Following a mass of complaints, and predictable subsequent apologies this summer when BBC presenter Fiona Lamdin used the N word, at the request of victim K-Dogg’s family that the BBC report in full the racist language of the attackers, Calvin Robinson at The Mail Online argues that while the pusillanimous apologies were not needed, the BBC do need to get their own house in order and stop its own segregation by channels:
There is another worrying factor: the ‘ghettoisation of radio’ at the BBC. If you compare the regular line-ups of presenters for Radio 1 and those working for 1Xtra, you’ll note that there is a significant separation of race and culture.
Radio 1 features a majority of white faces, from Nick Grimshaw to Greg James, while 1Xtra is mostly hosted by people of Black, Asian, and minority ethnic background.
This is a disgraceful example of institutional racial categorisation, particularly when the BBC is spending £100 million on diversity and inclusion.
Radio 1 is targeted at 15 to 29-year-olds, broadcasting popular music of the day. And since the majority of this is black music, there is no reason for the majority of these hosts to be white when the BBC has so many black DJs on staff.
Certainly, it’s time the BBC put its house in order. For it was wrong to make an apology for correctly and responsibly reporting details of a horrendous racist crime that took place on our streets.
What the Corporation should instead be apologising for is the shocking segregation on its radio channels, and the hypocrisy of encouraging gang culture when it suits its own purposes, but then playing high and mighty when it does not.