discrimination

Ofcom report reveals changing attitude to racist language

Ofcom's Sharon White at the RTS Cambridge Convention 2015 (Credit: Paul Hampartsoumian)

The research found that viewers and listeners are now less tolerant of racist or discriminatory language, but generally more tolerant about other offensive language, such as swear words, than they were in the last study in 2010.

Ofcom found that the context of the language used is crucial. Viewers or listeners are more likely to tolerate bad language if it “reflects what they would expect to see in ‘real world’ situations.”

Diversity: job done? Don’t get me started...

All TV industry watchers know that, thanks largely to Lenny Henry, diversity remains high on television’s agenda. In the past year or so, the BBC, Channel 4 and Sky have each made big announcements, pledging to improve their on-screen representation of minorities and to do more to nurture and encourage multi-ethnic and diverse workforces.

But has genuine change finally kicked in? That was the question that Sky News reporter Afua Hirsch wanted answering as she chaired a packed and often emotional RTS event provocatively entitled "Diversity: job done?".