03/02/2012 Newswatch

young people and older women feel about the way they're represented

Welcome to Newswatch. Later in the programme, why are young people in

television so often portrayed like this? Older people like this? First,

it's been the week when two British bank verse been given a kicking. It

started on Sunday night. Good evening. Within the last few

minutes the BBC has learnt that the Chief Executive of the Royal Bank

of Scotland Stephen Hester has decided not to take his bonus.

Michael Brooks took exception to I wish to express my alarm in the

way the BBC has handled Stephen Hester and his bonus for Royal Bank

of Scotland. Almost all bonuss are performance related. Know the

bonuses were set up and established under a contract drawn up by Labour.

It's high time the BBC gave a balanced view and pulled in

powerful well-known business men to make their observe certificate

vaitions on the true value of bonuses for bankers. By Tuesday the

news had moved on to another hate figure. Arise plain old Fred

Goodwin. Sir Fred Goodwin no longer. The man who sank a bank, the former

Chief Executive of RBS, the Royal Bank of Scotland has been stripped

of his knighthood. MF woods sent us Also making the news this week was

the drop in applications for university, reported on Monday.

Today at 5.00pm a steep fall in the number of students applying for

university places. Applications have fallen by 10% in England where

higher tuition fees are being introduced this year. Did that

steep fall of 10% in England tell the whole story? No, as became

apparent a few minutes later when Reeta Chakrabarti explained to Huw

Edwards that much of the drop related to mature students. School

levers, that figure hasz held up relatively well. It's a drop of

about 3.6%, Ministers say this year, last year and this year, we are in

a demographic dip for 18-year-olds. There are fewer of them. If you

take that into account, the dip in England is more like 1%. A stark

contrast to the overall figure we were reporting at the start. It is

indeed. There was another factor not mepbgts mentioned in headlines

that day -- mentioned in headlines Now, are you happy with the

representation of your particular age group on television? If you are

a young person or an older woman the chances are that you are not.

Many feel TV negatively stereotypes the former and under represents the

former. Mitt 40% of younger people said they were dissatisfied with

how they were portrayed with most of the courage seen as unduly

representative. That was the objection made by Jonny Masters. He

Stereo typing is the complaint highlighted from older people in

the report which echoes the views A similar point was made by John

Batten about this piece broadcast on the news at 1.00pm. Many baby

boomers also enjoy a drink. Now doctors say they need to cut back.

You supported the report on alcohol for the over 65's by footage of a

row of while haired dodders swaying Hanging over this week's survey is

the name of Miriam O'Reilly who a year ago won an age discrimination

case against the BBC. Was this a symbol of a wider under

representation of older women on television? Yes, according to Sally

We asked the BBC for someone to discuss these issues this week.

They refused. Pointing us towards a statement about this week's report

from the BBC's director-general Joining me to discuss that is Lis

Howell, former television journalist and executive and now

director of broadcasting at London's City University. First of

all, you teach young people. What do they think about how they are

portrayed on television, is this report right? One could argue that

television is seen through the prism of the white, older man. The

white older man who tends to call the tune. I would stay that that is

certainly the way that the students tend to view it. To feel quite

angry about it. There are two other factors. The first, is a lot of

young people do not watch a great deal of television. They don't

participate in it in the same way that older people do. Intelligence

trying to attract younger people shouldn't they be careful about how

they are portrayed? That is true. They are trying to attract younger

people but not news in the news and current affair arena. Writing to

picture is something we are teaching them all the time. The

sort of images are used of the sort that can be called up from the

archive and used again and again. The sloppy use of pictures is

definitely contributing to this stereotyping. Zimmer frames were a

wonderful invention for those who need them. Is that a stereo typical

image that you use for almost everybody over the age of 65?

Absolutely. It's easy again. Writing to picture is a complicated

skill. It's easy to do with the simple stereotype pictures you can

access. It has to be re-thought. It would be better in television if

you didn't use a picture every time had you to use words. They don't

have to go together. What about onscreen talent? Older women are

they still under represented on news and current affairs? Very much

so. We did some research that was just to see how many women were

used on television or were on television. What we found was that

female experts are very much in the minority. Would you argue,

therefore, that there should be an effort made almost positive

discrimination to get greater balance or not? As soon as you say

positive discrimination people get angry and upset. It's not an

attractive route. There is a two step programme to improving the

situation if people think it needs to be improved. The first, is

obviously, broadcasters need to think about who they are bringing

in. There is some evidence that broadcasters do try to bring women

in. That women themselves don't want to do it, for all sorts of

complicated reasons. Firstly, I think women themselves have to take

a greater participate ri role in this. Companies that put forward

women spokesmen have to think twice and women in companies have to go

to their head of press or or whatever and say, hang on a minute,

you put up a spokesman, what about me, that is embarrassing and

difficult. A year since the Miriam O'Reilly age discrimination case,

has anything changed? Absolutely. It's changing. You can feel the

ground swell. I'm here talking about this. There is an

organisation called Sound Women campaigning for more women on radio.

It is changing. Everybody has to be part of this campaign. Women and

companies as well as producers and broadcasters. Thank you very much.

Finally, it's been cold this week, hasn't it? Viewers of Breakfast on

Wednesday morning were made well aware of it. It's chilly weather on

the way. Carol is on the Cotswolds for us. It's minus two here. What

was Carol Kirkwood doing in the Cotswolds, that is what Richard

Howard wanted to know. I'm not a grumpy old man. I paid my licence

fee, it staggers me that BBC Breakfast is sending Carol Kirkwood

to the Cotswolds to give a weather report. This happens on a weekly

basis. When the BBC are claiming they are short of money, I find

this such a waste. Well, we asked Breakfast for an explanation. They

Whatever the weather, we would like to hear your opinion on BBC News