FROM THE START, television project was ridden unresolved questions. Open Door normally gets an audience of 600,000 or more, tiny in TV terms but equivalent of about 10,000 normal CARM meetings!
We began our discussions on the programme nine months ago with disagreements about what this fact meant for the programme. Who did we want to talk to?
In the event, outside forces resolved most aspects of the programme's evolution. battle with the broadcasting authorities soon began over access to extracts from news bulletins.
We wanted to illustrate how "neutral' and "factually correct" news could be racist in choice and selection omission) of "facts', or by the context given particular items.
to take one campic. tne harassment of the Janmohamed family 'dumped on the Home Office by Hillingdon Council in front of four crews and 35 press reporters.
This request for news film caused considerable ructions inside the BBC, where some editors and producers could see that behind Open Door would look pretty sick if our group could HOL use the BBC's material.
But the hardliners won. Alan Protheroe, editor of BBC Ivews, Dur i to a top-level meeting of news and current affairs editors: Why should an organisation which might well accuse myself and my staff of LaCISHl be given treatment?' our other words, 'privilege' to be allowed criticise the news, and if racism is involved you just can't do it! The result of this ban was that we had to deal with what were, for us, secondary aspects of TV coverage. dealing with light entertainment and comedy, for example, WCICCasy.
The role played grammes such as Mind Your Language, Mixed and It Ain't Half Hot Mum in reinforcing myths and racist stereotypes about understood anti-racists but much harder to explain or counter.
It quickly became clear that it only made sense to talk about racist myths if the nature of racism itself was put 'upfront, (or explained and illustrated early Early scripts contained in five-line summaries an historical and contemporary analysis of racism.
The only problem was that it would have taken up the whole 29 minutes, and wasn't very 'visual'. So this section was failure of the programme, we principle had many smaller disappointments about the way actually put together. Our raw OWIL material was literally hundreds of notated extracts from As programmes monitored CARM members.
So we started off intending to make a film-only programme, based on these clips, would be so subtly put together that privileged would never have to intrude.
The was arguments would leap out of to the screen.
This plan looked possible for several months. about the wonders of the Reilly caption generator, a machine capable of spewing out endless that sub-titles; of placards planted in demonstrations with our slogans; of whole arguments articulated through carefully by proBlessings, is by THERE IS no doubt that CARM has been the organised body in this country which has had anything serious and intelligent to say about race it was in the media over the past ten years.
TV campaign in by been attitudes.
You only need to compare which the vague mutterings about goodwill coming Commission for Racial Equ ality and other bodies of the kind OVCI that recognise the difference.
CARM has scored by making precise criticisms and laying out precise guidelines reporting of race and on racist the 'voice of CARM' assembled images that our aropped, talked mises and looked studio at itself. only sound deeply the National CARM consistent in its cerning race.
The the period to on the But as the deadline approached, such innovations were along huge chunks of the script. When it came to record the programme, the accumulation of comprotime-restrictions first to have undermined the entire project All the Open Door 'turn off' health cliches we had sworn to avoid were there: two presenters in a CLUC mercy how far the people I've been talking to have internalised the Challenge]. attitudes expressed by CARM sturdy TOTECT one of these people who doesn't like a liberal on the subject of race. Yet they are involved in maintenance of current media For me, presentations of matters con apparent paradox conceals a fundamental misun- that we all live. derstanding about the nature of Either illustration of what 1 mean take mysterious case the Time Out magazine in London might well be the publication that CARM editors who supporters ought to find easiest media to influence. Elements within it are very much conerned about ludicrously complicated technical apparatus. A long list of important questons lem out.
And, most humiliatingly, ghastly ending with CARM's address (PO Box 50, London NI - in case you missed it) on a bit of cardboard and a line saying: 'If you want to be active today, buy CARM for political - or so it sounded.
The final result has been somewhat more positive. This was, after all, a rare example of newspapers, barring Socialist To me, that situation spells a barrier racial discrimination. CARM supreply that discrimination is either symptom or mere by-product of a number of political factors and tendencies it is much more important than that, because it is to do with the way that I live, and I would argue with the way discrimination becomes the first and primary point at which we attack racist systems, or attitudes become a mere distraction.
So it is quite possible for the ELES racist to capitulate and seriously discuss all the points by Carl criticism of television on television, and the programme did manage to explain at least some of the ways the media operate to promote or reinforce racism.
Sure, Sir Michael Swann hasn't resigned yet...but early days. And hopefully w have shown to other politica campaigns the possibilities o making use of even the very limited access offered by Oper Door. different bases.
CARM, in spite of what ought to be a backbone of hard-line political commitment, is still dominated by ar essentially way of thinking about race in which the problem of race is partly the result of right-wing propaganda.
Turn that view around and it is very • similar Daily Express view of the role of the left in industrial relations. disagree with both.
My own view is that racism in Europe is a fundamental aspect of the way the culture grew up and functions. Racial equality has to be the key. It seems to me that what CARM has done so far is merely to talk around that issue.
At one of the last meetings on race that I attended
Socialist Challenge •WHO NEEDS ENEMAS WHEN YOU VE GOTENNALS? the public sector pay battle.
industrial action for their claim.
accept the pay deal.
By Patrick Sikorski HEALTH workers have moved into the front-line of Ambulance staff and hospital ancillaries in NUPE have voted to reject Alan Fisher's pay package, and this Friday 80,000 nurses in NUPE are due to start They will need to build for nationally co-ordinated all ou action if they are to confront the obstacles that have led the majority of local authority workers to IN THE BANK DEDiCATION EL THE AGE OF WE TOO LIVE IN you've got Ennals?' have also rejected the same offer.
Unity between these workers is now vital. NUPE nationa officer Bob Jones's call for local action committees to organise action by nurses should be extended include other unions and other workers.
The union leaderships' policy of selective action did much to undermine the local authority Nationally CO
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decimated in the final script. If this was the main political
It is no exaggeration to say that it will be a hard job finding