This week the controller of BBC Radio 4,
Gwyneth Williams, announced
that she is going to leave after eight years in the role.
That raises one very obvious question: Who
will take Gwyneth Williams’ place?
First some facts: If one looks at the BBC
website it has a section titled “Who runs BBC
Radio” along with their pictures.
The Director of Radio and Music is Bob
Shennan – a white man
The Controller of Radio 1, 1Xtra and Asian
Network is Ben Cooper – a white man
The Controller of Radio 3 is Alan Davey – a
white man
The Controller of Radio 5 Live and Live
Sport Extra is Jonathan Wall – a white man
Following a restructure
in 2016 Radio 2 and Radio 6 do not have controllers and so they are not
listed in this section of the website nor is Director
of Radio & Education – overall boss of all radio but:
The Head of Programmes for Radio 2 is Lewis
Carnie – a white man
The Head of Programmes for Radio 6 Music is
Paul Rodgers – a white man
Director of Radio & Education is James
Purnell – a white man
In fact of the eight most senior roles
Gwyneth Williams is the only woman to head any of the BBC’s radio stations.
When she finally leaves that number could drop to zero.
And most people will have noticed that in
the above lists there is not a single person of colour.
And so how is this senior tier of non-diversity
doing?
According to the latest audience figures
compiled by Rajar commercial radio extended its lead over BBC with total BBC audience
down 1.6% compared to the same time the previous year.
And according to the BBC’s own report
in 2015:
1.
The majority of BBC Radio’s
audience is over 55 while the percentage of young people are increasingly BAME (Black
Asian and Minority Ethnic)
2.
You are one and a half times
more likely to listen to BBC Radio if you are white compared to if you are
BAME.
3.
And unsurprisingly more men
listen to BBC Radio than women.
This would normally be the part of a blog
post I would argue why the BBC, and/or the media industry in general, needs to
embrace diversity and inclusion. But I believe the figures are so stark they
speak for themselves.
There are of course plenty of suitable women
and/or BAME candidates who could not only replace Gwyneth Williams but could
also refresh the other controller positions once the incumbents move on.
And so to answer my original question “Who
will take Gwyneth Williams’ place?” the answer is I do not know.
But I am making a plea to the BBC:
Please consider a broad range of candidates
and make diversity a priority because if we love the corporation and want it to
flourish there is no way it can continue as business as usual.
(The picture at the top of the piece is a rough depiction of what the future of BBC Radio management meetings could look like if we are not careful)
(The picture at the top of the piece is a rough depiction of what the future of BBC Radio management meetings could look like if we are not careful)
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