BBC Radio 4 Today: Winter 2008 Survey
A fourteen-week survey examining the prominence, contributor balance and editorial treatment of European Union affairs across BBC Radio 4’s Today programme during summer 2008.
Document type
Monitoring Survey
December 2008
27 pages · PDF
David Keighley and Andrew Jubb
The survey monitored fourteen weeks of BBC Radio 4’s Today programme during a period dominated by the developing financial crisis and major European Union decisions concerning economic stimulus and climate policy. Each edition was recorded and logged, with relevant EU material transcribed for quantitative and qualitative analysis.
The research examined more than the aggregate amount of airtime. It considered where EU-related material appeared in the programme, which contributors were invited into its most prominent interview slots, how much space competing perspectives received and how arguments were framed or challenged.
The findings showed how imbalance could develop cumulatively through editorial selection. Individual reports might appear defensible when considered alone, while the sustained pattern revealed that particular perspectives repeatedly received greater prominence, explanation and opportunity to reach listeners.
Key findings
1. EU coverage remained limited
EU affairs occupied 4.1 per cent of Today’s feature airtime—an average of four minutes and 34 seconds per edition. The average EU-related feature lasted two minutes and 43 seconds, the second-lowest figure recorded across the twelve surveys conducted since 2002.
2. Coverage diminished as the audience increased
The same recurring scheduling pattern appeared again: after 7am, the proportion of EU coverage declined as Today’s audience grew. Only 2.3 per cent of the available airtime between 8am and 8.30am – 33 minutes across fourteen week – was devoted to EU-related discussion
3. Critical perspectives formed the smallest proportion yet recorded
Of 139 guest contributions, 57 were favourable towards the EU or its actions, 25 were critical and 57 were neutral or factual. Critical contributors represented only 18 per cent of the total, the lowest proportion found in any News-watch survey up to that point.
4. Word counts revealed a still greater disparity
Pro-EU contributors spoke 13,215 words, compared with 5,692 from critical contributors. In the key 8am–8.30am segment, 70 per cent of guest words came from pro-EU speakers and only 1 per cent from a sceptical perspective—a ratio of 70 to one.
5. Support for withdrawal remained marginal
Only four of the 139 contributors were identifiable supporters of withdrawal from the European Union. The report also found that mainstream politicians tended to receive more airtime than non-political contributors, while critical opinion was more likely to come from speakers outside mainstream party politics.