RTS in partnership with the Creative Diversity Network (CDN) has held events at other RTS Centre's around the UK, hosting it's fourth and final event in Glasgow.
The events aim to create a safe and open space for discussion, where the TV production community can come together and help tackle the lack of diversity within the industry.
It is always a pleasure to start the working week in your PJs and know that you can stay in them for most of the day, having meetings without anyone knowing or caring.
It is one of the rare weeks when I will spend the majority of it out of London. I am going to Manchester to attend an awards ceremony where I have been nominated for an Inclusive Companies award.
The series of events, which are taking place at RTS centres across the UK, are an attempt to find regional solutions to the lack of diversity in the television industry.
Representatives from a range of independent production companies and post-production facilities discussed diversity in the West of England production community.
The discussion was led by the facilitator, performance poet and film-maker Alison Smith, the access and engagement coordinator of the Scottish Queer International Film Festival. She focused on how best to hire and retain diverse talent.
This will be a safe facilitated space to ask the questions we might be nervous to ask and raise any of the concerns and questions we are all currently facing. It is a chance to enquire about the things we fear may be inappropriate and work out how we can improve and what we can put in place to ensure progress.
Things we will be considering include:
– How you can spread the net wide during recruitment
– Dos and Don’ts on set
– What is talent
– Language and terminology
– Culture and behaviour.
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 first event – “The network speaks: beyond tokenism” – took place in Cardiff in early June to a full house of programme-makers from Wales’ unscripted production community, who took part in an in-depth conversation about diversity and representation on-screen.
The series of discussions aims to take the conversation about disability out of London and change how the industry works for everyone. It will focus on local issues and solutions, generated through intimate, accessible and open discussions.
Broadcasters and presenters can submit entries through the Creative Diversity Network Awards website.
The CDN Awards are designed to celebrate diversity and acknowledge outstanding work both on and off-screen.
The awards provide a great opportunity to highlight some of the most creative, diverse programming on air over the last two years and showcase exciting breakthrough talent or initiatives.
The deadline for entries is Friday 10th March.
The Creative Diversity Network (CDN) has announced the launch of Diamond, a world-leading monitoring system designed to promote diversity in TV.
Diamond marks the first time accurate, industry-wide data has been gathered to monitor diversity, both on- and off-screen.
CDN’s Executive Director Amanda Ariss told the RTS that “Diversity has been an issue... for a while. We know that there is still a lot to do. […] It’s a real first that organisations who are main competitors [in television] have agreed to monitor diversity on a consistent basis and to publish the results.
Start the week reviewing Sugar Films’ cash flow and trying to get my head around a new accounting software system. Any of my former CFOs will know that I wasn’t put on planet Earth to do this, but I plough on gamely.
One of the things I discover is that the BBC pitch system doesn’t tell you when a commissioner has been made redundant. So an idea that I thought must be getting lots of consideration has actually been languishing, lonely and unread, in a dead Dropbox on the BBC server. Note to self – don’t take it personally.
The cohort all have a rich background in the media. They include former CBBC presenter Marvyn Benoit who is now at Sky factual and Ninder Billing who is working in factual at Channel 5. Billing was previously an Executive Producer for a CBBC programme, which has recently been nominated for an RTS award.
