News story about criticisms made by 'BBC Radio Two' presenter Jonathan Ross in his show of the BBC for employing few staff from ethnic minorities in radio production jobs, written by Grant Goddard in March 2007 for The Radio Magazine.

1. NEWS: 'BBC RADIO TWO'
PRESENTER ROSS CRITICISES
BBC ON-AIR FOR EMPLOYING
FEW STAFF FROM ETHNIC
MINORITIES IN PRODUCTION
by
GRANT GODDARD
www.grantgoddard.co.uk
March 2007

2. News: 'BBC Radio Two' Presenter Ross Criticises BBC On-Air For Employing Few Staff From Ethnic Minorities In
Production page 2
©2007 Grant Goddard
'BBC Radio Two' presenter Jonathan Ross used his show last Saturday to ask
publicly why the BBC does not employ more people from ethnic minorities in
programme production.
After describing a visit he had made to Chris Moyles’ 'BBC Radio One'
breakfast show, Ross asked: “How many black people have they got working
on proper shows there? You know the BBC still haven't really come up to
speed. I mean they are trying, God bless them. Most of the guys you see there
are either working on the door, carrying a cloth in there and cleaning up. We
haven't really made the effort yet.”
Asked to respond to Ross’ comments, a BBC spokesman said: "The BBC is
committed to ensuring that the organisation has a mixed and diverse work
force to guarantee a good understanding of the whole BBC audience. BBC
employment targets to be met by December 2007 are: 12.5% ethnic minority
employees in the workforce, and 7% of senior managers. Mr Ross was
expressing his own personal views and we don't want to comment further."
Ivor Etienne, managing director of London’s 'Choice FM', had worked at Radio
One in the late 1980s, firstly as a studio manager and then as a producer.
Asked about his experiences, he commented: “When I joined the BBC, there
wasn’t any black producers at Radio One.” Asked how that made him feel,
Etienne responded: “Disappointed. Some of the music that was coming
through at the time at Radio One was R&B, was hip-hop. It was music that you
felt that, if it had more representation, would be spread to a wider audience.
Obviously, Radio One has improved during those [intervening] years but, at
the time, you had various people picking the music and they weren’t quite sure
what that music was about.”
Asked what action should be taken, Etienne said: “It’s the companies, whether
they be the BBC or commercial radio, making sure that they have the right
representatives and representation within their organisation. And I think that, if
they are representing London, for example, and the cultural mix that you get
within London, then surely you should have that mix within your employee
base.”
Former 'LBC' presenter Krishnan Guru-Murthy commented: "Significant efforts
have been made over the last few years, but it is still not enough. The media is
infinitely different to how it was 18 years ago, when I started, but there is still a
huge problem. The senior management level is overwhelmingly white, and a
few high profile black faces smattered around doesn't really address that."
A spokesperson for Trevor Phillips, head of the Commission for Equality &
Human Rights, said: "These are interesting comments that Jonathan [Ross]
has made, but it is not a new subject for us. Trevor has been saying for some
time that he wants a better reflection of ethnic minorities in the industry and at
the BBC. They are in danger of not reflecting British society."

3. News: 'BBC Radio Two' Presenter Ross Criticises BBC On-Air For Employing Few Staff From Ethnic Minorities In
Production page 3
©2007 Grant Goddard
[First published in 'The Radio Magazine' as 'Ross Questions BBC Over Minorities', #778, 7 March 2007]
Grant Goddard is a media analyst / radio specialist / radio consultant with thirty years of
experience in the broadcasting industry, having held senior management and consultancy
roles within the commercial media sector in the United Kingdom, Europe and Asia. Details at
http://www.grantgoddard.co.uk