Television and Ethnic Minorities

Television and Ethnic Minorities: Producers' Perspectives critically examines the professional thinking and practices of television producers making ethnic minority programmes in a period of unprecedented change. The study elicits rare insights from BBC producers into the normally closed world of Britain's public service broadcaster and discusses its multicultural programme-making environment. Critical commentary from both commercial and community-based independents helps illustrate...
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Television and Ethnic Minorities: Producers' Perspectives critically examines the professional thinking and practices of television producers making ethnic minority programmes in a period of unprecedented change. The study elicits rare insights from BBC producers into the normally closed world of Britain's public service broadcaster and discusses its multicultural programme-making environment. Critical commentary from both commercial and community-based independents helps illustrate the difficulties and dilemmas confronted by producers when seeking commissions from Britain' major broadcasters. Also a study by Patrick Ismond of two cable TV operators - AsiaNet and Identity TV - narrowcasting to Asian and African-Caribbean audiences, documents how the hopes placed in new communication technologies for enhanced ethnic minority participation and representation are currently being undermined. Together, these three studies of public-service, independent and cable TV producers document the complex of forces surrounding programme makers and production and how these constrain and shape ethnic minority programmes and their representation.The study is indispensable reading for all students interested in the mass media, ethnicity and 'race', as well as those working in the media industries and 'race' related fields.