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BBC seeks fresh influx of regional talent

Click here to view the job advertisement for the BBC Journalism Talent Pool

Click here to view the job advertisement for the BBC Journalism
Trainee Scheme


Journalists across the country are being invited to apply to join a new BBC “talent pool” in a bid to improve diversity in its newsrooms.

The corporation wants to see people from a wider range of social and ethnic backgrounds in on-screen roles.

Now it plans to seek working journalists who would like to be considered for future vacancies in Wales, Yorkshire, East Midlands or London.

Paul Deal, a former editor of the Bath Chronicle, has moved from being a senior journalist in the BBC’s radio newsroom to the BBC College of Journalism to manage the talent pool.

Said Paul: “We hope that, through their social or ethnic background, or perhaps through their insights into disability, the people who pass our assessment process will help us to reach out to our many and varied audiences.

“As someone who grew up in London’s Docklands and left school at 17, I’m really fired up about the need for the BBC to be able to connect with all manner of viewers, listeners and web users.

“The idea is that when vacancies for broadcast journalists crop up in the pilot areas, the people in our pool would compete with candidates who might have applied directly. It would be down to individual editors to choose the strongest candidate although, in line with existing agreements, BBC employees at risk of redundancy would be given priority consideration.

“There would be support and encouragement for journalists in the pool with expert advice on how to give a good account of yourself at a BBC interview. External people would have access to College of Journalism courses and seminars.”

One of those profiled on the Journalism Talent Pool website is Satwant Pandher, left, who spent two-and-a-half years on local papers before switching to commercial radio and then the BBC.

She’s now a producer on the BBC News Channel. Satwant’s story is designed to encourage journalists from an ethnic minority background to be reassured that they would feel at home in the BBC.

Said Satwant: “I don’t think I would have gained such a range of skills unless I had been working at the BBC. It’s a very relaxed and diverse environment with people from all walks of life.

“I think the perception is that there are not a lot of people from non-white backgrounds. But that’s not the case. Everybody is treated as an equal and, best of all, every day is different.”

Deputy director general Mark Byford said: “Improving our ethnic diversity is a key priority, but we are also keenly aware of the importance of diversity in terms of gender, age, disability and social background.

“I hope this new project is going to attract fresh and exciting talent to strengthen our news teams in Wales, Yorkshire, East Midlands and London.”

Anyone interested should visit www.bbc.co.uk/jobs/jtp where they will find full details, an application form and case studies.

The Journalism Talent Pool is a sister project to the Journalism Trainee Scheme which is also being advertised this week. More details can be found at: www.bbc.co.uk/jts

Comments

Chris (22/09/2008 16:44:35)
Why is it that the BBC have this obsession with diversity just for the sake of it….?That is all we hear from the BBC these days….

Vivienne DuBourdieu (22/09/2008 17:59:14)
This sounds a potentially commendable initiative but does the ‘diversity’ include a variety of age groups as well as ‘social or ethnic background?’ And what does the latter mean, anyhow? Unravelled time travellers, people who cannot speak English, and all skin colours except white, perhaps? Yours, Vivienne DuBourdieu, MCIJ
22/09/2008

Rob Barker (22/09/2008 20:16:46)
“Now it plans to seek working journalists who would like to be considered for future vacancies in Wales, Yorkshire, East Midlands or London.” That’s great for people living in those areas but what about the northeast, and north west for that matter, opportunities are few and far between anywhere north of yorkshire.

Paul Deal (25/09/2008 11:12:04)
Interested to read the feedback.
Chris: We’re not obsessed with diversity. We are simply trying to reflect the interests and backgrounds of our audiences throughout the UK.
Vivienne: In line with legislation we don’t know the age of our applicants. We seek to choose the best people for the job. We recognise the value of having journalists who understand the audiences we serve. The UK has an ageing population and we welcome applications from older journalists. I am quite sure that many of our applicants will turn out to have white skin.
Rob: This is a pilot project. We will learn the lessons from the pilot and then hope to extend the scheme during 2009.

Thomas Miskell (29/09/2008 00:17:52)
I believe that this could potentially be a good idea. I do find it rather odd how there are many different coloured people on the BBC but they all sound Oxford educated and look like they have been hired purely to tick diversity boxes. At the same time I do like the fact that BBC presenters sound so posh, its very nostalgic. I won’t be applying for this job though as I’m a white male with a northern accent so probably won’t have much look. haha
God luck anyhow I know your doing it for the right reasons!

Paul Deal (22/10/2008 10:49:33)
Thanks to Thomas for his feedback. Please be assured that the BBC does not hire people in order to tick boxes. We are seeking people from a wide range of backgrounds, from across the UK, to help us to do a better job of reflecting – and connecting with – our various audiences. We’ve got presenters who sound posh and presenters and reporters who don’t sound posh. I’m sorry that Thomas has decided not to apply. Hopefully he’ll have a go when we advertise again in 2009.