BBC Trust

Participants at the ACW outreach event shared their experiences of using the BBC Asian Network radio station as well as those of their families and friends saying it was a service used by both the younger and older generations. They were not only surprised by how much they used the service but also surprised about how many others did. They expressed concern that the significant proposed budget cuts to the service as a result of Delivering Quality First could be 'detrimental' to the service.

When asked about their listening habits in relation to the radio station, the group said that they used it in a variety of ways, but mostly to listen to music and debate. They said that people they knew were passionate about what was being said and liked to have the opportunity to make their voices heard.

One of the most positive comments that came out of the discussion was about the accessibility of the station and that there was no other mainstream service like it. They said that other UK based services didn't offer something for everyone and that was what made the BBC Asian Network different. It was especially useful for people who don't use computers and the internet as they were able to take part in phone-ins and be made to feel a part of something, which wasn't offered by some services. They said that whilst other channels and services had a narrower focus, the BBC Asian Network encompassed everything, "appealed to everyone" and was a popular service within their community.

In terms of music, the Asian Network was considered to be an important and valuable resource for music not available anywhere else. They said that they knew if there was a certain song that they wanted to listen to; it would be on the BBC Asian Network. They said the service was very popular in the Middle East and that they would often get phone calls from friends asking them to turn on the station so that they could listen. Music is particularly popular with the younger generation whilst the older tend to listen for news and debate. They considered this a great example of "bringing people together" and providing a way for people to find out more about their heritage.

They felt that the Asian Network was the only platform available for people within their community to share their views and that it was considered a "safe space" for people in the UK from all the three of national traditions of south Asian to do so.

Other

When asked about how they consumed news, the majority tuned into BBC One's six o'clock news as this was a fantastic way to catch up on both local and UK-wide news. One member in particular preferred to watch BBC Wales Today as they preferred to watch national news from Wales to any other. They also thought that the BBC News app for smartphones was a fantastic tool that they also used regularly to catch up on news.

Whilst everyone accessed the BBC's News services, this wasn't the only output they consumed. They felt that TV channels like Al Jazeera had 'more people on the ground' and was more focused on getting local views from the locations they were focusing on, which was considered important. They said that both networks had their strengths and that it was important to them that they used both.

They felt that the BBC offered a service that they could trust and that other TV stations were beginning to lose their credibility. They said they often wouldn't believe a news story until it had been reported on the BBC saying "if the BBC says it, it's true", and that this had been especially important recently in the context of the reports of Osama bin Laden's death. They appreciated that the BBC took its time to establish the facts rather than charging in with inaccurate reports. They found that the BBC was a credible source of information and that this was reflected in the fact that it is what tended to be shown in offices and places of work.

It was felt by some members of the group that they had almost become immune to news reports about the 'Arab Spring' as the same kind of stories tended to be repeated. Whilst they felt that the BBC was the place to go for facts, they weren't as sure about the coverage of developments in the Middle East because they feared a sort of bias, not from the BBC, taking a view on what was going on but more of the fact that events were 'watered down' and so the full picture wasn't being portrayed. They felt live coverage was particularly lacking although they acknowledged that it wasn't appropriate to show some events, which were sometimes graphic or distressing.

The subject of impartiality was of huge importance to the group who believed that whilst facts were important, impartiality was a key consideration. They felt most strongly about this in the context of the Israel/Palestine conflict and that there needed to be a careful balance. They said key messages needed to be put across in an unbiased way and that it was possible to "portray the injustice of something without losing impartiality".

Some members of the group felt frustrated with the BBC's coverage and that it was inferior to some foreign TV channels. When a major news story broke they would often turn over to see "how the BBC covers it" and would be left disappointed by the amount of coverage or the lack of depth.

There was a lot of debate about the BBC's decision not to show the DEC appeal for humanitarian aid for Gaza back in 2009. They said it was an example of "bureaucracy at its most extreme" and that the reasons behind the decision had not been sufficiently explained to the public. They felt that most of the BBC's audiences would not have perceived the screening of the appeal to show bias and that as a result, they and many people they knew had lost trust in the BBC.

There was concern that some of the BBC's content was overly sexualised and that this often meant that they had to turn the television off and stop watching some programmes altogether. Strictly Come Dancing was mentioned as a particular example where the women weren't dressed appropriately and that parents were uncomfortable with this. They were disappointed that programmes they watched when they were younger such as Blue Peter and Newsround had changed in tone and that the way current presenters dressed was unacceptable to them.

Frozen Planet was mentioned as being a particularly impressive programme, particularly on the BBC HD channel.

When asked about portrayal and whether they felt that their community was represented they felt that there wasn't enough and that it was often incorrect - and in this context made reference to EastEnders as a prime example. They were angry that proper research hadn't been done into Muslim families and that the situations explored on the programme "weren't real". They said that this needed to be improved and that it was important for a higher number of British Muslim role models to appear on screen on the BBC. They also felt that the BBC had a role too in reviving traditional British values.

In talking about the BBC more generally, they said that it was something that they grew up with and that older members of their families also grew up with it in their home countries, which meant it had been passed on to them by the older generation. One member of the group had recently been to Pakistan and was surprised to see people using the BBC's services even in the smallest and remotest villages there.