Category: BBC
Date: 09.05.2005
Printable version
The BBC Board of Governors today released details of a seminar it is holding on Friday 13 May to examine the BBC's religious programming.
Governors will be joined at the seminar, entitled Taking Belief Seriously, by the Director-General and senior executive and editorial staff; the Central Religious Advisory Council; and a panel of invited experts.
The expert panel has been chosen to reflect a wide range of voices, ensuring diversity of opinion and a broad range of views.
Speakers include Karen Armstrong, author of A History of God and The Holy War; Professor Ian Linden of the School of Oriental and African Studies; Inayat Bunglawala of the Muslim Council; Dr Tristram Hunt, historian, author and broadcaster; Armando Iannucci, writer and broadcaster; and Omid Djalili, actor and comedian.
Chaired by Dr Colin Morris, former BBC Head of Religious Broadcasting and Controller of BBC Northern Ireland, the seminar will explore how the BBC can create more compelling, popular programmes which reflect this aspect of our audiences' lives.
It will focus on four key questions:
does belief really matter to our listeners and viewers;
how complete a picture can BBC News deliver;
could belief join History in the broadcasting mainstream;
drama and comedy: untapped potential?
As background to the seminar the Governors have published two reports they commissioned to assess the BBC's performance in this area.
The reports examined the impartiality of BBC religious output and the performance of the BBC's religious strategy for television.
