Reposted from Broadcast
The Creative Diversity Network (CDN) is on the brink of unveiling a monitoring service that will assess how the major broadcasters’ are performing against their diversity targets – and compared with each other – for the first time. The aim is that the initiative will become a permanent benchmark to track the industry’s successes and failures, holding its key players to account. A pilot is set to launch in spring featuring the BBC, ITV, Sky and Channel 4. However, it is not clear how much of the data will be shared publicly.
Metadata system Silvermouse will be used to monitor workforces and on-screen representation in five key areas: ethnicity, disability, gender, age and sexuality. Broadcasters currently monitor diversity stats independently, but representatives on the CDN chief executive group have agreed to produce a standardised set of fi gures on a quarterly basis. The pilot has been signed off at CDN board level, but the final costs for the initiative will not be revealed until the end of February.
The creative industries are facing greater political pressure to get their house in order on diversity issues after culture minister Ed Vaizey held a roundtable with key figures to discuss the steep decline in BAME representation, as reported by Creative Skillset. Broadcast attended the House of Commons event alongside 40 leaders in TV, film and theatre, including BBC director of television Danny Cohen, Sky managing director of content Sophie Turner Laing and senior execs from Directors UK, the BFI and Pact. The consensus was that diversity monitoring is irregular, in effective and lacks accountability. Vaizey said he welcomed the CDN initiative and that there was “an accountability role for government to play”.
The CDN has also restructured with the launch of three working groups in news, commissioning and production. The groups will be headed by ITV director of news and current affairs Michael Jermey, BBC head of religion and ethics Aaqil Ahmed and Pact chief executive John McVay respectively. The plan is for programme-makers rather than diversity execs to set priorities. ITV chief executive Adam Crozier said: “Getting senior people around the table who have the authority to make change happen is an important step forward.”
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