The future is bright for BBC Wales

[Harold Schiffman]

The future is bright for BBC Wales
Dec 10 2007 by David Williamson, Western Mail

BBC Wales Controller Menna Richards is determined the broadcaster will
be as strong a defining cultural force in the 21st century as it has
been in the past. She tells David Williamson why she believes BBC
values are unique in a multi-channel world BBC Wales Controller Menna
Richards is determined the broadcaster will be as strong a defining
cultural force in the 21st century as it has been in the past. She
tells David Williamson why she believes BBC values are unique in a
multi-channel world SINCE devolution began, commentators have warned
that for the Assembly Government to be held to account, the electorate
must understand the sheer scale of powers which have been transferred
from Westminster to Cardiff Bay. They have complained that anyone who
only watches the main evening news programmes would have no idea that
politicians in the Senedd are now responsible for health and
education.

While the fate of Shambo the Bull received global news coverage during
the summer, many AMs complained the coalition negotiations received
scant national reporting. Menna Richards, Controller of BBC Wales,
admits she "bristles" when she hears a broadcaster refer to a policy
in England as if it will affect the entirety of the UK. She said,
"There are clearly issues around how network news reports on the
devolved nations, both Wales and Scotland. The BBC Trust has set up a
review ... So clearly there is concern within the BBC.

"I think devolution means everybody in broadcasting has to think
differently about how stories are covered. If you are dealing with a
health or education story and you are based in London you need to
think, 'Does this apply in Wales and Scotland?'"

Immediate challenges to the BBC will come in the form of 1,800
redundancies across the corporation as the broadcaster adapts to a
smaller funding settlement than it had hoped for.

And Wales will also see the loss of BBC2W when analogue television
comes to an end – a matter she puts down to a "technical decision"
about the lack of digital bandwidth.

But she insisted, "There will still be a distinctly Welsh BBC2 with a
huge amount of English-language television programmes produced by BBC
Wales for Welsh audiences."

Politicians will watch closely for any sign that English-language
programming is shrinking.

She remains stridently optimistic about the corporation's future in
Wales. A particular goal is to increase the share of UK-wide
programmes it produces.

"The success of things like Doctor Who, Torchwood, The Sarah Jane
Adventures, Tribe, Kew Gardens – all those very successful series on
BBC1 and BBC2 – I believe BBC Wales is very well placed to attract
even more network production to Wales," she said.

The presence of such productions has helped create a "reservoir of talent".

"One of the great things about Doctor Who – and this is one of the
things Russell T Davies [the show's Swansea-born writer] was very,
very committed to – was the idea of developing local talent," she
said.

"So writers, directors, behind-the-screen production staff, even
people you see on screen, are local people."

The goal now is to create distinctly Welsh dramas which will appeal
beyond local programming.

She enthused, "Something like Torchwood, which is very specifically
based in Cardiff, does a great deal to create an impression of what
Cardiff is like. One of our ambitions is to develop more and more
drama which is based in Wales.

"There are a number of series in development and we hope they'll be
commissioned."

Staff at the BBC have been sent on courses to underscore the
importance of the relationship of trust which should exist between the
broadcaster and the viewer. This is in response to the series of
scandals about faked competition-winners and phone-ins.

Ms Richards does not expect people to differentiate between BBC Wales
and the broader network when expressing shock.

She said, "The idea the BBC let people down is shared widely across
the whole UK."

The shockwaves this sent through the corporation are similar to the
trauma brought about by the Hutton Inquiry in 2004. When it ruled that
the Government had not "sexed up" a dossier about Iraq's supposed
weapons of mass destruction, director general Greg Dyke and the
chairman were forced to resign.

She said, "I think people were very nervous [and] sensitive to
criticism. I think the BBC was rocked by all of that."

But she is adamant that investigative reporting is not cowed, and
defends the poaching of ITV Wales news anchor Lucy Owen.

She said, "I think Lucy wasn't dragged kicking and screaming. I think
she voluntarily came to work for the BBC and I'm delighted she did."

The traditional BBC values of entertaining, informing and educating
are alive in the multimedia age, she insists, pointing to the success
of the reality series Coal House, which transported modern-day
families back to life in 1927.

Such programmes are proof, she argues, that people will continue to
pay the licence fee without protest.

She said, "Who else is going to do Coal House? Who else is going to do
Planet Earth?"

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