Overview
The Campaign for Regional Broadcasting and Production aims to promote the nations and regions as places to create and make television & radio. In particular, we are concerned there has been a gradual migration away from the Midlands by the major broadcasters. The result is that this important, diverse and highly populated region is now virtually absent from the airwaves.
We will make the case for a fairer and more equitable share of broadcasting expenditure in the Midlands. The talent is here and we have an enviable location - at the centre of the UK population, close to everywhere.
We care about broadcasting too
We believe that to maintain its vitality, broadcasting requires a stronger presence in the regions. A presence where programmes are made and where ideas are conceived. Certainly, a region as large or vital as the Midlands deserves more production facilities than local news studios.
The way in which people gather information and obtain their entertainment is now changing so fast that the BBC and other mainstream broadcasters will find their role is diminishing and with it, the relevance and esteem that many people hold for them.
We have been warning of this for years: public service broadcasters need to get closer to their audience, especially if they are to rely on public funding or local advertising in the future. We say local radio broadcasting should be expanded, not reduced. And radio and television production spending should be related to where revenues are raised, whether public funding or from advertising revenues. Broadcasters that are closer to their audience gain with a greater vibrancy, and diversity of output.
Any UK broadcaster that gets closer to its regional audiences offers a unique proposition, something that we believe is vital if public service broadcasting is to survive a multi-platform world in which news, information and data is available from hundreds of - but often distant - sources.
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