BBC’s religious coverage on radio drops by almost 40pc

RELIGIOUS BROADCASTING on BBC radio dropped by 37 per cent last year, according to figures from the corporation.

The BBC’s annual report for 2013/14 showed that there was 611 hours of output in the religion genre compared with 975 the year before.

The figures show mixed results for television, with BBC1 clocking 80 hours of religious broadcasting, down from 99 in 2012/13, while BBC2 showed an increase to 69 hours from 47 the previous year, and BBC2 showed 21 hours of religious programming, an increase from just five the previous year.

A spokesman said the radio decrease resulted from the decommissioning of the Asian Network daily religious programme as part of the BBC’s plans to reduce spending by hundreds of millions of pounds. He added that the radio station now broadcasts religious programmes around key festivals. The corporation’s coverage of religion has come under scrutiny recently following the move to axe the post of commissioning editor of religion programmes on television. Religion will now be grouped with history and be part of a unit that includes science and business.

The Anglican Bishop of Leeds, Nick Baines, has raised concerns about the change along with a group of religious leaders who this week wrote a letter to The Daily Telegraph. “The BBC plays a key role by its robust and rich coverage of religious life. We call on it to reinstate independent religion and ethics programming,” it states. Signatories include the Bishop of Manchester, David Walker, and Professor Linda Woodhead of Lancaster University.
(See Christopher Lamb, page 13.)