City University London presents a half day seminar exploring the public value of the BBC. The seminar offers a range of perspectives on the BBC’s role in public life, discussing the BBC Trust, science reporting, research with the BBC and public service broadcasting in an international perspective.

City University London has been at the cutting edge of developing research on cultural value and this seminar is part of that work. The first part of the seminar is based on an AHRC funded project that has looked at how the BBC Trust uses the idea of public value and its public value test. The BBC Trust has used public value as a system of articulating the importance of the institution to British and global public life as well as a method for assessing the value of proposals within the BBC itself. Dr Dave O’Brien, from City’s Centre for Cultural Policy and Management, will present the findings of fieldwork with the BBC Trust that has investigated how public value plays out in practice. His presentation will be in response to opening comments by Diane Coyle, vice chair of the BBC Trust.

The second part of the seminar will be a panel consisting of three presentations from academics from City University London. Prof Toby Miller, from the Centre for Cultural Policy and Management, will discuss the BBC’s public service broadcasting role using a range of international examples drawn from his work. Connie St Louis, Director of City’s Science Journalism MA, will explore the BBC Trust’s Review of impartiality and accuracy of the BBC’s coverage of science. Finally, Dr Sam Friedman, from City’s Department of Sociology, will reflect on the BBC’s Great British Class Survey and the relationship between academic research and the BBC. 

The seminar will be of interest to the public, academia and journalists. All are welcome.

For more information please visit the City University London website.