A few years ago I was at an away day of BBC series producers. At the meeting we were told that redundancies were going to be made across the board and we were asked which of us would be willing to sit on “redundancy panels”. These panels would assess which producers and lower grades should face the chop. There would be other “redundancy panels” populated with executive producers and higher to assess which series producers should go.
Initially everyone just looked down and tried not to catch the eye of the senior manager who was asking for volunteers. Then, slowly, a few people raised their hands. Eventually nearly every single series producer in the room had their hand held high in the air. Clearly, the logic of the first few volunteers was: “maybe I won’t be made redundant if I volunteer to make others redundant”. But by the time it got to the last few volunteers, the reasoning was: “if I don’t volunteer, I will definitely be singled out”. It was like a bizarre reverse Schindler’s list. And for the record, the voluntering made absolutely no difference as to which series producers were and were not eventually made redundant. A shame for those that did participate. (And before anyone complains about my Schindler’s List comparison I realise there is a world of difference between gas chambers and unemployment – it is a simile).
Over the years, I have lived through several redundancy rounds at the BBC. They are soul destroying experiences for everyone involved. For those at the sharp end, it can often take years to recover. And – as the hand raising experience demonstrated – you see good people act in unexpected ways… fear has a way of doing that.
Last week the BBC’s new licence fee settlement was announced. It wasn’t as bad as some had feared, but large cuts are coming nonetheless. There is a possibility that the cuts might not result in redundancies, but there will almost certainly be a reduction in staff at the BBC.
This will create a double-edged challenge for preserving and enhancing diversity in the media industry over the next few years. First there will be more talented people in the freelance market, chasing fewer jobs. This means that at every interview BMEs will be competing against people who are already over favoured and over represented in the television industry. Second, with companies worried about their budgets being squeezed, diversity initiatives could be the first to go when looking for areas to cut.
It will be in this challenging climate that organisations like The TVCollective will become even more important. In the same way that lifting their hands to “volunteer to make other people redundant” did not save the individual series producers – so acting as standalone, independent individuals will not be enough for us as diverse talent. If we act simply as individuals, it will be almost impossible to get our voices heard in the maelstrom of “austerity measures”. We will not be able to keep track of every relevant job opportunity that arises, and there is no way we will be able to hold the actions of large organisations to account.
The next few years will therefore need us to work together like we’ve never done before to achieve any success or progress. As BME and diverse talent we will survive the coming cuts better if we work together, network together and sometimes even console each other together. Just ask the listeners of Radio 6 about the power of collective action – the “group think” needs to start now, and not when we are being handed our P45’s.
So hands up who wants to join the TVCollective and make television a more diverse place to work and watch, even in these “interesting” times.
(First published on TheTVCollective.org 29/10/2010)
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