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The BBC Asian Network

The Cultural Production of Diversity

Palgrave Macmillan
  • Draws on a unique and rich qualitative study of production culture that includes interviews with 30 employees of the BBC Asian Network

  • Adds to a growing body of research on media production, specifically in relation to race

  • Offers new insights to the fields of media, radio and creative industries studies and internationally, given the BBC's prominence around the world as a public service broadcaster

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eBook USD 59.99
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  • Instant download
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Softcover Book USD 79.99
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  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
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Hardcover Book USD 109.99
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  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
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Table of contents (9 chapters)

  1. Front Matter

    Pages i-ix
  2. Introduction

    • Gurvinder Aujla-Sidhu
    Pages 1-23
  3. Public Service Versus the Politics of Representation

    • Gurvinder Aujla-Sidhu
    Pages 25-50
  4. British Asian Audiences

    • Gurvinder Aujla-Sidhu
    Pages 51-73
  5. Recruitment and Progression of Minority Ethnic Staff

    • Gurvinder Aujla-Sidhu
    Pages 75-100
  6. Audience Strategies at the BBC Asian Network

    • Gurvinder Aujla-Sidhu
    Pages 101-124
  7. Diverse Journalism

    • Gurvinder Aujla-Sidhu
    Pages 125-147
  8. Language and Identity Politics

    • Gurvinder Aujla-Sidhu
    Pages 149-172
  9. Future of the BBC Radio and the BBC Asian Network

    • Gurvinder Aujla-Sidhu
    Pages 197-219
  10. Back Matter

    Pages 221-229

About this book

This ground-breaking new book provides a unique, in-depth analysis of the BBC Asian Network, the BBC’s national ethnic-specific digital radio station in the UK. Gurvinder Aujla-Sidhu offers an insight into the internal production culture at the radio station, revealing the challenges minority ethnic producers faced as they struggled to create a cohesive and distinct 'community of listeners'. Besides the differences of opinion that emerged within the inter-generational British Asian staff over how to address the audience’s needs, the book also reveals the ways in which 'race' is managed by the BBC, and how the culture of managerialism permeates recruitment strategies, music playlists and mother tongue language programmes. In-depth interviews unveil how the BBC's 'gatekeeping' system limits the dissemination of original journalism about British Asian communities, through the marginalisation of the expertise of narratives created by the network's own minority ethnic journalists.  

Authors and Affiliations

  • De Montfort University, Leicester, UK

    Gurvinder Aujla-Sidhu

About the author

Gurvinder Aujla-Sidhu is an Associate Professor in Journalism at De Montfort University, UK.

Bibliographic Information

  • Book Title: The BBC Asian Network

  • Book Subtitle: The Cultural Production of Diversity

  • Authors: Gurvinder Aujla-Sidhu

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-65764-2

  • Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan Cham

  • eBook Packages: Literature, Cultural and Media Studies, Literature, Cultural and Media Studies (R0)

  • Copyright Information: The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021

  • Hardcover ISBN: 978-3-030-65763-5Published: 20 April 2021

  • Softcover ISBN: 978-3-030-65766-6Published: 20 April 2022

  • eBook ISBN: 978-3-030-65764-2Published: 19 April 2021

  • Edition Number: 1

  • Number of Pages: IX, 229

  • Number of Illustrations: 2 b/w illustrations

  • Topics: Media and Communication, Music, Journalism, Communication Studies, Ethnicity Studies

Buy it now

Buying options

eBook USD 59.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book USD 79.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book USD 109.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Other ways to access