Will the BBC listen?

 

The Times has published some research, with YouGov, into public perceptions of the BBC and found that "nearly half of Britons think that the BBC no longer represents their values", with a third of the public saying that in the past year "the values of the BBC has become less like theirs". 

The paper cites the BBC's coverage of Brexit and the pandemic, but I'm guessing the 'woke' stuff - their BLM coverage, the Proms debacle, etc - may have played a big part too. 

The Times says his "chimes" with unpublished research from the BBC itself "which found that residents of well-off and diverse neighbourhoods held the broadcaster in higher esteem than people from poorer and less diverse communities".

As Jon Holbrook observes, "It’s the elite v. the people - again", and this is probably borne out by the finding that 58% of those who voted for Brexit were unhappy with the BBC's stance. Us northerners aren't happy with the BBC either. 

Whenever such findings appear there's always a BBC spokesman on hand to stick his fingers in his ears, go 'la la la la la la la' loudly, and play Dr Pangloss - though this time there's a slight, unexpected concession tagged on, sanctioned by an earlier concession from DG Tim Davie:

A BBC spokesman said: “Recent research shows that people still connect with our core mission to inform, educate and entertain, and our purposes remain relevant. However, the new director-general has made it very clear that the BBC must work hard to represent a very broad section of views.”

I don't think their New Year coverage will have got 2021 off to a good start for any plans they have to start repairing the damage.