David Abulafia, co-editor of History Reclaimed, is Emeritus Professor of Mediterranean History at Cambridge and a Fellow of Gonville and Caius College, a Fellow of the British Academy and a Member of the Academia Europaea. His books include The Great Sea: a Human History of the Mediterranean (2011; British Academy Medal) and The Boundless Sea: a Human History of the Oceans (2019; Wolfson History Prize, 2020). He has been appointed Commendatore dell’Ordine della Stella by the President of Italy, and is a visiting Beacon Professor at the newly-founded University of Gibraltar and a Visiting Professor at the College of Europe (Warsaw). He is a director of the HR company.
Can we trust the BBC with our history?
Our report recommends that the BBC should:
1. Update its editorial guidelines to clarify that historical and current affairs documentaries and news reports on historical matters need to be accurate; commit to providing a diversity of opinion amongst contributors where interpretation of history is contested; and ensure that those called upon to give historical interpretations are properly qualified to do so.
2. Commit to reviewing all content produced by its history department that is currently available to download or view on its on-demand services.
3. Update its guidance to independent production companies that history programmes need to be accurate in all significant areas and need to demonstrate a commitment to diversity of opinion amongst programme contributors.
4. Establish an advisory panel of properly qualified historians that reflects the diversity of scholarly opinion to help reduce group think amongst programme makers.
Read the report here: https://historyreclaimed.co.uk/can-we-trust-the-bbc-with-our-history/
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