BAME

The TV Collective coaches, champions and connects BAME workers with each other and to paid opportunities.

The sessions will help to specifically address the challenges BAME professionals face and will be a mix of free live talks and Q&A’s led by industry experts across TV, digital media and the creative industries.

Each session will allow attendees to discuss and collaborate and receive career advice, while exploring the new business models and ways of working adopted by the industry.

It is the best of times: the television business is booming. It is the worst of times: there is a skill shortage, so wage costs are soaring. Yet shouldn’t that make it the best of times again? Won’t television be forced to find and train a new generation of programme-makers who won’t all be white and middle class? This, I tell Seetha Kumar, the ambitious chief executive of ScreenSkills, is a battle she can win.

Following his speech, in a Q&A with diversity campaigner and advertising executive Karen Blackett, Lenny Henry described the pace of change in the hiring of women and disabled and ethnic-minority people behind the screen as “glacial”. His point was reinforced by the findings of Ofcom’s latest diversity report, discussed in earlier Cambridge sessions.

Among the solutions suggested at the event were better recruitment practices, removing barriers and on-the-job mentoring.

This was the second in a series of regional discussions held by the Creative Diversity Network and the RTS. The first was held in Cardiff in June. 

The new initiative is part of the commitment made by channel 5 to create mainstream programmes that accurately reflect contemporary Britain.

The TV Collective was founded ten years ago by Simone Pennant and promotes the commercial and creative value that having diversity can bring to British film and TV studios.

Channel 5 are looking for nine small or medium size BAME companies, primarily based in the regions, who are owned and managed by BAME talent.

Areas for consideration include casting diverse contributors (with a particular focus on disabled and BAME contributors), appropriate use of language and reflecting the whole of Wales.

This is an opportunity for everyone to share their own experiences and open up the discussion on the challenges and choices around representation.

The free-of-charge event will be held at Chapter Arts Centre, Cardiff on June 6th.

Speaking at an event at the Houses of Parliament earlier this week, RTS Fellow Lenny Henry criticised new Ofcom diversity targets which only focus on those in-front of the camera, saying that it would promote “fake diversity”.

In the speech, attended by members of parliament, the public and representatives of the broadcast industry, he argued that the regulator should also require the BBC to report on the number of BAME staff working behind the scenes.

The organisation, which sets out to “change the face of media” has made a major impact on the creative industries in the UK since its launch in 2012.

CEO for Creative Access, Josie Dobrin explained the need for the programme, saying “The economic rationale for Creative Access is clear: our sector needs to diversify in order to continue to grow and succeed in serving new markets and new audiences.”

Creative Access has placed 700 young BAME candidates in six-month or year-long internships in over 260 different companies including BBC, ITV and Twitter.