverage of climate change. In the afternoon we will hear the five shortlisted filmmakers, from our film competition, pitching their ideas to a panel of commissioners. More on Sheffield DocFest can be found here https://sheffdocfest.com/
Post-election media policy
After the election we will be preparing a briefing for IBT members on media policy. The future of the BBC Charter and the licence fee will be on the agenda for the next Government. The parties have very different policies, with Labour and the LibDems broadly committed to the status quo and the Conservatives and UKIP arguing for a smaller BBC with a narrower remit. The future of Channel 4 will also be an issue. There were fears that privatization might be back on the agenda but no party has officially committed itself to taking Channel 4 into the private sector.
One World Media Awards
Tickets are now on sale for this year’s One World Media Awards, which take place on the evening of Thursday June 18th at BAFTA in Piccadilly. IBT is supporter of the awards and we have always worked closely with One World Media. Hosted by Jon Snow, these are the only awards that celebrate outstanding media coverage of developing countries. Tickets can be booked online at http://awards.oneworldmedia.org.uk/tickets
UK Green Film Festival
This annual film festival which promotes films about environmental issues has started in cinemas across the UK. Films to look out for include H2Omx which examines attempts to maintain drinking water supplies in Mexico City and Bikes vs Cars which looks at the clash between bikes and cars around the world. More on the festival can be found here http://www.ukgreenfilmfestival.org/
Best wishes
Mark
Welcome to IBT’s April newsletter with a brief update on our work and relevant news from the media industry. (Print this Newsletter)
Accidents abroad – tips from travel law experts
Later this month IBT will be co-hosting an evening event with the leading law firm Leigh Day. There have been a number of recent legal cases involving NGO staff working abroad, which have raised some important issues. At this event we will hear from Christine Tallon a partner at Leigh Day who specialises in travel law and Marie-Louise Kinsler a barrister who has dealt with some of these recent cases. They will be offering important travel tips for NGO staff who go on foreign trips or send colleagues or freelancers abroad. There is a checklist of measures that you should take before leaving the UK to ensure that you are well prepared in case an accident or injury occurs. This event will be at 6pm on Tuesday April 28th at Leigh Day’s offices in Farringdon. The briefing will be followed by a drinks reception. It’s open to IBT members and non-members. Please share details with your colleagues. If you’d like to attend, please sign up for the event on the IBT website.
Reframing Climate Change – film competition
IBT has launched an open competition in association with the Sheffield Documentary Festival to find the best idea for a tv programme that helps to reframe climate change. Five entries will be shortlisted and producers will be given the opportunity to pitch their idea before an audience at Sheffield. A panel of commissioners will select the best idea which will be awarded development funding of £4,000. The closing date for applications is Thursday April 16th. Further details and an application form can be found on the Sheffield DocFest website:
https://sheffdocfest.com/articles/262-ibt-pitch-reframing-climate-change
HIV stigma – the media challenge
We will be hosting a round table discussion later this month to explore ways of encouraging funders to make a bigger commitment to funding media initiatives aimed at tackling HIV related stigma. This discussion follows on from the report we published last year, HIV and stigma – the media challenge. Our round table will take place in conjunction with Channel 4 and will be chaired by Victoria Macdonald, health correspondent on Channel 4 News. Victoria has a longstanding interest in HIV and reported from the international AIDS conference which took place in Melbourne last year. Attendees at our round table include representatives from the drugs companies and funders including the Global Fund, Comic Relief, the Elton John AIDS Foundation and Rush.
Future training events
We are currently organizing some training events for later this year. It would be good to know which of the following would be of interest to IBT members so that we can see where the demand lies:
Twitter training for beginners
Twitter training for advanced users
Stills photography for media officers and campaigners
Shooting/recording sound on an iPhone or iPad
Shooting/recording sound on Android devices
Given their popularity, we are also looking to expand our range of training events so if you have any suggestions please get in touch. These events are free to IBT members.
SciDev.Net
SciDev.Net, which specializes in news about science and technology for development, is launching a new initiative and would welcome feedback from IBT members. They plan to launch a customized email news alert aimed at journalists and editors in their network, which includes the BBC, Huffington Post, Guardian, Asian Scientist, All Africa and Africa News. They are keen to know whether NGOs would be interested in advertising in this space. If you’re happy to help please fill in this survey https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/GD9B2SP or get in touch with marketing@scidev.net
Best wishes
Mark
Welcome to IBT’s March newsletter with a brief update on our work and relevant news from the media industry. (Print this Newsletter)
IBT dinner with Tony Hall
The BBC Director General, Tony Hall, has been speaking this week about his plans for the future of the BBC in the run up to Charter renewal. We are delighted that he has agreed to be the guest speaker at our annual dinner for CEOs, which will take place on Thursday September 24th. This dinner is open to all CEOs of IBT member organisations – if your CEO would like to attend, please let me know. Places are limited. If you have already been in touch regarding this, there is no need to make contact again.
IBT annual review
Last month we published our annual review for 2014 – it was a busy and productive year for us. The review describes the full range of activities that IBT undertakes, including briefings and training events for members, lobbying of media organisations, regulators and parliamentarians and the publication of research. Once you’ve read the review, please feel free to give us feedback so that we can be more effective in responding to our members’ needs.
http://www.ibt.org.uk/documents/IBT-internal-reports/ibtannual2014-15.pdf
Last month’s briefing with BBC News Online
Last month we heard from Steve Herrmann, the editor of BBC News Online, and Jon Zilkha recently appointed to the senior management team at BBC News where he is responsible for 24/7 and Digital News. It was a very useful session as both speakers explained how online content differs from traditional news reporting. The BBC News website is the most popular news website in the UK and it has a strong public service ethos. The editors make their own choices about which stories to prioritise – they don’t just replicate the content of other BBC News outlets. According to Steve and Jon, there is a particular appetite amongst online audiences for immersive features about global issues and for stories that cover science, health, technology, innovation, lifestyles etc rather than the traditional geopolitical news agenda.
This month’s briefing with Sky News
Later this month we will hear from Tami Hoffman, Interviews editor at Sky News. Tami and her team are responsible for recruiting all the studio guests that appear on Sky – and they have been making serious efforts to recruit more women in response to the criticism of broadcasters for the under- representation of female experts. Tami will talk about how they decide who to have in the studio or to interview remotely and she will also talk about how to pitch stories to Sky. This event is free and open to IBT members only – please register via the IBT website.
Reframing Climate Change
We are working with Blakeway, a leading factual independent production company, to develop some ideas for future tv programmes that feature issues related to climate change, as part of our Reframing Climate Changeproject. They are particularly keen to investigate instances of corporate misbehavior or rule breaking and to expose poor business practices. If you are aware of any issues related to climate change that you feel would merit further investigation please let me know. More about Blakeway can be found here:http://www.blakeway.co.uk/
Submitting evidence to media regulators
We have been busy in recent weeks submitting evidence to the two principal media regulators, Ofcom and the BBC Trust. The Trust has been looking at the future of BBC3 in response to a management proposal to turn it into an online only channel; it has also been reviewing all the BBC’s speech radio output including Radio 4 and 5 Live; Ofcom has been examining the future of public service broadcasting and investigating whether Channel 4 has been fulfilling its remit. The fact that all our public service broadcasters cover global issues is in strong part due to regulation so it’s important that IBT responds to these inquiries on behalf of our membership. If you’d like to take a look at our submissions they can be found on our website.
http://www.ibt.org.uk/lobbying/
The Aid Industry – what journalists really think
Our report on the aid industry and how journalists feel about the work that development agencies do, has received widespread publicity in recent weeks. It was mentioned at a Frontline Club event which debated whether journalists and NGOs have become too close – and it was also the subject of an article and online Q and A on the Guardian’s development website. The Frontline Club debate is worth listening to if you missed it.
http://www.frontlineclub.com/embedding-with-aid-agencies-editorial-integrity-and-security-risks/
Best wishes
Mark
Welcome to IBT’s February newsletter with a brief update on our work and relevant news from the media industry. (Print this Newsletter)
Social media – making your voice heard
Today we publish our new report looking at how NGOs can be more effective in their online campaigning. Social media is becoming increasingly important as a way of engaging the UK public with global issues; but it’s also an increasingly challenging area in which to operate. Social media – making your voice heard explores the changing social media landscape, looks at what works and what doesn’t, and makes a number of recommendations for how NGOs can be more effective. The full report can be downloaded from the home page of this website.
Last month’s briefing with Vice News and the Huffington Post
We had a fascinating briefing last month with Yonni Usiskin (Vice News) and Charlie Lindlar (Huffington Post). It’s clear that both these organisations are growing in size and influence and both offer great opportunities for NGOs to get their messages across. It was particularly refreshing to hear Yonni says that there is a big appetite amongst audiences for serious content that explores the complexity of global issues and stories. Both speakers said that there was a real opportunity now for NGOs to engage audiences – if they can find the right tone and content. It was also interesting to hear that much of their content is discovered through recommendations on social media. A detailed note on what was said at the briefing is available in the members’ area of the IBT website.
This month’s briefing with BBC News online
Despite the growth of new media organisations like Vice and HuffPo, the biggest news website in the UK (and globally) is BBC News. We’re very lucky this month to be hearing from Steve Herrmann, the editor of BBC News Online, and Jon Zilkha recently appointed to the senior management team at BBC News where he is responsible for 24/7 and Digital News. This session is a great opportunity to hear about the changing strategy at BBC News and also to get lots of tips on how to pitch stories to the website team. It will take place from 10-11.30am on Thursday February 26th at the IBT offices in Southwark. Invitations will go out in the next few days but places can be booked now via the members’ area of our website. If you’d like to follow our briefings on Twitter, we’ll be introducing a new hashtag for these events #ibtbriefing
The Future of News
The BBC’s Director of News and former Times editor, James Harding, has launched a new report called The Future of News, which looks at the way in which news consumption is changing. This is the first step in the BBC rethinking its role as a news provider. The report is a useful reminder that tv news is still the main source of news for most people in the UK – but its reach is significantly higher amongst older people than younger audiences (92% v 52%). Harding’s conclusion is that there is a growing information gap between older, richer, well informed audiences and poorer, younger, ethnic minority, less well informed audiences. The internet, Harding argues, is not keeping everyone informed – it is magnifying problems of information inequality, misinformation, polarization and disengagement. The report also notes that BBC News needs to ‘broaden the tone of what we do.’ This follows criticism – from IBT and others – that the range of stories and voices is narrowing.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/
The provision and consumption of online news
As part of the news review, the BBC asked independent consultants Mediatique, to analyse where a range of audiences go for their news consumption. If you want to understand the changing news landscape this is a useful report, rich in detail. It’s great that the BBC is making this publicly available. The report looks at where online audiences go to find their news and BBC News comes out top (47%), followed by Mail Online (14%); Sky News (12%); Guardian (9%); HuffPo (9%) and Daily Telegraph (6%). Smaller news sites like Vice and Buzzfeed are growing rapidly. BBC News is the most trusted news source with ITV News coming second. The report also reveals the growing role played by Google, Twitter and Facebook as news gatekeepers. Asked how they discover news online, 45% said they go to known brands; 29% said they use search engines; 17% said they follow links posted on social media.
The future of the World Service
As part of its news review, the BBC is rethinking the role of the World Service. There’s growing concern that it is being outspent by CCTV and RT (Russia Today). In The Future of News, Harding says the role of the World Service is critical and ‘the BBC needs to decide whether there should be a strategy for growth or a managed marginalization.’ Harding is clear that he wants to see more resources spent on the World Service if it is to maintain its influence and global reach.
Embedding with aid agencies – editorial integrity and security risks
Later this month, the Frontline club is hosting a discussion which examines the dangers of journalists and aid agencies working too closely. Speakers include Siobhan Sinnerton from Channel 4 and Polly Markandya from MSF. One of the examples under discussion will be the recent Panorama Ebola Frontline which saw the BBC working very closely with MSF to gain access to an Ebola clinic. The event is at 7pm on Tuesday February 10th.
http://www.frontlineclub.com/
IBT annual dinner for CEOs
Given the success of last year’s annual dinner for CEOs, we are now making plans for this year’s. We’re delighted that Tony Hall, the BBC’s Director General, has accepted our invitation to speak at the dinner, which will take place in the Autumn. This is perfect timing for us, as the next BBC Charter will be under discussion by then, and we are keen to see the BBC’s commitment to ‘bringing the world to the UK’ (in the words of the present Charter) maintained and strengthened. IBT was instrumental in the inclusion of this as one of the BBC’s key purposes last time round.
Best wishes
Mark
Welcome to IBT’s January newsletter with a brief update on our work and relevant news from the media industry. (Print this Newsletter)
The Lobbying Act – implications for social media
Today we publish a new briefing paper for IBT members. There’s growing concern amongst NGOs about what exactly can and can’t be said in online communications, in light of the new Lobbying Act (and charity law in general). In our briefing note The Lobbying Act – implications for social media, we offer clear guidance for ways of ensuring that online campaigns comply with the restrictions placed on charities by the new legislation. The briefing recommends that all NGOs review their social media campaigning activities on a regular basis even if they decide not to register under the Act. All staff should be provided with social media guidelines and a named person within the organisation to contact for advice. The briefing does not constitute formal legal advice. A copy is attached to this newsletter – it can also be downloaded via the IBT website.
http://ibt.org.uk/documents/reports/LobbyActBriefing.pdf
Charity Commission rules on Oxfam ‘Perfect Storm’ tweet
The Charity Commission has ruled on the Oxfam tweet which was posted in June and contained a picture of a mock poster for an imagined film called ‘The Perfect Storm’. A number of policy areas were cited and the text of the tweet suggested these were forcing more people into poverty. A complaint was made to the Commission. In its ruling it recognizes that charities are entitled to campaign and undertake political activity, but only in furtherance of their charitable purposes. Campaigning should not be party political – or perceived as such. The Commission accepted Oxfam’s argument that it had no intention of acting in a party political way but nevertheless ruled that the tweet ‘could be misconstrued by some as party political campaigning.’ The Commission said Oxfam ‘should have done more to avoid any misperception of political bias.’
https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/389617/ocr_Oxfam.pdf
Upholding charities’ independence and reputation
The NCVO has published an excellent paper, Upholding charities’ independence and reputation, with recommendations for best practice by the charity sector. The paper references the important role that charities play in campaigning and influencing public policy but says that they need to take steps to maintain public trust. One of the points made in the report is that charities should ensure that their campaigns have broad appeal to a range of political interests. The report also notes the importance of addressing public concern about charities’ financial management and the public appetite for more information about how charities spend their money.
Dissolution of Invisible Children
Invisible Children, the charity behind the Kony 2012 viral video campaign, has announced its dissolution. Most of the staff will leave and a small team will stay on, eventually handing over its African-based activities by the end of the year. Despite the initial success of the Kony 2012 campaign, the charity came under increased scrutiny. Much of its funding came from school tours in the US, but this funding model proved unsustainable, as the organization was frequently challenged to demonstrate where exactly it was spending the money that it raised.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/monkey-cage/wp/2014/12/30/why-did-invisible-children-dissolve/
Making Waves – media’s potential for girls in the Global South
BBC Media Action has published Making Waves – media’s potential for girls in the Global South, a review of the nature and impact of media portrayal of girls in developing countries. The report makes for fascinating reading and concludes that the media plays both a positive and negative role in terms of influencing girls’ behaviour. It recommends that media interventions designed to enhance girls’ well-being should to be better targeted.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/mediaaction/publicationsandpress/policy_girls_media.html
Changing role of BBC3
The BBC has now published its detailed plan to make BBC3 an online channel. IBT has praised BBC3 in the past for its innovative record in covering current affairs, particularly in developing countries. We are concerned that the move online will mean that fewer people watch these programmes. However, in the published plans, the BBC confirms its commitment to global current affairs on BBC3 and says that, when the channel moves online, all long form current affairs programmes will be shown on BBC1 or 2 as well as on the online channel. This is good news. In future, the new BBC3 will focus on two principal genres: current affairs and comedy. It will no longer make factual entertainment shows such as Don’t Tell the Bride – these will either be cut or moved to another tv channel. There will also be new money for short films to be shown online only. The BBC Trust will undertake a public consultation on these proposals, to which IBT will be submitting evidence. At the same time, the Trust has announced a review of its network speech radio stations – Radio 4, 4 Extra, 5 live and 5 live sports extra. If you have any views which you’d like us to put forward, please get in touch.
Next briefing will be with online news and comment websites
Our next briefing will focus on online news and comment websites. We’ll be hearing from a panel of 4 editors – from Buzzfeed, Vice News, Huffington Post and New Statesman online. The editors will talk about how to pitch stories and blogs – and they’ll give advice on how online material can achieve greater exposure. This event will take place from 10-12 on Tuesday January 27th. It’s now fully subscribed – if you have booked a place and are unable to attend please let us know so that we can offer your place to someone else.
ESoDoc 2015
ESoDoc, the European Social Documentary project, is open for applications for this year’s scheme. It’s an innovative programme that brings together filmmakers, new media professionals and NGO film practitioners, from across Europe, who want to work collaboratively and develop new projects. The course is subsidized by the EU and includes three residential sessions in three European countries taking place over a six month period.
One World Media Awards
Entries are now open for this year’s One World Media Awards, which will take place on Thursday June 18th at BAFTA. Now in its 27th year, the awards recognize excellence in media coverage of developing countries. This year, two new categories have been launched, the Refugee Reporting Award (sponsored by the British Red Cross) and the Women’s Rights in Africa Award (sponsored by the African Development Bank). Other awards cover television, documentary, radio, press and digital media.
http://oneworldmedia.org.uk/awards
The Sandford St Martin Awards
The Sandford St Martin Awards have also issued their call for entries, with the announcement of a new Children’s Award. These awards celebrate tv, radio and online coverage of religious, spiritual and ethical issues.
http://sandfordawards.org.uk/the-awards/2015-awards/
New members
This month we welcome two new members, Mercy Corps and Handicap International. If you know of any other organisations that may wish to join, please let me know.
Best wishes
Mark
Welcome to IBT’s December newsletter with a brief update on our work and relevant news from the media industry. (Print this Newsletter)
HIV and stigma – the media challenge
Following the launch of our research report in September in the House of Commons, we have been exploring what IBT can do to ensure that media content which aims to reduce the stigma of HIV has greater impact. We have had meetings with funders, NGOs specialising in HIV treatment and care and pharmaceutical companies to discuss how best we can contribute to ensure that current work in frontline treatment is supported by impactful media. We are hoping to present some concrete proposals to HIV specialists in the New Year. We have also continued to disseminate the research which has been sent to many frontline HIV organisations around the world. If any IBT members with networks in developing countries affected by HIV can assist in this process we would be grateful for your support. We want to ensure that our recommendations are as widely read as possible.
http://www.ibt.org.uk/reports/
Bond Transparency Group to discuss IBT report on media coverage of aid
Last month we published our new report The aid industry – what journalists really think in which we quoted journalists and their personal views about NGOs and aid. The report raised a number of issues for NGOs but its aim is to enable IBT members to be more proactive in the face of media criticism. Later this month, I’ll be presenting our findings to members of the Bond Transparency Group. This is an open event, which will take place on Friday December 12th, at 2pm at the ActionAid offices in Clerkenwell. If you wish to attend, please contact the organizer judith.davey@actionaid.org
Last month’s briefing with Today
Last month we heard from Adam Cumiskey, acting planning editor on Today. Adam gave us a very useful insight into how a planning editor deals with ideas coming in from NGOs and others. In one week, he deals with around 150-200 potential stories. Adam emphasized the importance of establishing a personal relationship and advised that press releases should be much more carefully targeted and contain a clear top line, named experts available for interview and case studies. Notes from Adam’s briefing can be downloaded from the members’ area of the IBT website.
Next briefing will be with online news websites
Our next briefing will focus on online news websites and have a slightly different format from normal. We’ll be hearing from a panel of 4 editors – from Buzzfeed, Vice News, Huffington Post and New Statesman online. The editors will talk about how to pitch stories and proposed blogs to them – and they’ll give advice on how online material can achieve greater exposure. This event will take place from 10-12 on Tuesday January 27th. Further details about the speakers can be found on the IBT website and places can be booked now.
iPhone and iPad training session
Later this month, we will run our first training session on how to shoot, record sound and edit using an iPhone or iPad. The trainer will be Mark Egan. This event is now fully subscribed but we hope to run another session next year. If there’s sufficient demand, we will also run a session for android appliances. The iPhone training will take place from 9.30-1 on Thursday December 18th. If you have booked a place and are no longer able to attend, please let me know, so that I can offer your place to someone else.
CEOs and Twitter
Last month we held a training event aimed at helping CEOs to be more effective on Twitter. The event was run by our regular Twitter trainer, Mary Mitchell. There’s a useful new guide for CEOs which is now available online. Written by Zoe Amar and Matt Collins, the guide is aimed at CEOs interested in developing their voice on Twitter and other social media.
http://charitychap.com/wp-
Reframing climate change
Later this month we will be holding our next event with producers in our Reframing climate change project. This event is aimed at the BBC’s long form documentary strand, Storyville. We’ll be bringing together half a dozen producers from the strand with a group of experts involved in climate science, technology, business and architecture. Next year we will be holding similar events with Sky, BBC Science and Natural History and Channel 5.
Climate change – what do young people think?
The Climate Outreach and Information Network (COIN) has published a new report documenting what young people think about climate change. The Young Voices report interviewed 18-25 year olds and concludes that present engagement strategies are failing with young people. It proposes – and tests – new climate change narratives aimed specifically at this age group.
Any ideas for Unreported World?
Channel 4’s Friday night current affairs series, Unreported World, has now completed its present run. If you missed it, there was a superb episode investigating the plight of deaf children living in rural Uganda. 15 and Learning to Speak is still available to view online http://www.channel4.com/
The team at Quicksilver is now researching stories for the next series which will go out in the spring. If you’d like to pitch ideas to them, get in touch with their new Associate Producer, luke.denne@qsmedia.tv and mention IBT in your email. If you’d like advice on what kind of stories would work for the strand just email me.
Two events to look out for
On December 3rd, the Frontline Club will host a panel discussion Documenting Disasters: Ten Years on from the Indian Tsunami. The event will consider the way in which communicating natural disasters has changed especially now that affected communities are using social media to tell their own stories and journalists are also using social media to gather information.
http://www.frontlineclub.com/
On December 9th, the ODI and BBC Media Action will host a debate Making waves: the media’s potential for girls in the global south which will look at how media can play a positive role in improving girls’ lives.
http://www.odi.org/events/
Thank you dinner for John Whitaker
In January we’ll be holding a farewell dinner for John Whitaker who stepped down as IBT Chair in the summer. John steered IBT through a period of great change, serving as Chair from 2002-2014. The dinner will take place on Thursday January 15th – if you’d like to attend and have not already let me know, please get in touch.
Best wishes
Mark
Welcome to IBT’s November newsletter with a brief update on our work and relevant news from the media industry. (Print this Newsletter)
The aid industry – what journalists really think
Today we publish a new briefing for IBT members. As the aid industry comes under increasing media scrutiny it’s vital that NGOs working in this field have a clearer idea of what journalists think about aid and development. From the journalists’ point of view, what works and what doesn’t? What are the issues that particularly concern them? In our latest report The aid industry – what journalists really think we hear from a range of journalists working in the press, radio, television and online. We asked them to tell us on and off the record what their own personal views were about NGOs and aid. Some of this report gives cause for concern but our aim in publishing it is to enable NGOs to respond more effectively to media criticism in the future. The report is essential reading for all media officers and others involved in communicating to the media. We shall be organising a series of events to promote discussion of the report’s findings. A copy of the report is attached to this newsletter. It can also be found in the members’ area of the website but it will not be available in the public area of the site. Distribution will be limited to IBT members.
http://www.ibt.org.uk/2014/11/
Bond Transparency Group to discuss new IBT report
The first event at which we will discuss the findings of The aid industry – what journalists really think will be the next meeting of the Bond Transparency Group. On Friday December 12th, the Bond group will be debating In the Public Interest: NGOs, Transparency and the Media. The speakers will be Mark Galloway (IBT Director) and Caroline Diehl (Media Trust Chief Executive). The meeting will take place at 2pm at the ActionAid offices in Clerkenwell. This is an open event but places need to be booked in advance with the group’s co-chair judith.davey@actionaid.org
See also ActionAid’s own report on transparency:
http://www.actionaid.org.uk/
Last month’s briefing with Focus on Africa
Last month we heard from the editors of Focus on Africa, Rachael Akidi and Stephane Mayoux. Rachael, who edits the radio show, told us that she was keen to find stories from countries that rarely featured, such as Angola, Swaziland, Lesotho, Guinea Bissau and Equatorial Guinea. Stephane, who edits the tv show, said that it was time for media coverage of Africa to move beyond what he called its traditional 3D approach –focusing on death, disease and destruction. A detailed note on the briefing can be found in the members’ area of the IBT website.
Next briefing with Today
Our next briefing will focus on Today, without doubt the most influential UK news programme. The show has undergone a series of changes under its news editor, Jamie Angus. Jamie has also attracted attention for his recent remarks, in which he said that audiences were turned off by a bleak diet of international stories, and that new ways needed to be found to engage audiences with global issues. The briefing will take place at 10am on Wednesday November 26th. Representing the Today editorial team will be senior producer Adam Cumiskey. Adam will also take us through the best way to pitch ideas to the show. Places are limited and will be allocated on a first come basis. They must be booked via the members’ area of the IBT website.
iPhone and iPad training session
In December we will be running a training session on how to shoot, record sound and edit using an iPhone or iPad. As Stephane told us at the Focus on Africa briefing, broadcasters are increasingly willing to screen material shot on mobile devices but there is a huge variation in the quality of the material depending on how well the device and associated apps and accessories are used. Recording good quality sound is especially important. We have asked Mark Egan, an experienced trainer, to run a half day training session for IBT members. It will take place from 9.30-2 on Thursday December 18th. This is a free event but places are limited as the training can only be effective with a small group. Places can be booked now via the members’ area of the IBT website.
Reframing climate change
Last month we held our Reframing climate change event at Channel 4. It was attended by a dozen independent producers and half a dozen Channel 4 commissioners. We brought them together with a group of experts which included climate scientists but also many from other fields who were thinking about climate change – business, economics, architecture, fashion, transport etc. The aim was to brainstorm new ways for Channel 4 to cover climate change. We will be following this up with similar events with other broadcasters.
Wild Screen Festival discusses IBT report
IBT’s report The Environment on TV- are broadcasters meeting the challenge? was discussed at a special session at the Wild Screen Festival in Bristol last month. The festival brings together producers from around the world who make natural history programmes. These programmes have traditionally avoided mentioning climate change but that approach is changing and there was wide recognition at the festival that this area of programming needs to look more closely at the way the environment is changing and the impact of these changes.
Africa Investigates – Living with Ebola
The Frontline Club is to screen an episode of the Al Jazeera series Africa Investigates. The episode entitledLiberia – Living with Ebola will reportedly bring an African perspective to coverage of the issue. The screening, on Monday November 10th, will be followed by a Q and A with reporter Sorious Samura and director Clive Patterson, chaired by Tom Clarke, Science editor of Channel 4 Newshttp://www.frontlineclub.com/
An episode of Panorama, the BBC1 current affairs strand, will also track the impact of Ebola in west Africa. Filmed in association with MSF, the programme is due to air on Monday November 10th http://www.bbc.co.uk/
Russia Today to launch UK channel
Russia Today (RT) is launching a UK news channel to bring what it calls ‘new perspectives to our viewers; to show them the side of the story they won’t see on the mainstream channels’ according to Margarita Simonyan, RT’s editor in chief. The international version of RT is already available in the UK but the new channel will have 5 hours of original programming every day, specifically targeted at UK audiences. This will include news, documentaries made by UK producers and chat shows, supplemented by programming from its main international channel. RT UK will be shown on Freeview channel 135 and Sky channel 512.
Best wishes
Mark
Welcome to IBT’s October newsletter with a brief update on our work and relevant news from the media industry. (Print this Newsletter)
Next IBT briefing with Focus on Africa editors
Later this month we’ll be holding our next briefing for IBT members. Our speakers will be Stephane Mayoux and Rachael Akidi. Stephane edits the tv version of Focus on Africa and Rachael edits the radio show. They will talk about the commissioning and pitching process, how they recruit studio guests and who their audience is. BBC Africa is one of the most dynamic sections of the BBC World Service and it has grown its audience in recent years, despite cutbacks across the BBC. It’s also unusual because it is London based, sharing offices with BBC radio shows like Today, The World Tonight etc. It will be interesting to hear about any cross fertilization which occurs between these shows. The briefing will take place at 10am on Thursday October 30th at the IBT offices in Southwark. Registration is open now via the members’ area of the IBT website. Any problems registering, let me know. Invitations will go out by email next week.
Last month’s briefing with Dispatches
Our briefing with Dispatches was well attended – Daniel Pearl from Channel 4 said he was always short of good ideas for the strand and encouraged IBT members to send their ideas to him. Karen Edwards from Blakeway Productions also welcomed ideas, saying that she is in regular touch with Channel 4, the BBC, ITV, CCTV etc and in a position to pitch to any broadcaster. Notes on the event can be found in the members’ area of the IBT website.
Unreported World
The new series of Unreported World started last week with a powerful film on Ebola. The production team is now working on ideas for the next series. If you are interesting in pitching to them let me know and I’ll pass on their contact details. The RSA will be hosting a screening of an upcoming Unreported World film Syria’s Invisible Refugees. The film looks at the plight of disabled refugees from Syria currently living in temporary camps in Lebanon. The screening will take place at 6.30pm on Wednesday October 8th and will be followed by a Q and A with the reporter, Giles Duley, and representatives from Handicap International and UNHCR.
http://www.thersa.org/events/
IBT annual dinner
Last month we held our annual dinner for CEOs. David Abraham, the Chief Executive of Channel 4, spoke about the channel’s commitment to international coverage and Nevine Mabro, the Foreign Editor of Channel 4 News, spoke about the programme’s recent coverage of Ukraine, Gaza, Syria and ISIS. Next year we hope to have Tony Hall, the Director General of the BBC, as our main speaker.
Current affairs on the BBC
The BBC Trust has taken a bold step to strengthen its commitment to current affairs on BBC1, by ring fencing output for the first time, requiring the channel to air at least 40 hours a year in peak time. The Trust has long been concerned about current affairs on BBC1. This new quota is one of the main outcomes of the Trust service review of BBC News and Current Affairs to which IBT submitted evidence. The Trust has also instructed the BBC Director of News to come up with concrete proposals to strengthen the range of international stories covered across BBC News. This is an issue that has concerned IBT and which featured prominently in our submission.
Changes at Today
Jamie Angus, the editor of the Today programme has said that he wants to recruit more black staff to his production team and feature more diverse voices on air. He has also acknowledged that the programme has suffered a small drop in its audience. He puts this down to a run of ‘bad foreign news’ and says the show needs to find new ways to refresh its approach to international coverage. Angus said that Today would not stop doing foreign stories, since ‘that would be a betrayal of our audience, we are not going to do it. What we are going to do is think about how we do the storytelling.’ We have invited Jamie Angus to speak at one of our briefings later this year.
Twitter session for CEOs
Our first Twitter session for CEOs will take place next month, on Friday November 21st. As we have not been able to accommodate all the CEOs who expressed an interest, we’ll be running another session early next year.
FireChat
It’s been reported that FireChat, a new messaging app, is playing a key role in the Hong Kong protests as it is enabling protestors to communicate via Bluetooth when phone and internet lines are down.
http://www.theguardian.com/
The civil society response to AIDS
The LSE is holding a public event later this month to debate the global state of the civil society response to AIDS. The event marks the publication of a report which has examined the civil society response and in particular the role of the International HIV/AIDS Alliance in building agency amongst some of the most marginalized groups. The event will take place at the LSE at 6.30pm on Tuesday October 14th. http://www.lse.ac.uk/
The power of storytelling
This year’s Transformational Media Summit takes place at the end of the month in Washington DC. The summit brings together change makers, storytellers and media professionals who are keen to collaborate to promote change. A discount is available for IBT members who wish to attend. http://tmsummit.org/
Film Africa 2014
This year’s African film festival takes place at the end of this month with some events happening sooner. Details of the programme have not yet been released.
Media reporting of conflict and disaster
The ODI is hosting an event later this month at the Frontline Club which examines the way the media reports today’s conflicts and disasters. The event entitled, Conflict and Disaster Reporting – Does the Public Still Care? will consider how effective reporting is in engaging the public. It will also consider how humanitarian organisations are working with media outlets to generate interest and understanding of the crises affecting millions of civilians around the world. The event will take place at 8.30pm on Thursday October 23rd. It is currently fully booked but available to be viewed online.
http://www.frontlineclub.com/
Amnesty Media Awards 2014
This year’s Amnesty Media Awards will be hosted by Lindsey Hilsum and will take place on the evening of Tuesday November 11th at the BFI Southbank. The awards recognise the vital role that journalists play and the serious risks they face in highlighting injustice around the world.
Best wishes
Mark
IBT’s mission is to use the media to further awareness and understanding of people’s lives in the developing world and the issues which affect them
Welcome to IBT’s September newsletter with a brief update on our work and relevant news from the media industry. (Print this Newsletter)
HIV and stigma – the media challenge
Earlier this week we launched our new research report to a packed meeting at the House of Commons – held jointly with the All Party Parliamentary Group on HIV and AIDS. The meeting was chaired by Lord Collins on behalf of the APPG and the panel included speakers who had travelled from Kenya, South Africa and the US to attend. The report examines the role of the media in tackling stigma and includes recommendations as to how it can play a more effective role – and how NGOs can work with the media to achieve this. The report has been warmly welcomed by those working in this field. Hard copies will be sent to all IBT members, and it can also be downloaded from our website.
Next IBT briefing later this month
Our series of briefings with commissioners and editors resumes this month. On September 23rd we’ll be hearing from Daniel Pearl, Channel 4 Commissioning Editor for News and Current Affairs. Daniel will be talking about how to pitch ideas for Dispatches, the Channel’s principal current affairs strand, which he edits. He also has responsibility for Channel 4 News. We are lucky that on this occasion Daniel will be joined by Karen Edwards, Executive Producer with Blakeway Productions, a leading factual producer. Karen regularly makes films forDispatches. This is a great opportunity to find out more about the best way to achieve coverage of global issues on current affairs TV. If you’d like to attend, please register via the members’ area of the IBT website, as this event is for IBT members only.
Climate change brainstorms
Last year we published The Environment on TV – are broadcasters meeting the challenge? As a result of that report we are now working with all the main public service broadcasters – and Sky – on a series of brainstorms, to encourage them to broaden the range of programming about climate change. We want to encourage producers and broadcasters to reframe climate change so that it is no longer seen as just a green issue – but seen as one that affects all aspects of life. Our first brainstorm takes place next month and will be hosted by Channel 4. Attendees include many of the main independent production companies working in factual tv. We are also working with Love Productions, producers of The Great British Bake Off and Benefits Street, to develop a slate of programmes that feature climate change.
Search for green champions
Entries are now open for the PEA awards, which celebrate green champions from all walks of life. The closing date for entries is October 17th.
NGOs and the media
IBT is currently preparing a briefing paper which investigates what journalists really think about the aid industry. Many thanks to those IBT members who spoke to Helen Magee, who has been writing the report. We will be circulating the final report to IBT members later this Autumn. In the meantime, congratulations to Mark Goldring, CEO of Oxfam, for braving the Channel 4 cameras and appearing in Undercover Boss. The programme has been generally well received. If you missed it, it’s well worth watching.
Celebrities and the media
New research by two leading academics has indicated that the role of celebrities in media coverage of development may not be achieving the desired results. They say that such coverage is ‘generally ineffective’ at engaging the public with global issues – and may benefit the celebrities more than the issues featured.
Annual dinner for CEOs
Channel 4 Chief Executive David Abraham is the guest speaker at our annual dinner for CEOs later this month. The dinner will also be attended by the Channel 4 News editor Ben de Pear.
Twitter session for CEOs
We are about to fix a date for the Twitter training session for CEOs, now that we have a few names of those who have said they would like to attend. If your CEO is interested in coming along, and you haven’t already let me know, please get in touch now.
Blog Action Day
IBT has joined Blog Action Day as one of its partner organisations. The massive blogging event takes place on October 16th and the theme this year will be inequality. We’ll be encouraging bloggers to write about HIV and stigma and the way in which certain groups – such as sex workers, men who have sex with men and people who use drugs – are discriminated against and, as a result, have far less access to testing and treatment than the wider population. If you’re interested in taking part, you can register your blog here.
Media trends
Ofcom, the media regulator, has published its annual market report which identifies trends in media consumption. This always makes for interesting reading. For the first time in many years the average amount of tv watched by viewers in the UK has dropped slightly – by 9 minutes a day. Ofcom could not say whether this is due to warmer weather or is indicative of a long term trend. Three quarters of tv viewing is live; one quarter is time shifted.
Best wishes
Mark
Welcome to IBT’s August newsletter with a brief update on our work and relevant news from the media industry. (Print this Newsletter)
HIV and stigma – the media challenge
Next month we’ll be launching our new research report which looks at HIV and stigma – and examines the role the media can play in tackling stigma. The report includes recommendations as to how the media can play a more effective role – and how NGOs can work with the media to achieve this. The launch will take place at 6pm on Tuesday September 2nd at the House of Commons. It will be a joint event with the All Party Parliamentary Group on HIV and AIDS. We have a distinguished panel which includes Anne Soy, BBC correspondent in Kenya; Garth Japhet, the founder of Soul City and Winnie Ssanyu Sseruma, an HIV activist. Sophie Chalk, the author of the report, will present her findings. This is a public event but places need to be booked in advance via the IBT website. IBT members will be given priority.
BBC Trust gives its verdict on BBC television
The BBC Trust has published the findings of its review of BBC television – to which IBT submitted evidence. The verdict on BBC1, 2, 3 and 4 is broadly positive. All four channels are distinctive and well regarded by audiences. However, the Trust noted that BBC1 has a tendency to play safe and needs to take more risks. The Trust also said that the tv channels need to make more effort to reach younger and more diverse audiences. Interestingly, the Trust’s verdict on BBC3 was very positive, given that there are plans to turn BBC3 into an online only channel (although these plans are yet to be approved by the Trust).
Channel 4 News reaches more diverse audience
Ben de Pear, the editor of Channel 4 News, has said that the programme attracts a younger and more diverse audience than any other tv news bulletin. BAMEs make up 23% of their audience; and 20% are aged 16-34. Ben acknowledged that a priority for the show has been to represent the UK’s ethnic minorities on the screen and they have also been trying hard to increase the number of female experts, following a campaign by City University and Broadcast magazine.
House of Lords inquiry will look at expert women
The House of Lords Select Committee on Communications has announced that its next inquiry will look at the level of female representation across news broadcasting. The Committee will look at the representation of women in television, radio news and current affairs in terms of employment, casting and participation. Written evidence needs to be submitted before October 1st.
Competition gathers pace at the BBC
In a well-publicized speech on the future of the licence fee, Tony Hall, the BBC’s Director General has laid down a new mantra of ‘compete and compare’. This will mean the introduction of greater competition in production, where appropriate, and signals the beginning of the BBC’s attempt to reposition itself ahead of the Charter renewal debate which will take place in 2015, after the general election.
BBC rejects complaint by Lord Lawson
The BBC has rejected a claim by Lord Lawson that he has been banned from appearing on because of his views on climate change. However, the BBC’s editorial unit has ruled that it was wrong for the Today programme to give Lawson equal billing with Professor Sir Brian Hoskins in an interview on climate change and flooding in February. The unit has ruled that ‘a false balance was created in that the item implied Lord Lawson’s views on climate science were on the same footing as those of Sir Brian Hoskins.’ In a statement, the BBC said: ‘Our position continues to be that we accept that there is a broad scientific agreement on climate change and we reflect this accordingly. We do however on occasion offer space to dissenting voices where appropriate as part of the BBC’s overall commitment to impartiality.’
Climate Asia project publishes its data
Climate Asia, the BBC Media Action research project, has launched a data portal which gives detailed information on its research findings. The site contains a wealth of useful information on how people in a number of Asian countries view climate change, where they get their information from and how they could be helped to do more to adapt.
Humanitarian response in acute emergencies criticized
In a provocatively titled report, Where is everyone? MSF has analysed the humanitarian response to a number of emergencies in three hard to reach locations – South Sudan, eastern Democratic Republic of Congo and Jordan, in 2012-13. The report concludes that in these emergencies, humanitarian responses have been ‘slow and cumbersome, and lack impact.’ The report has also criticized agencies for evacuating staff and downgrading programmes in acute emergencies. Its conclusion is that ‘most agencies are concentrating only on the easiest to reach populations and ignoring the more difficult places.’ The report prompted an attack on ‘cash-swollen charities’ by Ian Birrell in The Guardian’s comment pages.
Media for development – where’s the evidence?
BBC Media Action has published a new briefing that examines how the media for development sector is addressing the need to produce evidence of its impact. The paper notes that the sector does not have a long history of research or evaluation so presenting evidence of impact can be challenging. The briefing concludes that ‘media for development interventions often do not produce rapid, readily measurable and easily monetisable outcomes. The social change which media for development aims to make is more incremental, less tangible and often not fixed.’ This is an issue which we also consider in our forthcoming report HIV and stigma – the media challenge.
The future of humanitarian reporting
City University has now published the papers which were presented at its conference earlier this year on the future of humanitarian reporting. The conference looked at how NGOs and the media are adapting to the changing media landscape and the impact of this on the reporting of disasters.
Best wishes
Mark
Welcome to IBT’s July newsletter with a brief update on our work and relevant news from the media industry. (Print this Newsletter)
IBT AGM
Our annual general meeting will take place later this week – at 5pm on Thursday July 3rd at the IBT offices in Southwark. This event is open to all members. It will finish at 6.30pm and will be followed by drinks, so that we can say goodbye to our longstanding Chair, John Whitaker, who is stepping down. Our new Chair will be Marie Staunton, the former Chief Executive of Plan International UK.
IBT training events
We held two training events this month, one on Twitter, the other an introduction to stills photography. We’ll be organising more training events in the Autumn. There will be a special session on Twitter for CEOs, which will look at how a CEO’s Twitter presence can help to increase the influence of his/her organization. Please let me know if you are interested in attending so that we can choose the best date for this. We’ll also be organizing a one day video shooting/sound recording session – we’re still planning this, so if you’d like to attend please get in touch so that we can make sure the training we provide matches the needs of IBT members.
Record audience for BBC global news
New figures released by the BBC show that their global audience has increased to a record 265 million people a week. These figures for 2013-14 represent an increase of 9 million on the previous year. The main reason for the increase is the growing audience for the BBC’s tv and online services. Radio audiences are in decline, although radio remains the biggest platform overall. Key increases are in Russia (biggest growth for a single market) and India (where the BBC has launched a tv service for Hindi speaking audiences). BBC World News TV, the BBC’s global tv news channel, has also shown an increase – it now reaches a weekly audience of 76 million.
24 hour rolling news is here to stay
Sky News boss John Ryley has claimed that the future of 24 hour rolling news is secure as long as broadcasters keep innovating to keep pace with viewer demand. Speaking to the RSA, Ryley said that whilst the public appetite for consuming news from a range of providers has grown, this has not adversely affected rolling TV news. However, it has forced Sky to widen its offering to include news on tablets, games consoles and connected TVs, each providing consumers with content in a variety of formats. Ryley also admitted that Sky was paying close attention to new news providers such as Buzzfeed and Vice who are devising new ways of engaging audiences.
Traditional news outlets face growing challenge from online providers
A more detailed analysis of the impact of the digital revolution on traditional news providers can be found in the recently published annual digital news report from The Reuters Institute. The report surveyed 18,000 people in 10 countries and found that some news organisations are being outpaced by the speed of change whilst others are showing signs of rising to the challenge. Established news organisations in some countries, notably the US and Japan, are finding it hard to transform print success to the web. By contrast, in the UK, Denmark, Finland and Germany, traditional news brands have managed to maintain market share at the same time as driving editorial and business innovation. The report highlights the success of the Huffington Post and Buzzfeed in Europe, the US and Brazil. Google New remains a leading player in Italy, France and Germany; while Yahoo! is the top news site in Japan.
Ofcom announces details of its public service broadcasting review
Ofcom, the media regulator, has announced the terms of reference for its review of public service broadcasting. The review will evaluate how effectively the public service broadcasters are delivering the purposes and characteristics of PSB, particularly in the light of changes in the way TV content is distributed and consumed. They are particularly concerned by the impact of new TV content providers such as Netflix. The review will look in detail at the role of Channel 4 and its sustainability. It will also consider the contribution of the commercial broadcasters including Sky. The review will not look in any detail at the BBC as this will be covered when the Charter renewal debate takes place next year. IBT will be submitting evidence to the review later this year.
What do the media really think about NGOs?
It’s clear that the aid industry and development NGOs are the subject of increasing media scrutiny and criticism. In the wake of a number of newspaper articles, programmes on BBC radio and TV, and on Channel 4, IBT has started work on a briefing paper to examine this in more detail. We want to achieve a better understanding of what motivates media criticism, by talking on and off the record to a range of journalists and broadcasters. Helen Magee who wrote our report on media coverage of the famine in the Horn of Africa, has begun work on this and the comments she has received so far have been revealing. One BBC correspondent told her ‘if anything, I don’t think there is enough criticism. We swallow what NGOs do far too easily.’ Another correspondent told Helen that ‘a bit more humility would not go amiss.’ If there are any particular journalists you think we should interview, please let me know. The briefing paper will be available to all IBT members in the Autumn.
Celebs work on TV
Despite the debate about the merits of using celebrities on TV to engage audiences with development messages, such programmes continue to deliver big audiences. David Beckham into the Unknown, shown last month on the BBC in the run up to the World Cup, was the top rated BBC1 show for its slot in the last 12 months, with 4.6 million viewers.
Best wishes
Mark
Welcome to IBT’s June newsletter with a brief update on our work and relevant news from the media industry. (Print this Newsletter)
IBT training events
We have a few places left at our two training events which will take place later this month. Both are aimed at media officers and others who want to enhance their skills. The introduction to stills photography with Crispin Hughes takes place on Tuesday June 24th. The Twitter training with Mary Mitchell takes place on Friday June 27th. Further details are on our website. Please share them with any colleagues in your organization who may be interested. These events are free to IBT members but numbers are limited. To register, use the member login button on the home page http://www.ibt.org.uk/
HIV and stigma – the media challenge
Many thanks to all who attended our round table event last month to discuss the initial findings of our report on global media coverage of HIV. The report is now being drafted and will be launched on the evening of Tuesday September 2nd at the House of Commons, in a joint event with the All Party Parliamentary Group on HIV and AIDS. Invitations will go out nearer the time.
IBT AGM
Our annual general meeting will take place at 5pm on Thursday July 3rd at the IBT offices in Southwark. This event is open to all members and is the one opportunity that members have each year to hear more about IBT, its activities over the past year and plans for the future. If you’d like to attend please let me know. This will be the last AGM for our Chair John Whitaker who will be standing down. We owe John a huge debt for presiding over a period of great change for IBT. Our new Chair will be Marie Staunton, the former Chief Executive of Plan International UK.
Climate change a priority for Channel 4
Channel 4 has announced, in its annual report, that climate change will be a priority area for factual content over the next year. A number of new programmes are in development. Following the publication of IBT’s report The Environment on TV – are broadcasters meeting the challenge? we have had several meetings with Channel 4 commissioners and they have accepted that the channel has neglected this issue in recent years. The annual report also stated that Channel 4 needs to ‘find the space for more international content.’ This is something that we have raised in meetings with the Channel 4 Chief Executive, David Abraham. David will be the guest speaker at IBT’s annual dinner for CEOs in the Autumn.http://annualreport.channel4.
New series of Unreported World
The producers of the Channel 4 international affairs show are now looking for stories for the next series. These will be filmed from mid-July until the end of September. The team at Quicksilver are keen to hear from any IBT members with suggestions for what they should cover. There is no specific agenda for the new series but they would particularly like to hear about stories in Egypt or those which focus on the environment or human rights. If you have suggestions, then get in touch with the joint series editor, Monica Garnsey. Monica.garnsey@qsmedia.tv Monica briefed IBT members last year – notes on her briefing can be found on the members’ page of the IBT website.
BBC News to adopt a ‘digital first’ strategy
A review of BBC News has recommended that a ‘digital first’ strategy should be adopted and has been surprisingly critical of the BBC’s online news content, saying that it is ‘punching well below its weight.’ The review was conducted by Sir Howard Stringer, one of the BBC’s independent executive directors. Stringer called for a ‘shift in mindset’ and a more proactive approach to sharing content with other organisations. http://www.theguardian.com/
New series for Simon Reeve
Following the success of Australia with Simon Reeve, there will be a new six part series on the Carribean. This will be filmed in the Autumn – if you have any suggestions for stories, please contact me or the executive producersam.bagnall@bbc.co.uk As with Simon’s previous series, this will be a travel show but with a strong focus on environmental stories.
New Panorama editor
Tom Giles has been replaced as editor of Panorama. He will conduct a review of the BBC’s current affairs output to see how it can win bigger audiences especially among young people, and then he will take up a management job. This is a big loss for Panorama as he has been an outstanding editor. Ceri Thomas has been appointed acting editor. A new editor will take over later this year.
Policy briefing on impact of climate change
BBC Media Action has published a new briefing, From the ground up – changing the conversation about climate change. The paper draws on data from the organisation’s Climate Asia project and documents the impact of climate change on the lives of people throughout the continent. It identifies a number of major obstacles to adaptation, one of which is lack of knowledge and information. The report says the media has an important role to play as a potential tool in the fight against climate change but calls for a change in the nature of coverage, so that it moves away from technical language and narratives of victimhood, towards an emphasis on resilience.
Below the Line on Twitter
There was a huge amount of activity on Twitter related to the Live Below the Line campaign but how effective was it? In an online piece for The Guardian, Caspar van Vark analyses the most effective way to use Twitter and other platforms for social media campaigns that tackle food, hunger and malnutrition. One of his conclusions is that celebrity content gets a lot of ‘likes’ but relatively little action or amplification. YouTube videos featuring calls for people to share the video are more successful, but the average viewer stops watching after one and a half minutes. http://www.theguardian.com/
Workshop on media representation of international development
The Development Studies Association, a group of academics involved in research on media and development, are organizing a half day event looking at how the media reports international development. It will take place at the London offices of the Open University on Thursday June 19th. Sessions will look at the role of celebrities and the Africa rising narrative. The organisers are keen to encourage representatives from the NGO sector to attend. http://www.open.ac.uk/ikd/
New books on media and development
Two new books have come out recently which may be of interest. Martin Scott, a lecturer from the University of East Anglia and the author of several previous IBT reports has written Media and Development, an accessible and critical primer looking at some of the key academic debates around these issues. Dan Brockington, from the University of Manchester, has published Celebrity Advocacy and International Development. Both books will be launched on Thursday June 19th at the Open University event mentioned above.
Access to media after the MDGs
The University of Westminster is hosting a debate later this week which looks at access to media and information after the MDGs. There will be speakers from BBC Media Action, The Guardian, Internews Euorpe and Article 19. The session will look at how to take the issues of media freedom, access to information, data transparency and open government forward after the MDGs. This is a free event which will take place from 6.30 – 8pm on Thursday June 5th.https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/
What’s been on tv recently…
There have been some outstanding programmes on tv in the last few weeks.
I Bought a Rainforest, an impressive BBC2 series from Keo Films looks at the harsh reality of trying to promote conservation in the Amazon: http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/
Welcome to Rio – also from Keo Films, and the successor to Welcome to Lagos/India. It shows what life is really like for people living in the favelas: http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/
There have been several standout episodes of Unreported World on Channel 4, including Jamaica’s Underground Gays:http://www.channel4.com/
And The World’s Dirtiest River: http://www.channel4.com/
There was also an outstanding Channel 4 News report from Paraic O’Brien, Beneath the streets of Romania’s capital, a living hell: http://www.channel4.com/news/
Best wishes
Mark
Welcome to IBT’s April newsletter with a brief update on our work and relevant news from the media industry. (Print this Newsletter)
Next IBT briefing
Our briefing with Michael Herrod, Foreign Editor of ITV News was postponed due to the tube strike. It will now take place at 10am on Thursday May 15th. If you have already signed up for this event, your place will be held. If you haven’t and would like to end, please let me know as online bookings have closed.
HIV and stigma – the media challenge
Work on our new research report is progressing. Sophie has completed her case study of Swaziland and she’s currently looking at media initiatives in other countries. We’re keen that the report has a global perspective, so if you’ve been involved in any media activities aimed at tackling stigma, please let us know so that we can include these in our research. We’re also keen that the research highlights the role of NGOs in tackling stigma and explores how that work could be more effective. Our round table for IBT members and others involved in this area of work will now take place from 12-2 on Thursday May 15th. Sophie will present her initial findings. If you’ve signed up for the round table, your place will be held. If you haven’t and you’re interested in attending please let me know.
IBT training events
After the success of last year’s training events we’ll be holding two further events next month. Invitations will go out next week but if you’d like to attend you can register now via the IBT website. These events are free to all IBT members and are specially designed to enable media officers to develop their skill set but others are welcome too. On June 24th, Crispin Hughes, an accomplished photographer who has worked extensively with NGOs, will be running a one day stills training event. This is aimed at beginners but he will be covering a lot of ground in the course of the day. On June 27th, Mary Mitchell, a social media specialist, will be running a half day training event for regular Twitter users who want to learn a few new tricks to make their tweets more impactful. Please feel free to pass details of these events on to colleagues in your organization. To secure your place, book now.
IBT lobbying success
The BBC Trust has announced the findings of a major review of news and current affairs. One of the main recommendations is that BBC News should ensure that ‘a wider range of international stories reach domestic audiences.’ This was a key point in our submission to the Trust. Whilst BBC News has a strong track record in covering international stories, the range of stories has diminished over the years, with far more resources going to cover the big foreign story of the day. We have argued that this shift has gone too far and the Trust has supported our view. It has asked BBC News to come up with concrete proposals to extend the range of stories covered. The Trust also praised the merger between BBC News and the World Service and noted that World Service correspondents were increasingly filing stories on domestic bulletins. Its audience research indicated that this development had gone down well with viewers and listeners. The full Trust review can be found here.
BBC to promote ethnic minority experts
Following the success of its training initiative aimed at getting more female experts on the screen, the BBC has announced that it will run two training days aimed at promoting ethnic minority experts. Further details will be posted at a later date on the BBC Academy website.
Short film challenge
The Sundance Institute, in partnership with the Gates Foundation, has announced its first ever short film challenge which invites filmmakers from around the world to submit short films which feature individuals and communities overcoming extreme poverty and hunger. More details here.
One World Media awards
Congratulations to all the winners in this year’s One World Media Awards. The awards took place last night and the range of stories covered in the shortlisted entries was impressive. A full list of winners will be posted later today on the One World Media website.
Debate on how to tackle climate change
Christiana Figueres, Executive Secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change will be speaking later today at St Paul’s Cathedral, about the importance of collective action to tackle climate change. Joining her to debate Climate change: building the will for action will be Tony Juniper and Neil Morisetti. The event, which will take place at 6.30pm tonight, is free but registration is necessary.
Best wishes
Mark
Welcome to IBT’s April newsletter with a brief update on our work and relevant news from the media industry. (Print this Newsletter)
HIV and stigma – the media challenge
We’re now working on a new piece of research which looks at HIV and stigma, and the role the media can play in tackling this. We’ll be looking at a range of initiatives that have taken place in different countries and assess how successful they have been. We’ll also include a case study of Swaziland, the country with the highest HIV rate. The research will be undertaken in partnership with IPPF but, if you’re interested in this issue, we’d like to encourage you to become involved. We’ll be holding a round table later this month to which all IBT members are invited. The aim of the round table will be to identify media opportunities and challenges, and to help us focus the research so that it is of real benefit to our member organizations. It will take place from 12-2 on Wednesday April 30th at the IBT offices in Southwark. If you’d like to attend, please let me know.
Next IBT briefing
Our next briefing will be with ITV News. We’ll be hearing from Michael Herrod, Foreign Editor and Natalie Fry, Executive Producer of On Assignment. Michael and Natalie will talk about the sort of stories they’re looking for and the best way for NGOs to pitch ideas to them. This briefing will take place at 10am on Wednesday April 30th. Invitations will go out shortly but places can be booked now via the members’ area of the IBT website.
On Assignment
ITV’s new monthly current affairs show, On Assignment, was launched last month, with reports from Rwanda, Norway and the US. All three reports were specially commissioned and there are welcome indications that the show will complement the main news bulletins with a feature-based approach. We’ll be hearing more from Natalie Fry, the Executive Producer, at the ITV News briefing later this month.
Unreported World
The Channel 4 foreign affairs show, Unreported World, starts its new run next Friday April 11th. If you’d like to go on their mailing list and receive advance details of what’s on each week, please let me know, as we’re in touch with the production team.
Channel 4
Ofcom has confirmed that it has renewed the licence of Channel 4 for a further 10 years. Following an extensive public consultation, to which IBT submitted evidence, a new licence has been issued. The only major change has been a tripling of Channel 4’s out of London spend. The international aspect of Channel 4’s remit remains unchanged.
The World Service
From today, the World Service moves from Foreign Office to licence fee funding. The BBC has guaranteed that there will be no overall cut to the World Service budget between now and the end of the present licence fee settlement, in December 2016. There will also be a small additional innovation fund to enable the service to expand its digital activities. Yesterday, the Foreign Affairs Select Committee published a report on the future of the World Service, in which it expressed concern about long term funding and the fact that the World Service will be competing for funds with BBC1 and other domestic tv channels.
One World Media Awards
Congratulations to all those shortlisted for this year’s One World Media Awards. Nominees include Dispatches – Children on the Frontline; Unreported World – The Orphan Business; Al Jazeera’s Orphans of the Sahara, Channel 4’s No Fire Zone and Panorama- Where’s Our Aid Money Gone? The winners will be announced at the awards evening on Tuesday May 6th. Tickets are available now.
The nation’s viewing habits…
A fascinating report was published last month by TV Licensing, on the nation’s viewing habits. It showed that 90% of television viewing is live; only 10% is time shifted. The report analyses why, even though on demand tv is widely available, most people still prefer to watch live television. Also, unlike in many other countries, the main terrestrial channels (BBC, Channel 4, ITV and Channel 5) dominate viewing, and the increasing number of +1 channels has intensified this dominance. BBC3 will be replaced by a +1 channel. The report also confirms the huge growth in viewing on tablets, particularly by children.
Best wishes
Mark
Welcome to IBT’s March newsletter with a brief update on our work and relevant news from the media industry. (Print this Newsletter)
Andrew Roy briefing
Andrew Roy, World Editor at BBC News, briefed IBT members this week on the changes that have taken place in the way the BBC covers foreign stories. BBC News used to have 150 staff in the field to report foreign news; now, as a result of the integration with the World Service, Andrew can call on a staff of 600. This means that he has much greater access to wider range of foreign stories – but competition to get the stories on air remains intense. Andrew’s advice to media officers was to build relationships with the BBC’s local bureaux and pitch ideas to them. He is in frequent contact with the bureaux and uses them to test any story ideas he receives. A detailed note of the briefing can be found here on the members’ page of the IBT website.
ITV News briefing
Our next briefing will be with ITV News. We’ll be hearing from Michael Herrod who has taken over as Foreign Editor from Tim Singleton; and from Natalie Fry, Executive Producer of ITV’s new current affairs strand On Assignment which will be launched later this month. Michael and Natalie will talk about the sort of stories they’re looking for and the best way for NGOs to pitch ideas to them. This briefing will take place at 10am on Wednesday April 30th. To guarantee your place book now via the members’ area of the IBT website.
Changes at the BBC
There has been much debate in recent weeks about the next BBC Charter and licence fee settlement. Detailed discussions are unlikely to take place until after the general election. However, the debate has focused on the size of the BBC and BBC bosses have responded by announcing that BBC3 will close as a broadcast channel in the Autumn of 2015, and relaunch as an online service. Most of the money saved by the closure of BBC3 will be diverted to drama on BBC1. This decision is subject to review by the BBC Trust. It’s the first time that the BBC has proposed shutting down a television service. When previous cuts were announced by the BBC Executive which proposed closing 6 Music that decision was overruled by the Trust so it’s possible that will happen again. The Trust has said that it will undertake a public consultation so that licence fee payers can have their say. BBC4 has been saved – for the moment at least – but its future clearly depends on the next licence fee settlement. IBT is opposing the closure of BBC3. We believe that it makes a unique contribution to UK television with its strong track record in innovative international documentaries. We are concerned that this element of its output will disappear when the channel moves online.
ITV and Channel 5
Ofcom has confirmed that it has renewed the licences of ITV and Channel 5. It has also announced that it will undertake a review of public service broadcasting in the UK, in advance of the BBC Charter negotiations. IBT will be submitting evidence to the review.
The Bird’s Eye Film Festival
The Bird’s Eye Film Festival, which celebrates the work of female filmmakers around the world, is back next month for its tenth year. It runs from April 8th – 13th and films will be shown at a number of London venues.
The Invention of News
Jeremy Paxman has written a provocative analysis of the news industry saying that ‘the more news there is, the less anyone really needs it.’ He was reviewing The Invention of News, a new book by the historian Andrew Pettegree.
RT – Russia Today
RT, the global news channel funded by the Russian government has suffered serious damage to its credibility with presenters complaining that it has adopted an uncritical pro-Putin line. One presenter quit live on air.
12 Years a Slave
Fresh from winning the best picture Oscar, the Film4 backed feature, 12 Years a Slave, has received the stamp of approval from the US education authorities. The film will now become a compulsory part of the syllabus for all US high school students.
One World Media Awards
Tickets for the One World Media Awards go on sale later this month. The awards, which celebrate the most outstanding media coverage of the developing world, will be hosted by Jon Snow and will take place on Tuesday May 6th at King’s Place in London.
Best wishes
Mark
Welcome to IBT’s February newsletter with a brief update on our work and relevant news from the media industry. (Print this Newsletter)
IBT annual report
Today (7th February 2014) we publish our annual report for 2013. This was one of our busiest and most productive years to date. We published two research reports, hosted a number of events including briefings and training sessions for our members, submitted evidence to inquiries by Ofcom, the BBC Trust, the Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee and the House of Lords Communications Committee. We expanded our membership and had regular meetings with media regulators, broadcasters and parliamentarians.
It’s particularly rewarding that our research continues to be widely praised and is of practical benefit to both media organisations and NGOs. We have now built up a substantial body of research, having published 15 reports since 2006. All of these are available to be downloaded from our site. You can read/download the Annual Report from our home page.
This World briefing
Last month, Sam Bagnall, the executive producer of This World, BBC2’s international current affairs strand, briefed IBT members. He spoke about his thinking behind recent commissions and how he had won a regular slot at 9pm on BBC2 by taking a sometimes left field approach to the big global issues of the day. He showed clips from some of his output including Toughest Place to be a Fisherman and Indian Ocean with Simon Reeve, using the clips to demonstrate how NGO stories could be framed to appeal to mainstream audiences. Notes from this briefing are available in the members’ area of the IBT site.
Next briefing
Our next briefing will be with Andrew Roy who has taken over as BBC World editor from Jon Williams. It will take place at 10am on Wednesday March 5th at the IBT offices. This is a free event for IBT members but places need to be booked in advance. Andrew runs the foreign desk for BBC News so he has huge influence on which stories are covered. He’ll be giving details of key contacts at BBC News, and talking about how the foreign desk works after the merger between BBC News and the World Service, how to pitch stories to his team, what works and what doesn’t, and his experience of dealing with NGOs. Invitations to this event will be sent out next week. If you’d like to attend, you can book your place now via the members’ area of the IBT website, using your organisation’s user name and password. Any problems registering, let me know. This event is on a first come basis and demand is likely to be high.
Future briefings are planned with Michael Herrod, Head of Foreign News at ITV News and Natalie Fay, Executive Producer of the new ITV current affairs show, On Assignment, and also with Jon Zilkha, Head of the BBC Business Unit.
BBC television – strengths and weaknesses
IBT will be submitting evidence later this month to the BBC Trust review of television which covers BBC1, 2, 3 and 4. We’ll be praising the BBC for strengthening its international current affairs output on BBC2 and 3 but criticising it for abandoning international drama and for its lack of international factual output on BBC1. If you have specific views on this output and would like us to reflect them please contact Sophie Chalk, IBT’s head of campaigns, who is writing this submission sophie.chalk@btinternet.com
The death of radio – not yet
The latest audiences figures for radio show that it is more popular than ever. Radio 4 has achieved a record audience with the Today programme now attracting more than 7 million listeners each week. The Asian Network has seen a big increase in its audience. See the BBC’s Rajar ratings
ITV launches new current affairs show
ITV continues its move upmarket with the launch of a new monthly current affairs show to be fronted by Rageh Omaar. The 30 minute programme, to be called On Assignment, will consist of three reports providing insight into some of the biggest stories on the news agenda. The ITN produced show will specialise in foreign stories. The other presenters will be James Mates (Europe editor) and John Ray (Diplomatic correspondent). We’ll be hearing from the Executive Producer of On Assignment at an IBT briefing in April.
The changing face of global news
A recent BBC seminar looked at the changing face of global news and in particular the growing reach of the Chinese broadcaster, CCTV, and Russia’s RT (formerly known as Russia Today), both now broadcasting around the world in English. CCTV has 70 overseas bureaux and a reported annual budget of more than £4bn. For more on this seminar see the BBC’s Journalism Academy
Africa rising
AFFORD, the African diaspora organisation is hosting a one day conference looking at the media’s role in the continent’s renaissance. Delegates will gain a better understanding of the media’s role in explaining how Africa is changing; learn how Africans are using social media; hear about the impact of new media players such as TVC and CCTV; find out how NGOs and western media are responding to these changes. This is a free event and will take place in London at SOAS from 9am-5pm on Monday March 3rd. Places need to be booked in advance by email to Afford
What’s been on tv recently
There has been a recent run of excellent tv programmes. On BBC2, The Tea Trail with Simon Reeve looked at the production of tea in Kenya and Uganda and exposed some worrying trends. On Channel 4, Dispatches – Hunted captured some extraordinary undercover footage of gangs in Russia pursuing and persecuting gays. On ITV, Exposure – Fashion Factories Undercover investigated the plight of workers in the clothing industry in Bangladesh and captured some truly shocking material. Some of these programmes generated a huge amount of comment on Twitter and it’s worth bearing in mind that broadcasters take this very seriously so if you watch something on tv and want to commend it please make a point of tweeting about it.
Transparency and accountability – Polis journalism conference 2014
Polis, the journalism think tank at the LSE, has announced that Alan Rusbridger, Editor of The Guardian, will give the keynote address at its annual journalism conference which takes place on Friday March 28th. As always, this promises to be a fascinating event. Tickets can be booked here free of charge
Best wishes
Mark
Welcome to IBT’s January newsletter with a brief update on our work and relevant news from the media industry. (Print this Newsletter)
IBT membership scheme
Our new membership scheme came in at the beginning of January. This newsletter is now sent exclusively to IBT members and all our events, for the moment, will be for members only. We have also introduced a members’ area of the website where anyone wishing to attend an event needs to register in advance. If you have problems accessing the members’ area, let me know.
Next IBT briefing
Our next briefing will be with Sam Bagnall, the series producer of This World, BBC2’s international current affairs strand. The briefing will take place from 10-12 on Wednesday January 22nd at the IBT offices in Southwark. Under Sam’s editorship, This World has hit its stride with some notable films including Hans Rosling’s Don’t Panic – the Truth about Population. Sam is responsible for a large part of BBC2’s international output – and he will show clips from his award winning series Toughest Place to be… in which people from the UK take up jobs in other countries. This factual entertainment format enables UK audiences to experience what life is like for taxi drivers, firefighters, farmers and other workers in developing countries. This is a great opportunity to understand how formats like Toughest Place to be… are conceived and made. If you wish to attend, please register via the IBT website.
Channel 4 News briefing
Last month we held a briefing with Nevine Mabro, foreign editor of Channel 4 News, and her deputy Rob Hodge. It was refreshing to hear their positive attitude to working with NGOs. They explained the thinking behind the programme’s foreign coverage. They have a small team of foreign correspondents and only two overseas bureaux (Washington and Bangkok) so they are always looking to do things differently from other news organisations, to find their own angle and to cover unique stories, which are not being covered elsewhere. They are particularly keen to prioritise original journalism. They’re also keen to report more from South America and now have a regular reporter, Guillermo Galdos, who is based in Peru. More details on the content of this briefing can be found in the members’ area of the IBT website.
Making sense of the global economy
Last month we co-hosted a round table discussion at Channel 4 which looked at media coverage of global economics. It was useful to hear from a range of economic correspondents, including Paul Mason formerly of Newsnight, now at Channel 4 News; Ed Conway from Sky; and Jon Zilkha who runs the BBC’s business affairs unit. Jon will do a briefing for IBT members later this year. We have now published details of the discussion.
Unreported World
Channel 4’s international current affairs strand returns in the spring. The Unreported World team have now started filming for the next series but they still have some slots to fill. If you have any suggestions for stories they should cover please get in touch with the series producer Suzanne Lavery. If you’d like advice on which stories might appeal to them, drop me a line.
The future of BBC News
James Harding, the BBC’s new Director of News has been speaking about changes which he intends to implement. He wants to see more original journalism; an improvement in current affairs output; a broadening of the range of stories and voices; more variety between bulletins and programmes; more of the output from the global news division made available to UK audiences. He also said that he wanted to see special days and seasons dedicated to coverage of big global themes and unreported stories. We’ll be meeting BBC News executives to find out more about these planned seasons.
BBC Trust review of news and current affairs
We have now submitted evidence to the BBC Trust review of news and current affairs. In our submission, we made a number of points about the BBC’s international news output, arguing that it has a tendency to cover a narrow range of stories and perspectives. We expressed concern that the amount of air time devoted to international news appears to have fallen (based on a small week long survey which we undertook). We praised the BBC for the way in which it had integrated the World Service into the BBC News operation and expressed the hope that this would have a positive impact on international coverage by BBC News. See our full submission.
The impact of journalism
One World Media is hosting an event which looks at the impact of journalism. The keynote speaker will be Richard Tofel from the New York-based Pro Publica which is an independent not for profit newsroom that produces investigative journalism in the public interest. The event will take place at 6.30pm on Monday January 27th at the University of Westminster campus in Regent Street. This is a free event but tickets need to be booked in advance.
Best wishes
Mark
Welcome to IBT’s December newsletter with a brief update on our work and relevant news from the media industry. (Print this Newsletter)
Briefing with Channel 4 News
Our next briefing will be from 10-12 on Tuesday December 10th. We’ll be hearing from Nevine Mabro, Foreign Editor of Channel 4 News and Job Rabkin Commissioning Editor for the C4 News Film Fund. This event is for IBT members only. There are a few places left – if you’d like to attend, please register using the members’ area of the IBT website. Any problems registering, let me know.
Making sense of the global economy
We have now launched our new project which explores media coverage of the global economy. Yesterday, Channel 4 co-hosted a round table discussion, chaired by Michael Crick. Attendees included Paul Mason from Channel 4 News, Ed Conway from Sky News, Richard Miller from ActionAid, Loretta Minghella from Christian Aid and representatives from the BBC, government, business and academia. It was an enlightening discussion that looked at ways of broadening economics coverage to include a wider range of voices, including those dissenting from the consensus view that economic growth is good per se, and also the need to reflect more effectively connections between actions we take in the UK and their impacts around the world. We’ll be continuing with this project in 2014.
BBC Charter renewal
The Culture Media and Sport Select Committee has announced a new inquiry into the future of the BBC. This effectively kicks off the public debate about the next BBC Charter. The current Charter ends in December 2016. So we face almost three years of debate about the future of the BBC. IBT will be submitting evidence to the Select Committee. Please let us know if you have any views you’d like us to include. The central argument will be about the optimum size of the BBC. Do we want the BBC as it is, with a licence fee of £145 a year, or do we want a much smaller BBC at less cost? The BBC Director General Tony Hall has begun to address this issue in his public statements. It’s IBT’s view that the size of the BBC is one of its great strengths and, as Tony Hall reminded the audience at a recent VLV event, the BBC is no longer the biggest broadcasting organisation in the UK (that’s Sky) and nor is the BBC the global player it once was (it’s dwarfed for example by CCTV).
The Environment on TV – are broadcasters meeting the challenge?
Following the publication last month of our new research report, examining media coverage of the environment, we organised a round table discussion so that broadcasters and producers could meet scientists and campaigners and look at practical ways in which programme ideas could be developed. With the support of broadcasters, we’ll be doing more work on this next year, brokering new partnerships between producers and climate scientists and campaigners. Copies of the research report can be downloaded from our website.
The Climate Media Net
A new organisation, the Climate Media Net, has been launched to develop tv projects about climate change. The Net will pull in information and stories from a network of experts, including NGOs, and will generate early stage ideas for media content. The ideas will be the starting point for discussions with independent producers, commissioning editors and journalists.
One World Media Awards
The call for entries has just been announced for next year’s One World Media Awards which will take place on Tuesday May 6th 2014. The annual awards recognise excellence in international media coverage and highlight the role of journalists and filmmakers in increasing cultural understanding and promoting fairness and justice worldwide. For the first time, there will be an award which recognises corruption reporting.
The European Social Documentary
ESoDoc, the European Social Documentary, is open for registration. This training scheme brings together filmmakers, new media professionals and NGO film practitioners who want to develop projects about social issues and find new funding strategies. The project has been widely praised for its innovative approach enabling participants to develop a range of creative and practical skills.
Media coverage of Africa
The BBC Trust has held a seminar to look at media reporting of Africa. The decision to hold this seminar follows discussions that IBT has been holding with the Trust on this issue. The seminar covered a wide range of themes: Is coverage too polarised? Is it either bad news or the Africa rising narrative but not much in between? Are there enough African reporters with access to mainstream audiences? Is there enough coverage of Africa in the mainstream? Is news dominated by the so called ‘NGO agenda?’ There was a widespread feeling amongst attendees that BBC News coverage was improving as a result of the merger with the World Service and the frequent conversations that were taking place between the WS Africa team and the producers of news programmes aimed at mainstream UK audiences. James Harding, the BBC’s Head of News, said he would like to see more coverage of Africa on programmes such the Six O’clock News and the Ten – and that the key was to find more good stories.
Inspiring ideas about Africa
There will be a TEDx event in London on Saturday December 7th looking at ‘inspiring ideas about Africa.’ The aim of the event is to hear ideas coming from a new generation of African thinkers and leaders. TEDx Euston is an independently organised TED event. There are a few tickets still available.
This newsletter
Many thanks to all those who have given us feedback on the value of this newsletter. From January 2014 it will become a members-only newsletter. If you are currently receiving this but do not belong to one of our member organisations or have not joined as an individual member, this is the last newsletter you will receive. All former and present staff and trustees will also receive the newsletter. If you’re unsure of whether your organisation is a member, you can check here.
New IBT member
We’re delighted to welcome AFFORD, the African diaspora group, as a new member of IBT.
Best wishes
Mark
Welcome to IBT’s November newsletter with a brief update on our work and relevant news from the media industry. (Print this Newsletter)
The Environment on TV – are broadcasters meeting the challenge?
Last month we launched our new research report at a packed meeting at the House of Commons with a panel which included broadcasters, NGOs and scientists. The report was widely praised for its analysis of the strengths and weaknesses of tv coverage of the environment but the broadcasters disputed exactly what their responsibility was to make programmes that looked at contentious issues such as climate change. However, it was agreed that there was a creative gap and a need for some fresh thinking. Our hope is that the report will act as a catalyst for innovation so we’ll be bringing together a group of broadcasters and independent producers later this month for a round table discussion to see how the recommendations of the report can be taken further. Copies of the research report can be downloaded from our website.
Future briefings
Our next briefing, on Tuesday, the 10th of December from 1000 to 1200, will be with Nevine Mabro, Foreign Editor of Channel 4 News and Job Rabkin who runs the C4 News indie fund. Invitations will be sent out shortly.
Future briefings are planned with Sam Bagnall, Executive producer of BBC2’s This World strand – Wednesday, the 22nd of January 2014 from 1000 – 1200.
Later we hope to have a briefing with Andrew Roy, Foreign Editor of BBC News.
New website – members’ area
We have now launched our new website which we hope will make it easier to access IBT reports and news. The website includes a members’ area where IBT members can register for briefings, training sessions and other events. To access the members’ area, you will need a username and password. IBT has 40 member organisations. Each one has its own user name and password which is available to all members of staff. You’ll be able to obtain this from our key contact at your organisation or direct from me. The members’ area also includes notes from previous briefings.
Changes at the BBC
Tony Hall, the BBC Director General has been talking about changes which he’ll be introducing at the BBC. These include a host of new services and a much improved iPlayer where programmes can be accessed before they are broadcast and for 30 days after broadcast (as opposed to the present 7 day window). He said the BBC needs to be much more responsive to the ways in which audiences are changing. The BBC wants audiences to be more involved in programmes. The full speech can be found here .
The BBC has also come under attack from Grant Shapps, the Conservative Party Chairman, who has indicated that the BBC will have a fight on its hands to hold onto the licence fee when a new Charter comes into place in 2016. DCMS and the BBC have already started work on the new Charter and the Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee has announced its own inquiry into the future of the BBC to which IBT will be submitting evidence.
We’ll also be submitting evidence to the first BBC Trust review of all its news services. There’s been a lot of change in the news division including major cuts and the merger with the World Service. We would welcome any thoughts from IBT members on how well BBC News is doing in terms of its international coverage. If you’d like to contribute to our submission or make one of your own, please contact IBT’s Head of Campaigns, Sophie Chalk.
Changes at the FT
The Financial Times editor, Lionel Barber, has announced his plans for the next stage in his ‘digital first’ strategy. In future the FT will prioritise its website ft.com and there will be just one global edition of the printed newspaper which will complement the website. Breaking news, exclusives and analysis will all go on the website. The FT has transformed its business model, with online subsciptions now surpassing print circulation.
Creating Global Conversations
The first One World Media Festival called Creating Global Conversations takes place this Friday and Saturday. Highlights include a panel discussion on Putting the ‘foreign’ back into foreign correspondent and a live comedy show by the controversial comedian Jane Bussman which takes a look at what she calls ‘the poverty industry.’ Tickets for all events are free but need to be booked online. The Jane Bussman event is by invite only – if you’d like to attend, email One World Media and mention IBT in your email. Full details of the festival can be found here.
Does your CEO tweet?
An interesting blog from Media First looks at how different CEOs use Twitter, including an amusing account of why Ryanair’s Michael O’Leary did so well and the Customer Service Director of British Gas did so badly. You don’t need to follow their advice but it’s worth taking a look at.
What’s on television
If you’re staying in, there are some great documentaries on tv at the moment. Last night, in the run up to the Commonwealth Heads of Government conference, Channel 4 broadcast the tv version of No Fire Zone, its investigation into human rights abuses in Sri Lanka. On Wednesday, Channel 4 will be showing The Cruel Cut which explores what it calls ‘the complex world of female genital mutilation.’ Look out for a scene where members of the public are asked to sign a spoof petition in support of FGM. On Thursday, BBC2’s This World strand will be showing Don’t Panic – the Truth About Population, which looks at the falling birth rate around the world and how people in the UK have huge misconceptions about what life is like in developing countries. On Friday, Channel 4’s Unreported World continues its current run with a report by Aidan Hartley on Egypt’s declining tourist industry.
IBT governance
We’re delighted that IBT has two new Trustees who will be joining the Board in January. Jessica Harris is currently Director of Investment and Partnerships at Restless Development and will bring invaluable fundraising skills to the Board, and Karina Brisby is a freelance digital content creator and former Head of Interactive Campaigns at Oxfam whose track record of digital innovation will prove equally valuable.
Best wishes
Mark
Welcome to IBT’s October newsletter with a brief update on our work and relevant news from the media industry. (Print this Newsletter)
The Environment on TV – are broadcasters meeting the challenge?
Later this month we’ll be publishing our new research report which looks in detail at how mainstream television covers the environment and related issues, particularly climate change. The aim of the research is to encourage broadcasters to improve their coverage and to work more effectively with NGOs and climate scientists. The launch will take place at 6pm on Monday October 28th at the House of Commons. If you’d like to attend please RSVP to Neha Nijhon at Carbon Neutral. At the launch we’ll hear from a panel of experts representing broadcasters, NGOs and climate scientists. Full invite here.
Sky News and Unreported World briefings
Since our last newsletter we’ve held two briefings, with Adrian Wells from Sky News and Monica Garnsey from Unreported World. Adrian spoke about the narrowing news agenda and gave useful tips on how NGOs can piggyback on the main international stories of the day and also explained the different points of entry for NGOs pitching ideas to Sky News. Monica explained how Unreported World works now that there are two runs of eight episodes each year. The strand has no set agenda but is always on the lookout for new stories and issues. A key element is a strong central character with a narrative which can be captured on film in the time available. Monica said she is keen to have more counterintuitive stories like the story of a British Somali opening a new restaurant in Mogadishu or the impact of rising property prices in Gaza. Future briefings are planned with Newsnight and Channel 4 News although no dates have been fixed yet. More on these in next month’s newsletter.
Submissions
IBT regularly submits evidence to inquiries by Ofcom, the BBC Trust, The Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee and others. We’re pleased to say that these submissions have, in the past, resulted in important changes to broadcast policy. We have recently submitted evidence to Ofcom’s review of the Channel 4 licence in which we supported Ofcom’s plan to renew the licence for a further 10 years. However, we did emphasise the importance of Channel 4 fulfilling its international remit, to bring news and views from around the world. We have also submitted evidence to the BBC Trust review of the proposed licence for the World Service, now that it falls under the auspices of the BBC Trust. We’re pleased that the new licence notes the importance of the World Service and BBC News working together to enhance international coverage aimed at UK audiences, although the primary goal is serving the global audience. The new working arrangements seem to be having a positive effect with more World Service reporters filing stories for BBC News. As a result of our submission we also had the chance to meet Lord Wiliams, the Trustee with special responsibility for the World Service.
Are we making sense of global economics?
Later this year IBT will start work on a new project looking at how effectively the UK media covers global economics, particularly issues like trade and taxation. One of the aims of the project is to look at the link between media coverage and activism. The project will start with a round table at the beginning of December with keynote speeches from Paul Mason, the former Newsnight economics editor and Adrian Lovett, Europe Executive Director for ONE. Other attendees at the round table will include broadcasters and NGO representatives. If you have any thoughts on this issue please let me know.
News in brief
Tonight’s Panorama on Malala continues a strong run from the strand which has been transmitting an impressive series of international reports in the last few weeks, investigating working conditions in the clothing industry in Bangladesh, the plight of Syria’s children and its health care system, and the carnage at the Westgate shopping mall. When Tom Giles the Panorama editor met IBT members in May he spoke about his strong interest in international stories and said that typically one in four episodes would be international.
A new book on media coverage of climate change argues that we should focus much more on the concept of risk in order to explain the impact of climate change to the wider public. More details here.
Another book just published by a group of academics argues that a key aspect of development is the way in which it is reflected in literature, cinema, television and social media. Martin Scott, an author of previous IBT reports, has written a chapter on reality television. Details here.
The Executive Director of Government Communications has warned that ‘the press release is dead’ and urged press officers to become content producers. See his thoughts here.
@_ibt
Follow IBT on Twitter for more regular updates on our work and alerts about tv programmes and events that may be of interest.
Best wishes
Mark
Welcome to IBT’s September newsletter with a brief update on our work and relevant news from the media industry. (Print this Newsletter)
Sky News and Unreported World briefings
Our next briefing will be Adrian Wells from Sky News. Adrian will be filling in for Tim Miller who has just (this afternoon) been sent to Syria. It will take place, as planned, at 10am on Wednesday September 11th at the IBT offices. We have a few places left so if you’d like to attend please let me know.
We have also scheduled a briefing with Monica Garnsey, series editor of Channel 4’s all important international current affairs strand, Unreported World. The show has gone through a radical overhaul which Monica will explain. She’ll also talk through the best way of pitching ideas for the strand. This will take place at the IBT offices from 10-12 on Wednesday October 2nd . Let me know if you’d like to attend.
Our briefings are aimed at media officers and others who want to improve their contacts and understanding of the best way to pitch ideas to commissioners and news editors. These are free events, open to all IBT members, but places must be booked in advance.
Channel 4
We have been involved in talks with Channel 4 about its international coverage. Despite the strength of Channel 4 News, there has been some disquiet expressed about the lack of international programmes outside of news and current affairs. At our recent meeting with David Abraham, the Chief Executive of Channel 4, he reiterated the channel’s commitment to internationalism and particularly to featuring voices from around the world, as a key part of the channel’s output. This is explicitly stated in the Channel 4 remit – as a result of lobbying by IBT. Encouragingly, David mentioned several peak time series in the pipeline which will have international themes and he also spoke about a major new drama, Indian Summers, which will look at the plight of Anglo-Indians at the time of Indian independence. This follows the success of The Promise, a historical drama set in Israel/Palestine.
New IBT research looks at coverage of the environment on tv
In October, we’ll be launching our latest research report which looks in detail at television coverage of the environment. The focus is mainstream tv coverage outside news, and the report asks if broadcasters are meeting the challenge of communicating key environmental issues to mainstream audiences. It will be launched with a panel discussion on the evening of Monday October 28th at a joint event at the House of Commons with the Climate Change APPG. Invitations will go out shortly. We’ll be then taking the findings of this research and organising a round table with broadcasters to explore what concrete steps could be taken to improve coverage.
Other news in brief
Broadcasters have been speaking about the growing influence of Twitter. At a recent #TweetsFromTheTop event, Daren Childs, the Chief Executive of UKTV, spoke about how his organisation uses instant viewer feedback on Twitter to gauge reaction to shows. This is a useful reminder that it’s always worth tweeting about or commenting on a tv show or news item which you like.
A new piece of research from the Office of National Statistics has found that 55% of adults are now accessing news content online. This is up from 47% last year. The equivalent figure five years ago was 20%. TV news is still the main source of information for most people in the UK but many are checking headlines online during the day or reading stories they are particularly interested in.
If you’re responsible for briefing colleagues in advance of tv interviews, this is a great blog which offers 10 top tips for engaging with the media.
Best wishes
Mark
Welcome to IBT’s August newsletter with a brief update on our work and relevant news from the media industry. (Print this Newsletter)
New IBT membership scheme
The IBT Trustees have approved a new membership scheme which will be introduced from January 1 2014. Membership fees for organisations will now be linked to UK income and there will also be individual membership available for freelancers. From this date the IBT newsletter will be for members only and all our briefings and training events will also become member-only events. The aim of these changes is to introduce a fairer and more transparent fee structure and to ensure that the membership fees give IBT an income which helps cover our core costs and ensures our sustainability in the long term. I’ll be writing to all our member organisations in the Autumn with details of the new fee structure. If you’d like to support IBT and our work, please encourage your organisation to retain its membership. More details on the new scheme can be found here .
Twitter training session
Last month we held our first training session on Twitter. Mary Mitchell, an experienced social media trainer, provided tips and suggestions on how to maximise the value of Twitter. The session, targeted at media officers who use Twitter but would like advice on how to use it more effectively, went well and feedback was positive. Following the workshop, Mary wrote a blog about apps like Storify that work well alongside Twitter. See her blog here.
Sky News briefing
A new date for the briefing with Tim Miller from Sky News has now been fixed. It will take place at 10am on Wednesday September 11th. All those who booked places will automatically be allocated a place.
Changing tv viewing habits
Ofcom has published its annual communications market report which looks in detail at changing patterns of media consumption. It contains a wealth of interesting information: families are increasingly watching tv together in the living room; households now have fewer tv sets; growing numbers of viewers are on a second screen at the same time as watching tv; live tv still accounts for 90% of viewing; people in the UK are watching more tv than they used to; radio listening is holding up well. Full report here .
Public understanding of climate change
The Select Committee on Science and Technology has been listening to evidence from broadcasters, as part of its inquiry into public understanding of climate change. David Jordan, the BBC’s Director of Editorial Policy, told MPs that the BBC had a duty to explain climate change to mainstream audiences and had moved on from ‘false balance’ equating the sceptical point of view with mainstream opinion. Ralph Lee, Channel 4’s Head of Factual, took a different view, arguing that Channel 4 would cover these issues when it could find an alternative point of view. Fiona Ball, Head of Environment at Sky, said that it was making a concerted effort to engage audiences with climate change and, unlike other broadcasters, its corporate and editorial policies were much more joined up.
Broadcast news in brief
– The Government has finally agreed to legislate to end the iniquity that sees public service broadcasters like the BBC and Channel 4 pay to have their channels aired on Sky. Cable platforms like Virgin Media do not levy these charges. Sky has fought a long campaign to resist this change.
– The licences for ITV and Channel 5 have been renewed by the Government for a 10 year period with a statutory obligation placed on them to broadcast national and international news and current affairs in peak time. However, some cuts to ITV’s regional output have been agreed.
– A Sri Lankan diplomat has attacked Callum Macrae, the director of the Channel 4 investigation, Sri Lanka’s Killing Fields, and threatened to bar him from entering the country to cover the Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting in November.
– As part of the BBC’s annual report, the BBC Trust has expressed concern about falling audiences for some current affairs programmes and has said that the current affairs genre needs to serve audiences better.
– The BBC Trust has also published its latest impartiality review which states that the BBC needs to find more space for ‘contentious opinion.’ This may explain why a UKIP MEP was given a free run on Today to expand on his view that aid money to ‘bongo bongo land’ is largely spent on Ray bans and Ferraris. The Trust has also recommended that the BBC broaden its diversity of voices beyond politicians.
Happy holidays
Mark
Welcome to IBT’s July newsletter with a brief update on our work and relevant news from the media industry. (Print this Newsletter)
Twitter training session
Our next event will be an informal training session on how to get the best out of Twitter. Mary Mitchell, an experienced social media trainer, will be providing tips and suggestions on how to maximise the value of Twitter. This event is aimed at media officers and others who are familiar with the basics of Twitter, and Tweet in their own name or using a corporate account, but would like to know how to make better use of Twitter. It will take place from 10-12 on Friday July 19th at the IBT offices in Southwark. There are a few places left – if you’d like to attend, and have not already booked a place, please email me with your name and a sentence or two saying how you use Twitter, and what you’d like to get out of the event – this will help Mary to target the training so that it addresses the needs of the participants. This event is free for IBT members. Places cost £65 for non members.
Sky News briefing
Unfortunately, last month’s briefing with Tim Miller from Sky News had to be cancelled as Tim was sent to South Africa to manage Sky’s Mandela coverage. The event will now take place later this month. All those who booked places will be guaranteed a place, once a new date has been fixed, on Tim’s return to the UK.
IBT AGM
Last month we held our annual general meeting. The consensus of the meeting was that it has been a good year for IBT, but securing our funding base remains a major challenge for the future. Next month we’ll be announcing details of our new membership scheme which will be introduced in January 2014. The aim of the scheme is to make membership fees more transparent and equitable, with the new fee structure based on income. It will involve an increase for some members and a decrease for others. This is the first time that we have increased the membership fee. The AGM also elected three new Trustees to IBT’s Board and we are delighted to welcome them: Margaret Batty from WaterAid, Jane Cooper from UNICEF and Harriet Tolputt from Oxfam.
The future of the World Service
The BBC Trust has published a new service licence for the World Service. This will come into effect in April 2014, when the World Service moves from Foreign Office to licence fee funding. There will be a public consultation to which IBT will be submitting evidence. The new licence gives a clear description of the goals of the World Service and notes that the service needs to be distinctive and innovative, drive a ‘global conversation’ and encourage ‘a shared sense of global citizenship.’ It also outlines how the BBC’s domestic news output will be enhanced by a closer relationship with the World Service. The draft operating licence can be found here: http://downloads.bbc.co.uk/bbctrust/assets/files/pdf/consult/wsol/wsol_operating_licence.pdf
Whilst the Foreign Office has yet again cut the World Service’s budget, the BBC has said that next year there will be a budget increase.
The World Service has also released its latest audience figures. Despite significant cuts, the network has increased its global audience. Although the global radio audience has fallen, there has been an increase in online audiences and those watching Persian and Arabic TV.
Media news in brief
– Channel 5 plans to revamp its early evening news bulletin into a forum for discussion about the big stories of the day. The revamped 6.30pm bulletin, produced by ITN and titled NewsTalkLive will launch later this month. The 5pm bulletin will remain a traditional news bulletin.
– African news channel TVC News, run by the former head of Al Jazeera English, has launched on Sky channel 572. The 24 hour news channel is based in Lagos and aims to tell stories ‘through African eyes.’ It will also attempt to highlight some more positive African stories.
– ITN chief executive, John Hardie, says that its new online 24 hour rolling news stream Livestream has been a big hit with audiences. He says that correspondents are increasingly breaking stories online rather than on air, and audiences are turning to the internet for their news updates rather than rolling tv news channels like Sky News.
– Digital users are more willing to pay for news on their smartphones and tablets according to new research from the Reuters Institute http://www.digitalnewsreport.org/
– BBC3 Controller Zai Bennett has confirmed his commitment to placing international current affairs at the heart of the channel’s schedule. BBC3 will continue with its distinctive approach, using young presenters to reflect life in other countries. The latest example of this genre, India – a Dangerous Place to be a Woman, was broadcast last week to widespread acclaim, and is still available to watch on iPlayer: http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b03696fw/India_A_Dangerous_Place_to_Be_a_Woman/
– Al Jazeera, which already has a strong track record in airing more international documentaries than any other broadcaster, plans to boost its documentary output. The aim is to broadcast two original 60 minute documentaries every week – they’ll be commissioned by Diarmuid Jeffreys and Flora Gregory.
– Charlotte Moore, the BBC’s Head of Documentaries has been appointed Controller of BBC1, taking over from Danny Cohen who was promoted to Director of Television. Charlotte is the final appointment to Tony Hall’s new leadership team. There has been speculation that she will make major changes at BBC1. She’s been responsible for innovation across documentaries and it’s likely that under her tenure BBC1’s documentary output will expand.
– The Act of Killing, described as ‘this year’s most talked about documentary’, has been a big hit with festival audiences in the UK and elsewhere. It has also had more than 500 screenings across Indonesia where it has reignited a debate about the massacres of Communists and others that took place in the 1960s. What makes this film different from any other is that the massacres are re-enacted with the perpetrators playing themselves. It’s an extraordinary film and well worth seeing if you’ve missed it.
Best wishes
Mark
Welcome to IBT’s June newsletter with a brief update on our work and relevant news from the media industry. (Print this Newsletter – pdf)
Next briefing will be with Sky News foreign editor Tim Miller
Our next event will be a briefing and networking event with Tim Miller who runs the foreign desk at Sky News. Sky News has a strong track record of covering a wider range of international stories than other UK broadcasters and Tim is keen to have good working relationships with NGOs. He’ll be talking about the sort of international stories he’s looking for, opportunities for live interviews, how best to pitch and who to pitch to. This is a free event for IBT members only. It will take place at 10am on Friday June 28th at the IBT offices in Southwark. Places need to be booked in advance. To secure your place, please email me by the end of the day on Friday June 7th.
Last month’s briefing with Panorama editor Tom Giles
Last month, we held a briefing with Tom Giles, the editor of Panorama. Tom’s background is in international news. He’s worked for the World Service and he spoke about his commitment to international stories. He commissions 40 half hour episodes and 7 or 8 one hour specials each year – roughly a quarter of these are international. He’s keen that Panorama should have a strong investigative element and have its own agenda, not follow the agenda set by BBC News. More detailed notes of the meeting are available to all IBT members.
Why Poverty – where next?
Also last month, we co-hosted a debate with the ODI and Open University, looking at the lessons to be learnt from the BBC’s Why Poverty season. The season of documentaries was a unique attempt to engage mainstream television audiences with the issue of global poverty and the films were broadcast in 72 countries. The goal was to stimulate a global debate about poverty in developed and developing countries. Nick Fraser, the BBC’s series producer gave a frank description of his hopes and how they were not realised. There then followed an animated discussion about where the season succeeded and where it failed, with IBT contributing its view. The consensus was that the BBC did not give sufficiently strong backing to the season, particularly in terms of slots and marketing. A video of the meeting is available to view on the ODI website as well as some notes on what the speakers said.
Public engagement with aid – new think piece from Involve
Involve, the charity which specialises in public participation, has published a new paper called Resetting the Aid Relationship which looks at how DFID and others could be more effective in promoting public engagement with aid by following the example of the science community. The paper includes a number of practical steps which could be taken to achieve a more meaningful engagement of the public in the debate about international aid. Simon Burall, the Director of Involve and one of the authors of the paper, spoke at our Why Poverty event.
IBT AGM
The IBT AGM will take place later this month, at 5pm on Thursday June 20th at the IBT offices in Southwark. This is a short but important meeting. We will be electing a new group of Trustees as we have now completed the changes to our governance. IBT has been set up as an unincorporated charity with a simpler Trust deed. We are still a membership based organisation and it is the members who elect the Trustees, so please come along and have your say. We try to make proceedings as informal as possible and everyone from a member organisation is welcome to attend. See here for a full list of members.
CBBC and CBeebies
We have submitted evidence to the BBC Trust’s review of children’s services and content. Our submission has praised the BBC for increasing the amount of international content available on both CBBC and CBeebies. At the time of the last Trust review of children’s services, in 2009, we were very critical of the BBC’s track record in this area. As a result, the Trust recommended that the service licence for CBeebies be amended to make a specific reference to fulfilling the global purpose – and this subsequently took place. This change to the licence was the direct result of our lobbying effort and it’s clear that it has had an impact. There are a now a number of new programmes on both CBBC and CBeebies with international themes. In our latest submission we have also noted the BBC’s continuing commitment to Blue Peter and Newsround but we have recommended that the Trust review budgets on Newsround so that more foreign filming can take place. Our submission can be found here.
BBC Online
We’ve also been involved in another BBC Trust review – of its online and red button services. Although BBC Online had been given a target to double the number of click-throughs from BBC sites to external content, it is unlikely to meet this target. This was an issue which we raised in our submission, as BBC Online, particularly BBC News and BBC Sport are significant drivers of audiences to other sites. We’d like to see the BBC doing more in this area and also improving the quality of its curating of external content. There is often a reluctance to connect to NGO sites which are seen as campaigning. The Trust has now instructed BBC Online to ‘continue to increase the number of external click-throughs, and make them more effective and consistent.’ The full report is here.
Future events
Open City Docs Fest takes place in London from June 20-23 at a range of venues including UCL. There are a number of UK premieres and many films which feature global issues. The controversial film The Act of Killing will be followed by a Q and A with director Joshua Oppenheimer. This film has re-enacted a massacre which took place in Indonesia in 1965, with the perpetrators playing themselves.
Africa Gathering celebrates its fifth anniversary with a conference looking at innovation and opportunities for investment in African technology, with a special focus on the role of women. The event will take place from June 21-22 at BBC Broadcasting House.
PhotoVoice is organising a one day conference to look at how NGOs use images to represent developing world issues and people. It takes place on June 8 at Rich Mix in east London.
New members
We’re delighted to welcome two new organisations as members of IBT, International HIV/AIDS Alliance and Malaria No More UK. If you’re interested in joining or know of an organisation or individual who is, here is a link to our leaflet for potential new members.
Malcolm Harper
Finally, I am very sorry to have to announce the sudden and unexpected death of Malcolm Harper, a long time Trustee and friend of IBT and a former Chair of the Trustees. Malcolm made a huge contribution to IBT over many years, finally stepping down as a Trustee last year. As The Times noted in its obituary ‘In a career divided between Oxfam and the United Nations Association, Malcolm Harper devoted his life to humanitarian causes and respect for international law.’ It was always a pleasure dealing with Malcolm and I am very grateful for the support and encouragement which he gave me. He will be greatly missed.
Best wishes
Mark
Welcome to IBT’s May newsletter with a brief update on our work and relevant news from the media industry. (Print this Newsletter – pdf)
Briefing with Panorama editor Tom Giles
Our next event will be a briefing and networking event with Tom Giles, the editor of Panorama. Tom is the most successful Panorama editor for a number of years. He was responsible for the multi award-winning investigation into private care homes, Undercover Care, and he’s also commissioned a number of important foreign films. However, we’d like to see Panorama give international issues a higher profile and this is something we’ll be raising with Tom at this event. The briefing will take place at 10am on Thursday May 16th at the IBT offices in Southwark. It’s a free event for IBT members only, but places must be booked in advance. If you’re interested in attending please let me know by the end of this week.
Why Poverty – where next?
Later this month we’ll also be holding a debate to look at the impact of the BBC’s Why Poverty season. It was a unique attempt to engage mainstream television audiences with the issue of global poverty and the films were broadcast in 72 countries. The goal was to stimulate a global debate about poverty in developed and developing countries. But was the project successful and what lessons can be learnt for any future attempts to use the media to engage the public with poverty and development? The series producer, Nick Fraser, will be presenting evidence of the impact of the season and there will be a panel discussion. The event will take place at 10am on Friday May 17th at the ODI offices next to Southwark tube station. If you’re interested in attending or watching it online, you’ll need to register via the ODI website:
http://www.odi.org.uk/events/3171-bbc-poverty-project-aid-development-public-attitudes
Training events
Last month we held two training events for IBT members with stills photographer Crispin Hughes. Feedback from the events has been positive. The consensus was that the mix of practical and theoretical was about right, and that Crispin was an excellent trainer with a good understanding of the changing role of media officers who were increasingly being asked to take pictures on foreign trips. The sessions were popular with more than 20 different organisations represented. We plan to hold further training events later this year. The next one will focus on how to get the most out of Twitter. Our goal in running these training events is to help IBT members develop their skills so that they can be more effective in a changing media environment.
IBT’s lobbying activities
We have continued to be active on lobbying front. This month we made two submissions: to the House of Lords Communications Committee inquiry into media plurality and to the Ofcom consultation on the new licences for ITV and Channel 5. In both submissions we argued for maintaining the obligations on the commercial public service broadcasters to produce current affairs in peak time, particularly international current affairs. We’re concerned that the ITV current affairs strand Tonight is now producing very little international content despite its close relationship with ITN. We’ve raised this issue with the media regulator, Ofcom, and have asked them to start monitoring the international content on ITV. All our submissions can be found on our website:
http://www.ibt.org.uk/submissions.php
New Trustees
IBT is going through a period of change and we’re delighted that we will be recruiting a number of new Trustees in the next couple of months. If you’re interested in becoming an IBT Trustee please take a look at our website for further details. These positions are only available to IBT members. The deadline for applications is Wednesday May 8th
http://www.ibt.org.uk/all_documents/overview/April2013_New_Trustees.pdf
IBT marketing video
We are in the process of making a short video for our website so that IBT members are much clearer on what we do and what the benefits of membership are. If you have been to a commissioner briefing and subsequently were successful in pitching an idea to a broadcaster please get in touch so that we can feature this in the video, as it’s strong evidence of the impact of IBT’s work.
Media news in brief
– Last month the BBC drama Casualty featured a storyline about female genital mutilation. The writing was superb and it was very encouraging to see this complex issue featured so prominently in a prime time soap. IBT has been urging the BBC for a number of years to feature international issues in drama and soaps.
– Panorama received much publicity for its undercover North Korea film which achieved one of its highest audiences, with over 5 million viewers watching on the night. However, the LSE has lodged a formal complaint with the BBC Trust after it argued that students’ lives were put at risk by the secret filming.
– Ed Stourton has returned to the subject of aid for Radio 4, this time with the much less controversial Syria: can aid meet the challenge?
– Twitter is boosting the impact of television with increasing numbers tweeting as they watch tv. The most tweeted programme of the month was the ITV drama Broadchurch. There were 260,000 tweets during the last episode.
– There have been some great documentaries this month about the Middle East. Olly Lambert’s film for Channel 4 Syria – Across the Lines gave a graphic account of the deteriorating situation in that country.
– After the success of the BBC2 documentary series Welcome to India, the BBC has announced that it will commission Keo Films to make a third series about poverty in a developing country. Welcome to Rio will be shown next year, when the World Cup takes place in Brazil.
– The Radio 4 Controller has announced that Thought for the Day is looking for more women to take part after recent statistics showed a ratio of 8 men to 1 woman.
– The new BBC Director General Lord Hall has announced that he will beef up Newsnight after its recent troubled past. A new editor will be appointed shortly.
– Unreported World has returned to Channel 4 on Friday nights with reports so far from Cuba, Kenya and Gaza. We’ll be holding a briefing with Monica Garnsey, the series producer, later this year.
Best wishes
Mark
Welcome to IBT’s April newsletter with a brief update on our work and relevant news from the media industry.
Welcome to India master class and networking event
Last month we held our first master class which looked at the making of the BBC2 documentary series Welcome to India. We also heard about some forthcoming projects being made by Keo Films and how the production company develops new ideas. The event was packed and feedback was very positive. Comments afterwards included ‘very useful in terms of understanding how documentary makers think about storytelling in innovative ways’ and ‘incredibly useful to have face to face time with the people we pitch to, to understand their needs.’ We’ll be holding more master classes in the future. Notes on the event are available to all IBT members – just email me if you’d like a copy.
Future IBT events
Later this month we’ll be holding two training events on stills photography with Crispin Hughes, an experienced photographer and trainer. These are now fully subscribed, but there will be more training events in the future. Next month, we’ll return to our series of commissioner briefings with Tom Giles, the Editor of Panorama, talking about the BBC’s principal current affairs strand. Future briefings will focus on Sky News and Unreported World.
ITV and Channel 5 licences
Following the publication of our report on the future of current affairs, An Uncertain Future – the threat to current affairs, we are now preparing our submission to Ofcom which is reviewing the licences for ITV and Channel 5. We’ll be arguing that international current affairs on the commercial public service broadcasters has a crucial role to play. This was also the consensus of the round table event which we held in February with current affairs producers and commissioners. We are optimistic that this will remain a statutory requirement when these two licences are renewed next year.
Expert Women database
The BBC has lent its support to the campaign by Broadcast magazine and City University for more women experts on news and current affairs programmes, by launching an Expert Women database and a YouTube channel to showcase some of the new experts who have received media training by the BBC Academy. The training programme is continuing and, whilst many of the women so far have come from the world of science and academia, there is no reason why in future they should not come from the NGO sector. Further information about the database can be obtained from holly.blake@bbc.co.uk
Fall in news site traffic
Latest figures show a slump in traffic to most news websites with only Guardian.co.uk website showing a month on month increase. The latest figures make for interesting reading with the top UK news website Mail Online followed by Guardian.co.uk, Telegraph.co.uk, Sun.co.uk, Independent.co.uk, Mirror Group digital, Metro.co.uk and finally Standard.co.uk. The Sun and The Telegraph have both announced that they will start to charge online users.
Apple removes Channel 4’s Sweatshop app
Apple has removed the Channel 4 Education-funded mobile game Sweatshop from its App Store after claiming it was ‘uncomfortable’ with the game’s themes. The game is designed to make youngsters think about the origins of the clothes they buy and involves playing the role of a manager in a factory which is manufacturing goods for a British high street store. After Apple removed the app the team amended it, to make clear that it was a fictitious game but Apple refused to reinstate the app. The game, which has had more than 1 million plays, remains available on the playsweatshop.com site.
One World Media Awards
The finalists in the One World Media Awards have been announced after a record number of entries. Tickets for the 25th annual awards are now on sale. The event will take place on Tuesday May 7th at Kings Place in London. http://oneworldmedia.org.uk/awards/
Follow IBT on Twitter
For regular updates on our work and on any relevant news in the field of media, development, human rights and the environment follow us on Twitter @_ibt
Best wishes
Mark
Welcome to IBT’s March newsletter with a brief update on our work and relevant news from the media industry. (Print this Newsletter – pdf)
Welcome to India master class
This month we are organising our first master class. We’re delighted that the producers of Welcome to India have agreed to come and talk to us. This was the standout documentary series of 2012 and successfully brought issues connected to poverty and development to a mainstream audience. It reinvented a format first established with Welcome to Lagos. In this master class, the series director Tom Beard will show clips and talk about the process of development and shooting, what the brief was from BBC2, how he wanted to challenge popular perceptions about poverty and how he looked for strong human stories which highlighted key issues. This is a great opportunity for media officers and others to gain a better understanding of how documentary producers think about stories/issues and how they attempt to make challenging subjects accessible to mainstream audiences. It will also be a good networking opportunity for anyone who wishes to get to know a leading independent production company. Welcome to India was made by Keo Films which has a track record of innovative approaches to international issues. They’re responsible for a range of peak time shows, including Hugh’s Fish Fight, River Cottage and Meet the Natives. Also attending the workshop will be a member of Keo’s development team who will give us an insight into how indies pitch to broadcasters. The master class will take place from 10-11.30am on Tuesday March 19th. This is a free event for IBT members but places need to be booked in advance. For a current list of members see http://www.ibt.org.uk/members.php Places are also available to non members for a fee of £50 payable in advance. Let me know if you’d like to attend.
Parliamentary event on aid and the role of the media
Last month we held a parliamentary event, in conjunction with IDS, which looked at ways of building public support for aid and in particular at how to engage the media more effectively in this process. The round table was chaired by the Labour MP, Alison McGovern, and attended by a number of Parliamentarians, NGOs and media representatives. There was a strong call from the media side for NGOs to think in terms of ‘stories’ rather than ‘issues’ and a recognition that a more concerted effort was needed by NGOs and Parliamentarians to change the nature of the public conversation and to find concrete examples of the positive impact of aid but at the same time to engage in an honest debate about the limits of aid. Bringing these three groups together was the beginning of what we hope will be a fruitful dialogue. The feedback from the round table has been positive with a number of participants asking for follow up meetings. A briefing note on the discussion is available to all IBT members – get in touch with Sophie Chalk, IBT’s Head of Campaigns, if you’d like a copy. Sophie.chalk@btinternet.com
Impact of IBT report on the future of current affairs
Last month we published our research report An Uncertain Future – the threat to current affairs, which looked at the future of the genre that is considered to be most at risk if the Government takes a deregulatory approach in any future Communications Bill. We held a round table discussion which was attended by leading producers, commissioners, regulators and media journalists. There was a consensus that the report presented a strong case for regulation to ensure that current affairs retains its place in the schedules. The round table was followed by a leading article in Broadcast, the industry magazine and a think piece by Maggie Brown in Guardian Online. We also presented the research findings to officials at DCMS, the department responsible for broadcast policy. The report can be downloaded from the IBT website or obtained in hard copy from the IBT office.
BBC Trust review of all tv channels and news output
The BBC Trust has announced that it will review all the BBC’s tv channels and news output later this year. This is the biggest ever review undertaken by the Trust and the most important one to date. IBT will be submitting detailed evidence in consultation with its membership. It’s an important opportunity for us to look critically at the impact of the BBC’s global purpose to ‘bring the world to the UK’ and how effectively it is being delivered. In previous research we have found that fewer international programmes are being commissioned and many of these are migrating to the niche channels. Drama is a particular weakness with a near total absence of international dramas – the recent Mary and Martha is a notable exception. News output retains a strong international element but the range of stories being covered is narrowing.
Al Jazeera English briefing
Last week we heard from Ben Rayner, Head of News at Al Jazeera English. Ben gave a useful overview of how the channel works, who commissions stories, what sort of stories appeal to them and names of key contacts. The channel has a particular interest in stories from Africa and the Middle East and strong coverage of Latin America. They are keen to develop good relationships with NGOs and there are opportunities for NGO staff to appear in studio discussions. It was good to hear that Al Jazeera English remains committed to a wider news agenda than the main UK news broadcasters. One of the key findings of the news survey which we published in The World in Focus was the fact that AJE regularly reported from significantly more countries than any other broadcaster.
Live tv watching still dominates
The latest figures on tv viewing from the industry marketing body, Thinkbox, show that the average tv viewer in the UK watches 4 hours and 4 minutes of tv a day. It’s the third year running that it has topped the 4 hour mark. Despite the proliferation of catch up and mobile, most television is watched live by people sitting in front of an actual television: the current figure is 90%, a drop of less than 1 per cent compared with a year ago.
Changes to IBT governance
As many of you know, we have been updating our governance to establish IBT as an incorporated charity. This has now been done, as a result of which we have a new charity number and new Memorandum and Articles. We shall also be electing a new group of Trustees at the next AGM in June. In future, we shall have a core group of 10 Trustees, 6 of whom will represent the membership. All members are eligible to put their names forward. We shall be making a formal announcement about the process for recruiting new Trustees in the next month or so.
Film festivals coming up soon
– The Human Rights Watch Film Festival runs from March 13-22 across a number of London venues. Key films include Salma, a documentary directed by Kim Longinotto, which tells the story of how a young Indian Muslim girl unexpectedly became a famous poet; War Witch, directed by Kim Nguyen, a drama shot entirely in DRC which focuses on life inside a rebel camp, and Wadjda, directed by Haifaa Al Mansour, the first full length feature shot entirely inside Saudi Arabia, which tells the story of a girl growing up in a suburb of Riyadh. http://ff.hrw.org/
– The Birds Eye Film Festival is back, also in a number of London venues, from April 3-10. This year it celebrates the work of Arab women filmmakers. Highlights include When I Saw You, a new film by Annemarie Jacir, Palestine’s first female feature director, which tells the story of a young boy escaping from a refugee camp in 1967, and On the Edge, by Leila Kilani, a fast paced drama giving an insight into the dark side of life in the Moroccan city of Tangier.
http://www.birds-eye-view.co.uk/4921/overview/bev-2013-celebrating-arab-women-filmmakers.html
Best wishes
Mark