Executive Summary
Guy Cumberbatch, Sally Gauntlett and Victoria Lyne
Annual snapshots of broadcast television have been taken
since 1993, examining the frequency and nature of minority group
representation. Trends over time and results from the 2003 analysis are
reported here.
Ethnic minorities
- The proportion of programmes with ethnic minority representation has increased from 41% to 52% of all programmes (a 27% increase) since 1999.
- In absolute numbers, ethnic minority participants have increased on television by 35% over the same period.
- As a proportion of the television population, this increase is from 6.4% to 8.3% (a 30% increase).
- However, this increase is almost entirely due to a rise in ethnic minority participants in incidental roles (an increase of 35% from 1999 to 2003).
- UK productions showed an ethnic minority representation of only 7.5% of the television population – half that of USA productions (15.2%).
- Compared with the real world, South Asian representation has been particularly low in all samples.
- Ethnic minority participation on television in 2003 was boosted 30% by repeat appearances from 121 individuals – more than in previous years (22% to 25%).
- For almost three quarters (73%) of participants, ethnicity was incidental, providing evidence for colour-blind casting.
- But
cultural diversity was infrequently portrayed.
People with disabilities
- Disabled representation is rare, with little sign that any improvement has taken place over the years.
- In 2003 they were identified in just over one in eight (13%) programmes and contributed less than one percent (0.9%) of the television population.
- A small number of disabled individuals (N=11) boosted disabled portrayals by just over one fifth (22%) through repeat appearances.
- The types of disability portrayed were heavily clustered among the easily recognised forms such as difficulties with walking or vision.
- Two thirds of appearances portrayed the disability as either central to the participant’s role (40%) or relevant (26%)
- One third (33%) of appearances were considered to highlight issues of prejudice, stereotyping or discrimination.
- Thus
disability was infrequently portrayed as an everyday, incidental
phenomenon.
Introduction
This report summarises part of a unique archive of evidence
covering the representation and portrayal of minority groups on
television. This has been achieved through snapshots of two weeks prime
time (17.30 – midnight) television output recorded annually for a
decade now from each terrestrial channel. Additionally, other samples
have covered satellite and cable
channels and advertising output. All the content analyses have
been
conducted since 1993 by the same core team at the Communications
Research
Group . All television programmes (i.e. excluding programme trails and
advertisements) have been analysed. While the coding frames have
evolved over the years, this has either been achieved to allow full
retrospective
compatibility or, where necessary, earlier samples have been
reanalysed.
Thus, the patterns reported here reflect an objective and reliable
measure
of trends over time.
Complaints that the mass media under-represent and
stereotype minority groups are well documented and discourses in this
field, along with relevant audience research, have always informed the
content analyses.
The various issues have been explored in a variety of ways. Representation has been addressed by examining the overall frequencies of participation, the levels of appearance and the pattern across programme types. Here, level of appearance distinguishes between major characters (who are central to the storyline in fiction or main presenters); minor (who are relevant but not central to a storyline, journalists contributing one item only and such people as game show assistants); incidental (those who receive sparse character development in fiction or are subsidiary to the storyline, all interviewees, panellists and contestants). Additionally, stereotyping has been examined by a close scrutiny of the nature of each participant’s portrayal and attention has been given to the adequacy and authenticity of the roles enjoyed.
The approach taken in this research is essentially that of a
survey sample. Thus, each year has sampled a snapshot of broadcast
output and
the design has been optimised so as to capture a representative sample
of output each year. Where atypical programming has been captured
(such as the Paralympics) this has been noted as such. Arguably, this
kind
of monitoring should routinely include the important seasons of
minority
group representation like Black History Month. Ideally too, it could be
expanded to capture any ad hoc programming of significance where
minority
groups are the focus (as indeed we have done in earlier studies).
However,
such considerations should be seen as additional ones to a methodology,
which has its particular strength in tracking changes over time in
mainstream
output.
Studies of viewer reactions are important but these have not to date been weighted in our content analyses. However, it is reassuring that our objective measures of output nonetheless have had some strong resonance with subjective experiences as reported in the various audience studies carried out recently.
This report looks at ethnic minorities and disabled people (other minority groups are covered elsewhere) and covers the ten-year period 1993 to 2003. In 1997, Channel 5 (now Five) began broadcasting and so results are presented as two data sets. The first describes the four channels (BBC1, BBC2, ITV1 and Channel 4 from 1993 to 2003. The second set includes Five and covers the period 1997 to 2003.
Studies of viewer reactions are important but these have not to date been weighted in our content analyses. However, it is reassuring that our objective measures of output nonetheless have had some strong resonance with subjective experiences as reported in the various audience studies carried out recently.
This report looks at ethnic minorities and disabled people (other minority groups are covered elsewhere) and covers the ten-year period 1993 to 2003. In 1997, Channel 5 (now Five) began broadcasting and so results are presented as two data sets. The first describes the four channels (BBC1, BBC2, ITV1 and Channel 4 from 1993 to 2003. The second set includes Five and covers the period 1997 to 2003.
The five channel samples have comprised around 400 hours of
output per annum, representing around 800 programmes. For each minority
group, we review the contemporary background to the issues and then
move on to
summarise the key findings from the content analyses.
The first set of figures show frequencies of participation. These include the proportion of television programmes in which these groups are represented, the actual number of participants logged and then their proportion of the overall television population. This last figure is based on a count of all participants who appeared in programmes above the level of merely background figures. Later results examine the nature of portrayals. These show profiles of minority group participants alongside a comparison sample of participants who were not members of any of the minority groups in this study. This comparison sample was drawn by selecting the first male and the first female to appear five minutes from the start of each programme.
The first set of figures show frequencies of participation. These include the proportion of television programmes in which these groups are represented, the actual number of participants logged and then their proportion of the overall television population. This last figure is based on a count of all participants who appeared in programmes above the level of merely background figures. Later results examine the nature of portrayals. These show profiles of minority group participants alongside a comparison sample of participants who were not members of any of the minority groups in this study. This comparison sample was drawn by selecting the first male and the first female to appear five minutes from the start of each programme.
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