A Church of England Bishop has called for the BBC to appoint a Religion Editor to be a ‘trusted guide’ for its internal and external stakeholders.
The Rt Revd Nigel McCulloch, Bishop of Manchester and the Church of England’s lead spokesman on communications, made the call in the church’s submission to the BBC Trust’s ongoing review of BBC Radio 3, BBC Radio 4 and BBC Radio 7.
Rt Rev McCulloch submitted a report saying that those BBC stations had exceeded their religious programming quotas:
‘This voluntary decision by the BBC based on the popularity of religious programmes might be noted by some of the commercial public service broadcasters, who are scaling back their commitment to such output.’
In his submission, the Rt Rev McCulloch praised the existing religious output on BBC radio, including the Daily Service, Choral Evensong, the Sunday programme and the Moral Maze:
‘The BBC stations under review broadcast an unparalleled range and depth of religious programming which deserves grateful acknowledgement by all those concerned with increasing mutual understanding between people of all faiths and none,’ he said.
The report agreed that the BBC needed a ‘recognised expert to bring greater co-ordination and depth’ to its religious output. The report also underlined the importance of having a strong religion and ethics department and called for the BBC to make an ‘explicit commitment’ to its future.
The BBC Trust is accepting submissions to its review until 26 August 2010, and will issue its report before the end of this year.
Sources:
Resources:
Church of England report to BBC