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BBC WAC Campaign update

The submission to the BBC Charter Review

Stephanie Decker FAcSS FBAM

Mar 23

READ IN APP

Hello everyone

This is your latest update from the BBC WAC Campaign.

We have published our submission to the open consultation on the BBC Charter Review, which closes tomorrow. Thank you to the many signatories who helped in its drafting.

You can read it here.

It is a robust argument for WAC’s ‘new model’ to be reversed. It also serves as a detailed and fully referenced account of the engagement we have had with the BBC over the past year. For the vast majority of you this will be new information and we encourage you to read it in order to see quite how intransigent the Corporation has been when it comes to answering questions and taking on suggestions.

This submission has been shared with the most senior members of BBC staff, including the Board of Governors, the Chair, the outgoing and interim Director-Generals, the Operations Committee that signed off the new policy, as well as the archives team who have devised and administered. Also in receipt of a copy are Parliamentarians, Ofcom and members of the press.

Our recommendations are as follows:

Strengthen the language of Public Purpose 2 to compel the BBC to reinstate independent and exploratory research through “on request” vetting of papers.
Clarify section 69 of the current Framework Agreement so that WAC itself is strengthened, and access is brought up to industry standards - starting with an online catalogue.
Increase the status of WAC through promotion of its services, so that it is properly valued as a crown jewel in the UK research sphere.
Form a constituted working group for meaningful collaboration between the BBC and users to ensure the relevance and profile of WAC into the future - both for general audiences and the research community.
Ensure greater transparency on future service changes, specifically WAC but also other archive services, in a way that provides timelines and does not destroy overnight research projects and commissioned work.
Recalculate the costs and benefits of the current policy, taking into account the losses to the public rather than to the BBC’s corporate identity.
Look at revenue solutions, including working with outside bodies, jointly seeking research funding, and increasing the charges for the Production Paperwork Service.

The Observer wrote up a new piece on the campaign in light of FOI emails that were finally released to us by the BBC in January. This access was only granted after appeal. The story is paywalled but you can read a mirror of the online version here. For those of you on Bluesky, we go into a little more depth about the FOI findings in this thread. Please read and share.

As ever, we are happy to hear from you if you need advice on using WAC during these challenging times.

With best wishes

Ian Greaves, Dr Kate Murphy and Professor John Wyver

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