Exploring Rural Content in Public Service Media

Public Service Broadcasting (PSB) refers to broadcasting intended for public benefit rather than to serve purely commercial interests. Ofcom, the UK’s communications regulator, requires these broadcasters to fulfil certain requirements as part of their licence to broadcast. How do PSBs reflect rural communities and perspectives in their programming and outputs? Jessica Sellick investigates. ………………………………………………………………………………………………..

What is public service broadcasting? According to Ofcom, public service broadcasters (PSBs) in the UK include the BBC, those providing Channel 3 services [ITV in England and Wales, STV in Scotland and UTV in Northern Ireland], Channel 4, Channel 5 and the Welsh language service S4C. PSBs must comply with a range of programme and output quotas that set minimum levels of the types of programmes that they must show. These obligations originate in the Communications Act 2003 and/or in European legislation. 

Section 264(4) of the Communications Act 2003 specifies the purposes of PSBs in the UK:

(a) the provision of relevant television services which secure that programmes dealing with a wide range of subject-matters are made available for viewing;

(b) the provision of relevant television services in a manner which (having regard to the days on which they are shown and the times of day at which they are shown) is likely to meet the needs and satisfy the interests of as many different audiences as practicable;

(c) the provision of relevant television services which (taken together and having regard to the same matters) are properly balanced, so far as their nature and subject-matters are concerned, for meeting the needs and satisfying the interests of the available audiences; and

(d) the provision of relevant television services which (taken together) maintain high general standards with respect to the programmes included in them, and, in particular with respect to—

(i) the contents of the programmes;

(ii) the quality of the programme making; and

(iii) the professional skill and editorial integrity applied in the making of the programmes.

Section 264(6) states the objectives of PSBs, which are to:

  • Inform, educate, and entertain.
  • Reflect and support cultural activity in the UK, such as drama, comedy, and music.
  • Facilitate civic understanding and fair and well-informed debate on news and current affairs.
  • Satisfy a wide range of different sporting and other leisure interests.
  • Include a suitable quantity and range of educational programmes and programmes dealing with science, religion and other beliefs, social issues, matters of international significance or interest and matters of specialist interest.
  • Include a suitable quantity and range of high-quality and original programmes for children and young people.
  • Reflect the lives and concerns of different communities and cultural interests and traditions within the UK and locally in different parts of the UK and include programmes made outside the M25.

Individual PSBs have further specific obligations placed on them. For example, section 265 of the Communications Act 2003 sets out the public service remits for Channel 3, 4 and 5 services. The BBC’s Royal Charter sets out its object, mission, and purposes.

The House of Commons Digital, Culture Media and Sport Committee identified three core principles for all PSBs: 

  1. Universality of access: there is an expectation that public service content is widely available and free at the point of access. The content is expected to represent the diversity of the UK, and the range of genres covered should reflect this.
  2. Accuracy and impartiality: news and current affairs content made by PSBs should be accurate, reliable, and impartial.
  3. Independence: PSBs should be able to function “free from government interference or political pressure.”

How is PSB changing? Back in November 2019, the House of Lords Communications and Digital Committee published its report: ‘Public service broadcasting: As vital as ever’. The Committee found PSBs faced competition from “hundreds of other channels and online services”, with almost half of UK households subscribed to a video-on-demand service. The Committee found PSB to be “as important as ever to our democracy and culture” and that other media could not “bring the nation together” in a way that PSB could. However, the Committee found PSBs struggling to serve all audiences because of increased competition and changing viewing habits – and were not serving younger people and people from Black, Asian, and Minority Ethnic (BAME) backgrounds well enough. 

COVID-19 has had a significant impact on broadcasting – with the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport describing it as one of unprecedented challenges…[causing] significant financial and practical impacts across the entire industry. “The public service broadcasters have a vital role to play in supplying information to the public and bringing together the nation in these unprecedented circumstances. They have been an important source of news and in countering misinformation”. Ofcom research found that while the UK population’s engagement with TV, radio, online news and other home media has grown since the Covid-19 crisis, and that the appetite for news about the pandemic has boosted engagement with news across a number of sources; weekly reach is in decline. PSBs also experienced  a significant decline in advertising revenue, as well as considerable challenges in producing programming in line with social distancing restrictions. Ofcom published notes to broadcasters providing guidance on broadcast content relating to the coronavirus as well as the outcomes of investigations it carried out on specific programmes thought to have breached its broadcasting rules. 

The Government suggested these changes would likely accelerate some pressures on PSBs and the wider system and would need careful consideration by the Government, Ofcom and the sector itself going forward. 

In November 2020, the Government announced the creation of an expert panel to advise on the future of public service broadcasting. The panel would provide independent expertise and advice as part of the Government’s strategic review of public service broadcasting. In March 2022, the Government confirmed the panel had met six times, but was not expected to meet further, and that the Government would publish the conclusions of its strategic review in due course.

In May 2022, the Government launched the mid-term review of the BBC to “focus on impartiality and ‘levelling up’ job opportunities”. The Royal Charter includes a requirement for a mid-term review between 2022 and 2024 “focusing on the governance and regulatory arrangements for the BBC”. The Government stated that the updates included commitments for the BBC to:

  • More fully reflect and represent people and perspectives in the UK that currently are under-represented in the BBC’s content.
  • Increase investment outside of London, with 60% of radio and 50% of television programme production expenditure to be outside London by the end of 2027.
  • Deliver 1,000 apprenticeships per year by the end of 2025.
  • Make progress on workforce accessibility targets, including the new target for 25% of staff to be from low socio-economic backgrounds.
  • Report on how the BBC’s commercial activities increase the UK’s cultural and economic impact abroad. 

Is the legislation underpinning PSBs in need of reform? The House of Commons Committee on Digital, Culture, Media and Sport report found the Communications Act 2003 to be pre-dated in light of streaming platforms. The Committee identified four key areas for reform:

  • New primary legislation to replace the 2003 act. The Committee highlighted a need to reform rules around prominence “to ensure that the PSB compact is sustainable within the new, increasingly internet-based audio-visual landscape.”
  • The remit of the digital markets unit should be expanded to “consider whether the dominance of online platforms gives them undue influence over the distribution of, and access to, PSB content”.
  • Requirements for diversity reporting should be extended to streaming services.
  • If PSBs are expected to maintain linear broadcasting as well as expand their on-demand services, they need sufficient funding.

The Government responded to the Committee in June 2021, stating that it would consider if changes were needed “to ensure that PSBs continue to deliver these benefits in light of broader industry and economic trends”. This was followed, in April 2022, by the publication of a white paper on the future of broadcasting, and the announcement of a media bill in the May 2022. This is intended to act as a legislative vehicle for several of the Government’s policies in the area of PSB. The Government is using the Bill to make changes to legislation around PSBs to:

  • Ensure that public service content is prominent, available, and easily accessible across a range of platforms.
  • Update the public broadcasting framework to better facilitate the delivery of public service broadcasting through digital platforms and promote the production and distribution of distinctively British content.
  • Give Ofcom new regulatory powers to draft and enforce a video-on-demand code to make sure services which target and profit from UK audiences are subject to stricter rules protecting UK audiences from harmful material.
  • Allow for the conversion of Channel 4 from a statutory corporation to a new corporate structure that could be sold, and other changes concerning Channel 4’s obligations and remit to ensure the sustainability of the broadcaster.
  • Update the public service remit of S4C to include digital and online services.
  • Remove the current geographical broadcasting restrictions so that S4C can broaden its reach and offer its content on a range of new platforms in the UK and beyond.
  • Repeal Section 40 of the Crime and Courts Act 2013 which would force new publishers to pay the costs of any court judgment if they were not a member of the approved regulator, regardless of the outcome of the court judgment.

The appointment of Liz Truss as Prime Minister in September 2022, led the Government to indicate that it would be reassessing the Channel 4 privatisation policy. In an answer to a written question on 24 October 2022, the Government stated that it would introduce the bill when parliamentary time allowed. Following the appointment of Rishi Sunak as Prime Minister on 25 October 2022, the Government restated that it would be  carefully considering the business case for a sale of Channel 4 and would set out further details in due course. On 5 January 2023, the Government announced instead of a sale, reforms to help Channel 4 grow and better compete in the age of streaming giants would be agreed. 

How much of PSB’s programming and output quota rural? Back in March 2014, the BBC Trust published qualitative research on BBC coverage of rural areas in the UK. This considered how rural affairs in the UK were being covered by the BBC in its television, radio and online output. The Trust found, overall, that the BBCs coverage was impartial, strong, and that network factual programmes which focus on rural matters, such as Countryfile and Farming Today, were highly regarded and broadcast a wide range of opinions and analysis. However, audience feedback also suggested some people believed news coverage to be too simplistic (focusing on protests rather than their underlying issues), that the BBC had a metropolitan bias and that a small number of organisations and charities were having a disproportionate influence on rural affairs coverage. Concerns around an apparent deficit in the coverage of rural affairs in England were also noted. The report contained 7 recommendations:

  1. Re-establish the post of Rural Affairs Correspondent. 
  2. Identify a senior figure to take an editorial oversight role and champion rural affairs across the network. 
  3. Accelerate measures to make it easier for local and regional journalists to deliver news content at the network level. 
  4. Gather together BBC journalists and programme makers at least annually to share ideas, experiences and contacts. 
  5. Involve senior network news and commissioning editors to ensure they are kept abreast of rural affairs. 
  6. Consider holding an off-the-record discussion on rural policy with a wider mix of institutional and local voices. 
  7. Revitalise the BBC’s rural contacts list across a wide range of expertise. 

In 2015 the Trust published an update on these areas. This found that three senior journalists already working in the English regions would be charged with taking on specific network responsibilities in this area. Measures to improve links between different programmes and output areas were also committed to, including a day for staff working in this area to connect with each other. Furthermore, network news teams were found to have covered stories to convey a more nuanced picture of rural issues. 

More recently, in 2022, Ofcom commissioned research to explore audience attitudes towards the due impartiality of BBC services in the context of the wider news landscape. While fieldwork was conducted across rural and urban locations across the UK; there were no notable rural specific findings in the subsequent report – with the exception of one audience reference to Countryfile being aimed more at older people.    

Also in 2022, the Countryside Alliance ran a survey asking people living in rural areas for their views on the BBC and its rural programming. 3,400 people responded to the survey which revealed: 

  • 77% of those taking part said that the licence fee was not value for money – with 68% suggesting it should be scrapped altogether. This follows an announcement from the Government, in January 2022, that the licence fee settlement which applies until the end of the charter period in 2027 would include a freeze in the licence fee for two years, from 2022-2023, followed by a rise in line with consumer price index inflation until 31 March 2028.
  • Almost half of those taking part were over the age of 65 years, and 80% watched the BBC on TV. 
  • Springwatch and Autumnwatch were deemed to be amongst the worst shows for representing rural issues – with more than 90% of respondents saying that they did not do so adequately. 
  • 92% of respondents said the BBC’s national news was failing to represent rural issues. This was closely followed by Countryfile, of which 89% of those surveyed said it did not ‘adequately’ cover the issues that matter to them. 
  • Radio 4’s The Archers was deemed not to reflect country life properly by 79% of respondents. 
  • Just under half of respondents believed Radio 4’s Farming Today properly covered the issues that matter to them. 

Tim Boner, chief executive of the Countryside Alliance described how “the BBC must appreciate that the minority rural audience does not feel fully represented. Rural programming should not only take into account what urban viewers may find of interest and it needs to showcase the value of important rural activities like farming, shooting, hunting and angling”. 

The survey was in response to the BBC announcing it would undertake an impartiality review to see if Countryfile meets its editorial standards. This is an internal content review which according to the BBC: will assess editorial standards and culture including impartiality, freedom of expression, diversity of voices, accuracy, fairness and trust. The programmes chosen – BBC Breakfast, Countryfile and the English language morning radio news programmes in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland – represent a range of output, across different BBC Divisions. The BBC confirmed these selections were not made because of particular impartiality concerns. 

Other PSBs have not undertaken a comprehensive review of rural broadcasts – referencing rural programming instead: from coverage of the Royal Welsh Show by S4C, or specific programmes such as Young Black Farmers or Sarah Beeny’s New Life in the Country (both channel 4), or City Life to Country Life (channel 5). 

Where next? While audiences clearly have an appetite for rural programmes, to what extent current PSB highlight the ups and downs of growing up, living and working in the countryside continue to cause debate. If we want PSBs to reflect the lives and perspectives of different communities, what rural programming would rural residents and businesses like to see going forward? ………………………

Jessica is a researcher/project manager at Rose Regeneration and a senior research fellow at The National Centre for Rural Health and Care (NCRHC). She is currently evaluating a support programme for patients waiting to receive NHS and local government services; and a Warm Hubs scheme. Jessica also sits on the board of a Housing Association that supports older people and a charity supporting Cambridgeshire’s rural communities. 

She can be contacted by email jessica.sellick@roseregeneration.co.uk. 

Website: http://roseregeneration.co.uk/https://www.ncrhc.org/ 

Blog: http://ruralwords.co.uk/ 

Twitter: @RoseRegen