Stories from the grassroots: How the BBC helped citizens take action

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Stories from the grassroots How the BBC helped
citizens take action Amber Rose April 2007
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The background

• Beyond the Soundbite BBC research into public
  disillusion with politics
• The turnout for the 2001 General Election was the
  lowest since World War 2.
• There is a noticeable trend towards mainstream
  political apathy.
• A disconnection is evident between the current
  party political system and the growth of interest
  in single issues.
• Party boundaries in the political arena have
  blurred to the point of overlap.
• A quantitative study amongst 400 nationally
  representative 18-44 year olds

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Passionate about local politics

• We are passionate about these issues but its
  frustrating because we cant do anything about
  it, about these things that affect our lives
  every single minute of the day. Everyone has
  become so disillusioned with politics its
  bland, boring and corrupt.
• Woman, 24-44, Leeds

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What are the issues?

• Taking action over issues
• 39 have taken some form of action in the last 12
  months
• Signed a petition 33 Contacted school 3
• Wrote a complaint letter 20 Boycotted animal
  testing 2
• Boycotted a product 8 Joined a union 2
• Attended a meeting 8 Contacted a politician
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• Protested/demonstrated 4

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Why the BBC?

• The BBC needs to shift this establishment
  emphasis. Like the politicians, it needs to get
  back in touch with how the public are feeling,
  how they are living, their issue-led beliefs,
  their hopes and fears. This is not about dumbing
  down, its about making politics more accessible
  for all.
• Beyond the sound bite, Feb 2002

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Recommendations

• Programming needed for all
• Educate people
• Public input
• Accountability
• Recommendations made by The Research Business
  International

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The idea

• Allow anybody to contribute to the site
• Find other people in their area who care about
  the same issues
• Give people the tools to help them get involved
• Provide BBC information, facts, guides and
  content
• Turn campaigns into a reality and broadcast their
  stories

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The web does well at.

• Creating communities
• Creating new technologies
• Creating democracy

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The BBC does well at

• Being a reliable source for news and background
  content
• Providing a wealth of information
• Being trusted for its impartiality
• Broadcasting local stories

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