BBC director general Tim Davie is planning to put the “agenda around nature… front and centre” in the TV industry at a “Climate Creatives” summit tomorrow.
In a video message to the industry’s great and the good on Wednesday, Davie is expected to push for more programming which addresses climate change and sustainability – which he has labelled a “huge opportunity”.
The message, unearthed by Deadline, will see Davie tell attendees: “Surely now we’re at a point where sustainability, the agenda around nature, must be there, front and centre.
“This is a real moment for us to do that.”
Davie is expected to push for more programming which addresses climate change and sustainability
PA
“The audience is very interested in this topic and we as public service broadcasters have a huge creative opportunity – it’s not just a corporate initiative.
“That is the priority for next year: to bring it alive even more in programming beyond the obvious strands. That really excites me.”
Elsewhere at the summit, the BBC boss is expected to pile pressure on other top TV execs to continue reducing carbon footprints and ramp up on-screen messaging in a bid to “start sustainability conversations”, Deadline reports.
Davie will add: “We have got a voice… I would love to see this topic at the heart of more discussion.
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Elsewhere at the summit, the BBC boss is expected to pile pressure on other top TV execs to ramp up on-screen messaging
BBC
“What really sets this industry apart is how we can communicate and how we can rewire our programming so that we have a positive impact.”
The conference will span each of the Home Nations’ largest cities, with speakers including BBC chief content officer Charlotte Moore and naturalist Chris Packham addressing TV personnel in London, Glasgow, Cardiff and Belfast.
Moore made headlines last month for her push for “investment in diverse content and enhancing our off-screen diversity targets” – just as the BBC announced it would be cutting 115 jobs across its “regions and nations” local news branches.
Those 115 losses are equivalent to 3 per cent of the BBC’s entire workforce – but that number is set to rise even further, with 500 more jobs at risk by March 2026.
BBC chief content officer Charlotte Moore and naturalist Chris Packham will address TV personnel in London, Glasgow, Cardiff and Belfast
PA
The National Union of Journalists (NUJ), which represents swathes of BBC editorial staff, had warned the proposed cuts would leave the BBC in a “perilous state”.
And its general secretary said they would “further hollow out local news provision at a time when resources are stretched to breaking point”.
But a BBC spokesman defended the cull, saying: “We have been clear that the significant funding pressures we face means that every division in the BBC needs to make savings.”
