At the Sandford St Martin Trust, we believe the media has an increasingly important role to play in representing the diversity and plurality of our communities, contributing to a better public understanding of religions and how they shape human experience. But, with Charter Review underway, we want to hear your thoughts about the BBC and how it can best serve audiences in the years ahead.
What do you think?
How do you feel about the BBC’s coverage of religion?
What do you love?
What could they do better?
When it comes to issues around faith or belief, do you trust the BBC?
Use the comment box below or email info@sandfordawards.org.uk to share your views before 17th August and we’ll pass them on to the relevant members of government who are overseeing Charter review.
A Question of Trust
The BBC is a public service broadcaster with an obligation to provide content that reflects the lives and concerns of communities across the UK. A excellent example of this type of programming is Pilgrimage, the Sandford St Martin 2026 Special Award winner. But with Charter renewal due, digital disruption causing chaos and the licence fee called into question, the BBC is at a crossroads. Which way should it go? And what place should there be for religion and belief in its future?
The first question is one the Radio Times recently asked its readers. In his summary of what Radio Times readers had to say, Tom Loxley, Sandford St Martin Trustee and the RT’s Brand Director wrote:
“A digital revolution is rapidly transforming the television and radio landscape, and out of this flux new challenges constantly emerge. Earlier this year the UK’s official ratings body, Barb, revealed that YouTube had overtaken the Corporation in audience reach for the first time. That’s momentous news if the BBC wishes to remain a national broadcaster that caters to all of Britain.
“Moreover, it must do so in a country where political opinion is deeply polarised. Each passing week sees a new row about impartiality, threatening the BBC’s long-standing reputation as a trusted voice at the heart of the national conversation.
“On top of all that, the licence fee is under threat. A new Charter that settles future funding is being negotiated with the Department for Culture, Media and Sport and is due to be delivered by the Government next year. The fee that has funded the BBC for more than a century is increasingly seen as outmoded in an age of subscription TV. And it certainly struggles to cover the costs of the BBC – consequently, the Corporation is currently looking to make £500 million of savings over the next two years in order to make ends meet. When he began work last month, the new director-general, Matt Brittin, had barely put his feet under his desk before announcing that the BBC faced ‘tough choices’.
“But what should those choices be?”
Don’t forget to send us your views by emailing your answers the questions at the top of this post to info@sandfordawards.org.uk before 17th August.
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