Ofcom: Broadcasters failing to make minorities feel represented on TV
A majority of the LGBT community feel that they are either underrepresented or portrayed negatively.
The majority of the LGBT community feel they are underrepresented, according to a recent review, and a fifth of the community feel that they are portrayed negatively to audiences.
The review by Ofcom said the figures “highlight the difficulty faced by broadcasters in ensuring that audiences feel represented on screen and fairly portrayed.”
The review also said: “In almost all instances, respondents as a whole felt that specific audience groups were better represented and more fairly portrayed than people within those specific groups felt about representation and portrayal of themselves.”
It also show that people in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are holding greater about being represented fairly to audiences compared to the rest of the UK. Although there is a “large gap” between expectations and what the broadcasters actually deliver.
It stated: “The nations and their regions are the areas where there is the largest gap between the public expectation of PSB and the operations of the PSBs.”
The research carried out performs part of Ofcom’s review of public service broadcasting and covers the BBC, ITV, Channel 4 and Channel 5.
