| British TV ignores world issues
REALITY show Celebrity Love Island accounted for three-quarters of ITV1's factual programming about developing countries, according to a report which says ITV1 and Channel 4 are ignoring global issues.
The series, which totalled 13 hours, was included in the study because it was filmed in Fiji. The report into factual foreign coverage, carried out by the University of Westminster and commissioned by 3WE - a coalition of leading charities - says ITV1 has "almost evacuated this area completely", while Channel 4's output has fallen to just 36 hours a year.
It measured international factual programming on UK TV from 1989 to 2005. It showed there is a "growing and worrying" dependence on the BBC to provide broadcasting which offers a deeper understanding of the world beyond Britain, particularly developing countries.
In 2003, all five terrestrial channels reached an all-time low in broadcasting programmes from the developing world. Since then, BBC1 and BBC2 have doubled their output.
The BBC was praised for its Africa Lives season, which helped take BBC1 to its highest recorded level of developing country factual programmes.
Don Redding, co-ordinator of 3WE, said: "It is vital that the BBC's remarkable revival of its international and developing country programming is sustained during the next Charter period, because it is clear that we are becoming over-dependent on one public service provider." |