In the light of the recent furore about BBC’s See Hear being knocked off the Saturday scheduling, into the middle of the week and downscaled to 30 mins instead of the usual 40 mins. Terry Riley, the editor of the programme, outlined the BBC and See Hear visions in response to the tide of discontentment among the Deaf community. His letter can be found here.
The power-to-bes at Auntie Beeb have taken the stance that we, the audiences, must evolve our viewing habits and embrace new technology. I fear that not all Deaf audience will be clued up on how to use the digital switchover and have knowledge on a burgeoning market of products/services that caters for the digital evolution. BSL users who require this knowledge need a starting point, which led to my suggestion in response to Mr Riley’s letter.
Hi TerryThank you for taking your time to outline See Hear’s vision in these a-changing times. It is reassuring to know that SH haven’t been singled out for changes as other minor programmes are also affected – however it is a worrying trend to witness. Anyway, it will be an interesting challenge for your team to adapt to these changes and keep the spirit and the aims of SH intact. I wish you all the best.
In the meantime, whilst BBC usher itself into the ‘self-service’ era, might it be a good idea if you do a consumer segment, investigating and educating us on how to take advantages of these technological advances such as PVR and whatnots. I am certain that people will lose out through these changes because they are not technical savvie enough to go at the same pace as BBC, which could partially explain the discontentment and resistance to scheduling changes. The range of digital ready products / service providers / etc are enormous and invariably bewildering too.
Best Regards
Tony Barlow