17 July 2004
Another Big Wrong from the BBC

Intent on maintaining their currently deficient level of service delivery, the Beeb have surpassed themselves by using our license fee to support the ailing career of racist Big[ot] Ron Atkinson by producing a documentary entitled ‘Big Ron - Am I a Racist?’

The documentary's Producer, Petal Felix, said: 'Ron will be travelling the country canvassing opinion about the remark he made. He will be exploring use of the word 'n***er' - who can use it, who can't use it, and why he used it on that occasion. Footballers and television personalities who have worked with Ron over the years will also have their say.' In this summary of the programme's objectives, we note that there is no mention of the community who are directly referenced and offended by the use of this word 'having a say', namely African Britons. Sadly, we expect that any attempt by the BBC to justify the use of the word 'N**ger', particularly as a form of 'positive reclamation' will be supported by Ofcom.

In response to the question posed by 'Big Ron', Daily Mirror journalist Matthew Norman summed it up well; 'I know Atkinson was renowned for his ability to waffle as a pundit but how long can he spin out speaking the word "yes"?' (Daily Mirror, Sat 17th July).

Diverse: Producers of 'The Trouble'

BBC3 Controller: Stuart Murphy

29 May 2004
Diverse TV and the BBC

Diverse, the production company behind ‘The Trouble’ is also the same team which produced Channel 4’s terrible Forbidden Fruit series.

Click here to read our complaint
Click here to read the BBC response

26 May 2004
Cultural Diversity Network

Ligali attended the recent Cultural Diversity Network (CDN) meeting during which we met various industry representatives from the BBC, BME TVFM, and Channel 4 among others. The meeting was chaired by Andrea Callender, the BBC’s recently appointed Head of Diversity. Andrea’s remit is to co-ordinate the BBC's objective to fully reflect diversity in Britain, both in its programmes and in the make-up of BBC staff.

The CDN began in 2000 and exists to provide a forum for all the major British television broadcasters to exchange ideas and information with a view to improving the representation of ethnic minority communities in Britain, both in front and behind the camera. Current members are; BBC, BSkyB, Channel 4, Five, ITV, Grampian, GMTV, ITN and PACT.

The meeting was very productive and Andrea assured us that there will soon be a CDN website making the annual targets of CDN members available to the public. The BMETVFM Charitable Foundation is also calling for a historical scrutiny of CDN progress in October 2004.

Related

Click here to read more about Andrea Callender

BMETVFM website
http://www.bmetvfm.com/

Cultural Diversity Network
BBC Online
CDN Diversity Database

Rumors and speculation came to an end last week as it was confirmed that the Jamaican Gleaner has bought the Voice newspaper. Whether the new owners can rescue the ailing newspaper from its flagging ratings remains to be seen. However, we have not forgotten the quote made several months ago by the Gleaner who stated that they intended to appeal to the wider ‘new urban market’.

So, urbanitis rears its ugly head again. Time will tell what impact the Gleaner will have but having proclaimed its ‘new’ market, it’s not looking hopeful for African Britons.

Click the links below for related stories.

http://www.jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20040519/lead/lead1.html

http://www.blink.org.uk/pdescription.asp?key=3414&grp=1&cat=197

25 May 2004
EMMA Awards?

Following the recent Ethnic Multicultural Media Award (EMMA) ceremony, we received several complaints from people wanting to know why David Beckham and Tom Cruise were nominated, and subsequently awards winners of their respective categories. As one complainant noted, surely these individuals get enough exposure without having to be included in this particular award ceremony? The Ethnic Multicultural Media Awards (EMMA) begun in 1998 and was previously known as the Ethnic Minority Media Awards. As with the MOBO awards (which now describes itself meaning all types of music from urban culture), this significant name change also marks a significant shift in the ethnic identity of nominees and winners. We contacted the EMMA awards to express our reservations.

EMMA informed us that their nomination process initially involved a press campaign for nominations, which is mailed out to a database of over 20,000 people. Advertisements for the voting process are then placed in the ‘ethnic minority’ media. The votes are collated and judges of varying ethnic backgrounds create a shortlist of nominees from the people who received the highest number of votes (EMMA received over two million votes this year). According to EMMA, David Beckham was one of the nominees put forward as an icon for a multicultural society. Indeed, the Times newspaper declared that ‘Beckham’s “bling-bling” jewellery, rap music collection and designer wardrobe helped to make him an icon to Britain’s black community and he polled more votes than a roll call of black sporting icons’.

We have requested that EMMA recognise that minority communities in Britain are generally likely to have a lower vote count than the wider community. To counter this they will need to implement a quota mechanism to ensure equal proportional representation is afforded all minority communities. The EMMA organisation maintain that they do not take a static approach to the awards process and that both negative and positive feedback will be used to direct next year’s event.

However, with Bobby Syed falling into that trap set by those who resent British minorities celebrating their culture by declaring that ‘We British cannot only have award winners based on the colour of their skin, otherwise we are guilty of racism’, it appears there is little hope for the ailing Award ceremony. Ironically, the same ‘uncritical integration’ agenda pushed on ethnic minorities is rarely extended to other institutions, not least awards such as the BAFTA’s and the British Press Awards.

Clearly, there is a need for a more representative award ceremony to be established that gives priority recognition to Britain’s ethnic minority communities. Bobby Syed has made it clear that EMMA has another agenda and that this award ceremony is no longer about celebrating ethnic minority communities and giving them the recognition they deserve.

Click here for a full list of winners.

A faceless entity: An ironic promotional poster for the EMMA’s

Following the recent Channel 4 ad featuring Sharon Osbourne hailing her desire ‘to have sex with a black man’, Channel 4 responded to a complainant with a disappointing and somewhat astounding reply.

Apparently, not only is it ok to be a ‘n***er’ on Channel 4 but according to, Channel 4 it is also acceptable to extol the ‘black man’s sexual prowess’. Channel 4 are pretty good at missing the mark and their latest move only adds to their distinguished track record as one of the most offensive British broadcasters.

As with many of the media institutions and regulators, Channel 4 use the demeaning excuse that the ‘overwhelming majority of our audience’ were not offended by the advertisement. Inevitably, ethnic minorities would not ever be the majority viewers for this item and this comments suggests that the views of African Britons will always be sidelined by Channel 4.

Channel 4 go on to admit that although Sharon Osbourne ‘does play on a stereotype, we do not believe that this stereotype is a negative one in the context’. Apparently Mrs Osbourne was trying to say that ‘that black men are more sensitive and satisfying lovers than their white counter-parts’. This only proves that the obsession with the sexual activities of African British men and women, part of the legacy of enslavement, is very much part of our reality. It is indicative of our position as an ethnic minority in the UK that an individual is permitted to air their racially informed sexist views of men and be supported by a British media institution.

Click here to read Channel 4's response

If you wish to complain to Channel 4 about their Faces of Four clip featuring Sharon Osbourne’s comments or any of their other programmes, you can contact Channel 4 viewer enquiries;

Email: viewerenquiries@channel4.co.uk
Tel: 020 7396 4444
Fax: 020 7306 8347
Adr: Viewer Enquries, Channel Four Television, 124 Horseferry Road, London SW1P 2TX

21 May 2004
Ligali meets with Choice FM

There have been several developments following the Capital Radio Group’s purchase of Choice FM. At a recent press launch for its Social Action programme former Choice FM Director, Patrick Berry, aggressively stated that Choice FM was a commercial entity that was never intended to be a community radio station. His comments sparked outrage with angry audience members rightly expressing their betrayal and dismay. Despite this declaration, the event was generally positive with the Choice Social Action team promising a commitment to community issues. They were also receptive to expanding the ‘Peace on the streets’ concept to different social action genres and promised to deliver sustained initiatives outside the narrow remit of gun crime. Choice also intends to develop a community advisory panel to help guide the station on its social and community initiatives.

Following our recent correspondence with Choice FM regarding its service provision to the African British community, Ligali met with the station’s Manager Director, Graham Bryce and Director of Communications, Jane Wilson. During the meeting, we addressed several issues and set some positive foundations for solutions.

The five main issues that were discussed are as follows;

Community debate and speech based programming

Choice FM does not currently intend to provide daytime speech programming outside the Angie Le Mar show on Saturday mornings. In this respect they have sought to maintain the status quo as existed under the previous management. Where they differ is in their desire to become a part of the community they serve. This approach to radio broadcasting is apparently company ethos for the Capital Radio Group and they hope that their commitment to providing extra resources to further develop the reach of the Social Action team is seen as an indicator of this.

Support for British artists

Choice FM does not believe in quota systems to support British artists. They do however acknowledge that their current output is predominantly African American pop music that is potentially stifling home grown talent. The Capital Radio Group has a successful initiative called XFM unsigned which was felt to be a suitable template from which to base a program focused on developing new African British talent. It was acknowledged that existing initiatives such as Choice FM’s own Rapology or the MOBOs unsung competitions are ineffective because they are not integrated into any long-term strategy for artist development. Choice is currently exploring the development of a more effective home-grown initiative.

Reduction of offensive and explicit programme content

This topic caused the most contention. While it was agreed that we all were against censorship, we could not reach consensus on the need for Choice to make what Graham Bryce described as ‘a difficult decision’ and impose tighter regulation for tracks with offensive themes or that were heavily edited to mask offensive content. As this is a priority concern for parents and listeners in our community, this is an issue we intend to vigorously pursue for a resolution.

Role and powers of Advisory body

The new advisory committee for Choice FM is currently restricted to reviewing its Social Action output. They will, therefore have no influence over playlists, programming policy or station direction. We agreed that a similar advisory mechanism that is inclusive of Choice FM listeners and Senior Management from Choice FM is needed to make up for this shortfall.

Feedback and complaints handling

Following previous complaints and our own experiences of Choice FM failure to respond to listener complaints and feedback, Choice FM has guaranteed us that the new systems they have in place for processing complaints will supersede the previous mechanisms. All queries will be responded to and all feedback considered.

20 May 2004
Ofcom: Reclaiming n***er

Ofcom, the communications regulator, have authorised the use of 'n***er' on several different occasions. Surely this only serves to fuel the ignorance of the likes of Hill and Atkinson who see the word as ‘harmless’?

Click here to read Ofcom's response regarding unedited usage by Channel 4

Click here to read Ofcom's response regarding usage by Choice FM at a time when children were likely to be listening.

Click here to read Ofcom's response ragarding excessive masked usage by Choice FM

Pain: Valley Fontaine

15 May 2004
The Pain of Valley Fontaine

On 11 March 2004, BBC Presenter Valley Fontaine called Ligali to complain about a post made by a member of the public on our public forums. Screaming and ranting she accused us of being guilty of libel and insisted we delete a thread from our forums. Having not seen the entry it was explained that we had no idea to which thread she referred and while we will enforce our forum guidelines about content we do not condone censorship. We also explained that we cannot delete entire threads because of a single comment, nor can we police our entire forums 24/7. Throughout the conversation, we repeatedly advised Valley to send us a letter or email of complaint outlining the offensive comments but she declined and continued to threaten legal action.

According to Valley, we had orchestrated the thread on which the apparently ‘libeous’ post appeared in tandem with our campaign to bring back Henry Bonsu to his successful Sunday night show. When we explained that our campaign for Henry Bonsu was in support of African British journalists she went onto insist that we were not in any way supporting her. Ms Fontaine eventually hung up the phone.

So what was it that was so offensive, so slanderous that poor Valley would feel the need to take this mode of action? Well, one forum poster stated that they felt that there was not enough loyalty amongst the BBC radio presenters and that Valley was akin to a glorified agony aunt.

We initially decided to save her the embarrassment of exposing her dramatic theatrics and did not share details of the incident to our community or the BBC. However, in an interview with Emmy Perry from Pride magazine several months later, Emmy noted the work of Ligali as being important in raising awareness about certain issues. Valley, still bitter about our refusal not to react to her ‘jump’ instructions, then attempted to attack our credibility and reputation with a few malicious slurs. We subsequently complained to the BBC.

David Robey, Managing Editor of BBC London defended her stating that her statements were ‘general comments about smaller organisations such as [Ligali]’. In a recent letter to us, the BBC stated that they to do not employ ‘activist broadcaster[s]’ (a phrase Henry Bonsu used to describe himself) yet they apparently appear to condone their members of staff issuing unfounded attacks on community organisations and making threatening and abusive phonecalls.

We ask you to take a listen to the audio and tell us what you think.

Incidentally, we are still awaiting the letter from Ms Fontaine’s lawyers which were assured would be forthcoming.

It started off as an urban myth that slowly gained pace. But rumours were finally confirmed when we saw for ourselves one of the only positive representations on television of African British people in love with each other. So moved were we by the current BBC ident advertising their Summer of Opera season that we wrote to the BBC to congratulate them on finally getting something right. Credit is definitely due to the creators and producers of this rare but noteworthy piece.

The ident features a young couple who are handed their newly born baby in a hospital. One comment we received was that the scene was ‘refreshing and beautiful’. Not only were the couple of African descent but all the background artists, in the form of nurses and doctors were also of African decent.

Clockwise from top left;
David Mansfield, Capital Radio Group, Chief Executive
Graham Bryce, Choice Managing Director
Neil Kenlock, Choice Founder
Patrick Berry, Choice Founder

19 April 2004
Capital Choice Response to Choice FM Concerns

Click here to read our letter to the Capital Radio Group, Chief Executive David Mansfield (11 March 2004).

Choice FM's new Managing Director, Graham Bryce, has responded with an equally in-depth and detailed letter. It is worth noting that they too lobbied the BBC for 1Xtra to be a speech-led radio station serving the African British commuity. Unfortunately, whilst they acknowledged most of our constructive criticism they failed to agree with us on any of our suggested solutions for potential ways forward.

Click here to read the full Capital Choice reponse (16 April 2004).

13 April 2004
Ofcom consultation for community radio licenses

Ofcom are currently in the process of finalising its consultation on community based radio licenses. Ligali, in unison with several individuals and organisations, has collated its responses to the questions asked. We believe our collective response encapsulates the best way forward for Ofcom to empower groups to establish effective, not for profit community radio stations, providing essential services not served by the commercial sector.

Click here to visit the easy to use Ligali Ofcom consultation form.

Please note that the deadline for feedback is Tuesday 20th April.

There has been much talk about the need for an independent, high quality African British speech based radio station.

We intend to work with several organisations to submit a single collective application for a community radio license in order to strengthen our chances and pool resources and skills from a variety of sources. To register your interest in becoming part of this process, please complete the form below;