‘And now a very brief word for BBC viewers in the far, far, north’
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Version 0 of 1. In this, the most dynamic and febrile period of modern Scottish history, it seems that the national state broadcaster has never been less well placed to provide coverage and analysis of it all. In the hours after voting was done in the EU referendum on 23 June, anyone seeking in-depth and continuous analysis from BBC Scotland of the biggest story to have affected this country since the Reformation was to be disappointed. The magnitude of what was happening and its implications for the future of the UK soon began to alight on the brows of assorted studio guests in London. Arguably, though, what was unfolding that night was an even bigger story for Scotland and carried more profound consequences. Voting, against the odds, to leave the European Union is one thing; voting overwhelmingly to remain, only to discover that an English-only campaign of lies, hatred of immigrants and outdated notions of British superiority had prevailed is quite another. Yet BBC Scotland was accorded only a walk-on part in the coverage. “This is a major English story,” they were effectively being told. “Just carry on doing your court reports and gangster stories, there’s a good chap.” The same attitudes were apparent during the Scottish independence referendum. James Naughtie was sent up from London to anchor Good Morning Scotland for a few months, presumably because BBC London didn’t think the Scottish presenters were capable of covering the big story all on their own. Last week, Westminster’s culture, media and sport committee relocated to Glasgow’s City Chambers to hear about plans for the fabled “Scottish Six”, an hour-long, Scotland-led nightly news programme replacing the national 6pm bulletin. This is the one that breaks off for the regions with “… and now the news from where you are”. In Game of Thrones, it would be the kingdom of Wheruarr and where there be dragons. The idea for a Scottish Six has been kicking around for the best part of the last two decades. Some pilots have been made and, it seems, more are in the pipeline. Yet the feeling persists that “kicking around” is exactly where BBC London wants it to remain and that it will continue to be “kicking around” until Scottish politicians grow weary of it once more. Ken MacQuarrie, BBC Scotland director, and Gary Smith, its new head of news and current affairs, were asked to explain why a “winner” from three different pilots for the Scottish Six had yet to be announced. John Nicholson, the SNP MP who sits on the committee, was scornful of what is thought to be the favoured option. This would involve a beginning and end section presented from BBC headquarters in Glasgow with the main central section, featuring “grown-up” international and UK news, provided by a studio in London. Nicholson, a former BBC presenter and newsreader, said: “You would have Jackie Bird as the news anchor in Scotland and she will top and tail and introduce the Scottish stuff, and Reeta Chakrabarti in London doing international news, the ‘grown-up stuff’, and there is a danger that is going to look enormously patronising. “Why should the presenter in London do the network, UK and international stories, and the presenter in Glasgow do the Scottish stories? Won’t that perpetuate the ongoing sense that if you want to get the important stuff, you have to go down to London?” BBC Scotland employs around 300 journalists across Scotland, most of whom are gifted, experienced and well-motivated operators. Two of its top investigative reporters, Mark Daly and Sam Poling, regularly make groundbreaking and award-winning news documentaries, while Laura Bicker and James Cook were recently appointed to prestigious BBC posts in Washington and Los Angeles. There are dozens more of their calibre in a country that has become the cockpit of UK politics. As the EU referendum showed, Scotland remains an outward-facing country, desperate to play a role on the European stage while England has turned in on itself, suspicious of all and fearful of new opportunities. It is deeply offensive that a country such as this is deemed by BBC London to be incapable of creating and producing a one-hour news programme combining Scottish news with big UK and international stories. BBC Scotland ought to be a powerhouse of creativity, reflecting the new, vibrant and dynamic politics in this country BBC Scotland, though, needs a champion from inside the organisation; unfortunately, in the cowering figure of MacQuarrie, it has merely a London-appointed factor, whose main function is to keep the lights on, keep the licence fees rolling in and to make sure BBC Jockoland doesn’t get too many ideas above itself. The BBC annual report, just published, carries for the first time regional licence fee figures as well as expenditure. In it, we see that while Wales gets around 95% of its licence fee back and Northern Ireland gets around 72%, Scotland gets a mere 55%. Almost to a man and a woman, every journalist I’ve spoken with inside BBC Scotland says what amounts to the same thing: BBC Scotland is only deemed to be important if it makes programmes for the network. The idea of commissioning dramas and documentaries for a Scottish audience is an alien one. London simply dismisses the concept of high-quality Scottish drama. Even if it did admit the existence of such a thing, it’s clear that BBC London will never grant sufficient funds to make such programmes. An indication of how London rates BBC Scotland can be glimpsed in the change to its management structures announced by the director general, Tony Hall, this month. The new tiers of management will headed be a unitary board on which Hall sits with a couple of BBC execs and new appointees. Underneath that comes the management board. Below this are the directors of nations, which includes Scotland. Thus Pacific Quay has quietly been relegated to the third tier of BBC management. BBC Scotland ought to be a powerhouse of creativity and talent, reflecting the new, vibrant and dynamic politics we have been witnessing in this country. Instead, under MacQuarrie, it is a poorly resourced branch office fit only for collecting rents and keeping the natives happy on a diet of court cases, car crashes and gangsters. |