Be bolder, more imaginative and less fearful

credit: Kim Longinotto

We need a bolder, more imaginative BBC which is less fearful; a BBC that is more comfortable as an independent voice, not so ratings-driven or competing with ITV.  Although programmes like The Voice  are fun, we do need the BBC to be distinctive as well

I love programmes like An Inspector Calls, which is what the BBC does so brilliantly. It used to encourage writers like Dennis Potter, Ken Loach, John Hopkins, Troy Kennedy Martin. The BBC had dramas that gripped the nation and led to important social change in some cases, but now it seems to be engaged in a ratings battle rather than developing new voices and new experiences. It seems to come from a narrow band of experience and rarely embraces the cultural shifts that have taken place.  A new approach to drama is needed, working with writing theatre companies, writers’ agencies and innovative companies: less reality TV and more TV that reflects our new realities.

Guest editors is a great experiment as you get different ways of doing things; and having a freer Late Night Woman’s Hour at 11 pm which could then be a bit more transgressive was also a great idea.

Carry on supporting Radio 6.  Many of us love it because their best presenters like Lauren Laverne and Tom Robinson seem to genuinely want to share their passion for music rather than promote themselves

Re-think Today.  I’d suggest changing the dreadful Thought for the Day –  we get dreary sermonising rather than fresh, interesting thoughts from writers and thinkers.  I’m sure we could all think of people who’d be good  –  Stephen Fry, Simon Amstell, Carol Ann Duffy,  Russell Brand, Hanif Kureishi, Jo Brand, Colm Toibin and many more. Today works best when it gives space for original voices and worst when there’s a very short time for two opposing convictions fighting with statistics.

The BBC should ideally challenge prejudice and entrenched thinking rather than add to it: for example, the horrible reporting of Jeremy Corbyn. Many of us have been relying on Huffington Post, TED talks and the Internet for news and ideas.  As Paul Krugman wrote of about British Fiscal policy in the New York Times:  “It’s not just that the media have failed to subject Conservative claims to hard scrutiny, they have reported them as facts. It has been an amazing thing to watch — because every piece of this conventional narrative is completely false.” Too much of the BBC too seems to be parroting conservative views as given truth.

On TV we need more in-depth, unusual, provocative stories; and less presenter-led. The Democracy films were good especially Solar Mamas and Vote for Me.The BBC should properly fund strands like Storyville.  And I loved the Borgen series from Denmark on BBC4. A big thanks to the BBC for this.

Kim Longinotto (@kimlonginotto) is a filmmaker