(From telegraph.co.uk) BBC executives should be sacked if they fail to meet diversity targets,
according to Pat Younge, one of the corporation's top black bosses.
The television industry is still dominated by the white middle and upper
classes, he said.
Speaking at an event on diversity, Younge said that although ethnic minority
communities are now better represented on screen, little had changed behind
the scenes since he started in television in 1991.
"There has been a lot of pressure for change over the years from outside
the industry, but there's been no internal pressure, which is what will
bring about progress," he told Channel 4 newsreader Krishnan
Guru-Murthy.
"At Edinburgh last year, I said that senior executives should be held to
account and lose their jobs if they fail to meet diversity targets. I will
have my own targets when I join BBC Vision and I must live up to what I've
said – or face losing my job. "Diversity will be a big focus for
me when I return to the corporation."
Younge, who started his career at LWT (London Weekend Television), singled out
ITV for particular criticism at the Royal Society for the encouragement of
Arts event, titled Diversity in the media: personal perspective, which also
featured former MP Oona King.
"As far as I'm aware, ITV doesn't have one black or Asian commissioning
editor and it really shows," he said.
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