Establishment TV

I wish more media critics would pay attention to the "Establishment TV" phenomenon – the tendency of BBC and ITV to broadcast (usually in prime time) "documentaries" which seem little more than PR for various types of police, "emergency services" and other authorities. Here are some examples I noted a few months ago:

BBC1 - The Truth About Crime, (28/7/09, 21.00)
ITV1 - Send in the Dogs (police & their dogs), (28/7/09, 20.00)
ITV1 - Car Crime UK, (28/7/09, 21.00)
BBC1 - Seaside Rescue (29/7/09, 20.30)
BBC1 - Double Jeopardy (documentary about man acquitted of vicious attack, and evidence arguing for his retrial), (30/7/09, 22.35)
ITV1 - Real Crime, (30/7/09, 22.35)
BBC1 - Traffic Cops (31/7/09, 20.30)
(See below for a longer list)

These shows often come across as the state equivalent of TV ads for banks and insurance companies – they portray "the authorities" in a friendly light by showing the human qualities of their employees. They seem, in a way, to function as damage-limitation PR. So, Magna Carta is being dismantled, illegal wars are fought in your name, video surveillance is everywhere, your internet activity is monitored, you're robbed and lied to by government on a daily basis – but you needn't fear, because the authorities are essentially friendly and on your side.

When members of the public are shown complaining in these programmes, they're typically presented as unreasonable, hostile or slightly insane - as if you must be mentally disturbed (and probably a danger to society) if you object to the way the authorities are selflessly taking care of you.

If you complained to the BBC about these shows, you'd probably appear paranoid. After all, they seem pretty harmless on the face of it. But I wonder sometimes about the cumulative "cognitive framing" effect - the endless repetition of a particular worldview, and the virtual absence of programmes which show "the authorities" in a less sympathetic (but probably more accurate) light.

Previous comment on this topic:

"Good" Authorities vs "Bad" Individuals

BBC1 has broadcast a procession of "fly-on-the wall" documentary series, filmed from the viewpoint of the authorities, who are shown to be in pursuit of individual wrongdoers (often from "lower" classes). Institutions, government agencies, corporations, etc, don't often get portrayed as wrongdoers.

On the rare occasion that the BBC focuses on crimes committed by government, corporations or rich city folk, it tends to be a one-off programme (rather than a series), and is shown on BBC2 (which has a far smaller audience than BBC1).

A recent example was No tax please, we're rich (2/3/06), a single 30-minute documentary shown on BBC2 (roughly concurrent with a six-part BBC1 series about welfare fraud, On the Fiddle.

Of course, if the situation were reversed – if BBC1 broadcast a prime-time series about tax avoidance by rich corporations (whilst ignoring small-scale crime committed by the poor) – we'd remove this page, then we'd eat our computer.

Here's a partial list of prime-time TV series which present the authorities as "good guys" – going after individual citizens ("bad guys"):

Sky Cops (helicopter patrols)
Traffic cops
Bailiffs
Car Wars (Tactical Vehicle Crime Unit)
On the Fiddle (welfare fraud)
Clampers (car wheel clampers)
Customs & Excise Cops
The Tube (London's underground police)
Animal Cops
Airport (airport police)
Forensic Cops
A Life of Grime
Crimewatch UK
Traffic Wardens
Rogue Traders
Drunk and Dangerous (police tackling drunks)
Transport Cops
Seaside Rescue
Cops, Robbers and Videotape
Shops, Robbers and Videotape (variation on a theme)
Girl Cops
War at the Door (housing officers & RSPCA)
Dumping on Britain (Environment Agency)
Rail Cops
Cops with Dogs
Cars, Cops and Bailiffs
Motorway Cops
The Planners are Coming (Planning Police)