Thursday, February 09, 2006

I'm sorry that news about Newsround is painfully slow at the moment. But there may be finally a glimmer of hope because Mr Husbands replied to my questions yesterday, and the reply was not completely supportive of Ian Prince, as was his previous reply.

The really big questions still to be answered are about "editorial judgement": Can an editor disregard diversity, and are there any checks if this bias continues to happen?

Events towards the end of 2005 included the "Stamp out homophobia in schools" petition, the start of Civil Partnerships and the partnership ceremony for Elton John & David Furnish. None of these events were reported on Newsround, and those events were just the latest in a long line which have been excluded after "editorial judgement" decisions. So how are these judgements made and are all the BBC's viewers being given fair treatment, and if we aren't what can we do about it?

The BBC says it's committed to reflecting the diversity of the UK and to making its services accessible to all. This, they say, applies both to the output - TV, radio and online - and the workforce, aiming to be inclusive of those groups who are often under-represented - older people, women, disabled people, people from ethnic minorities, those of all faiths and social classes, lesbians and gay men.

When she was appointed BBC's Head of Diversity, Andrea Callender said: "I am excited about the prospect of working with the BBC to make it a more diverse place, and am looking forward to engaging with production teams to build on the progress made on air."

So we'll just have to wait for a bit longer to see if they'll keep to these promises, and will follow a modern diversity agenda.

Meanwhile the Newsround online heterosexist Celeb Gossip daily updates go on unabated:

Thursday February 09 2006 10:57 GMT

Shakira's secret dates
Is Shakira secretly dating Robbie Williams? The two recently turned up to a James Blunt gig together and are said to have been spending lots of time together recently... watch this space!!


Or why not play the heterosexist "Match the couples in Celebrity Pairs" game?

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