BBC Birmingham takes centre stage as hub for digital and writing talent
Today BBC Director-General Tony Hall has announced a series of initiatives at BBC Birmingham as the Corporation's Midlands HQ builds on its role as the centre for skills and talent for the whole of the BBC.
Published: 4 November 2015
We’re making BBC Birmingham more open to the public and working with some great creative partners. I want everyone to come to our home at The Mailbox and get involved.
Speaking from the BBC’s home in the Midlands, The Mailbox in Birmingham, where he opened a Blue Room showcasing the latest technological innovations to the public, he said: “When I visited Birmingham when I came back to the BBC two-and-a-half years ago, the building was half empty. Now as the home of BBC HR, the BBC Academy – all the things we do to do with skills and digital development - there’s a buzz around the place. The amazing Blue Room could inspire another generation of people to innovate, to think that the BBC is for them, to come up with new ideas. There’s always more to do, but I have to say I am so impressed by what has been achieved here over the last two years.”
Birmingham Writer in Residence
The Birmingham Writer in Residence is a new initiative from BBC Birmingham and Birmingham Repertory Theatre (The REP) which seeks to find one local writer to work for six months across three popular national radio and TV dramas all produced in Birmingham: Radio 4’s The Archers and Home Front, and BBC One’s Doctors. The successful writer will also join The REP as Writer on Attachment.
The initiative is a collaboration between three of the key cultural producers in the city - BBC Radio Drama, BBC Television Drama and The REP.
Supported by BBC Birmingham, BBC Writersroom, and the REP and with Sir Lenny Henry as its patron, the Birmingham Writer in Residence will help champion local voices inside the BBC, and help to increase Midlands voices on air, as well as on stage at one of the UK’s leading regional theatres.
The Digital Innovation Unit
The BBC's new digital innovation unit The Digital Guerrillas, based in Fazeley, are exploring the next generation of BBC content and services.
Made up of digital and editorial specialists covering social media, storytelling, design and technology, the team are helping to change the BBC’s approach to production. Over the next 12 months they will be collaborating with BBC Three in its re-invention as a new and innovative online service, and they will be testing a variety of ideas on BBC Taster, the BBC’s home for new ideas and a place for audiences to try, rate and share material the Corporation is experimenting with.
Today, working with Birmingham City University and television and digital media students across the country, the team have launched a pilot scheme on BBC Taster to find the next generation of content creators. The first project Laid Bare –a students’ guide to surviving the pitfalls of social media – has gone live today and is a collaboration between the National Film and Television School and BBC Factual TV Production.
Tony Hall has also opened the BBC’s first public facing Blue Room at BBC Birmingham today. Situated in the entrance to the building, the Blue Room will bring to life the amazing content and innovations in technology available from the BBC, as well as the latest trends in technology impacting on BBC audiences.
On Saturday 7 November, members of the public can visit the Blue Room for the first time and experience a guided interactive exhibit that allows them to get hands-on with the technology as BBC Birmingham opens its doors to the public in a special one-off event. Following on from this, the Blue Room will be open to the public from tomorrow between 10am and 5pm.
The content being shown in the Blue Room includes BBC Taster and core BBC products such as Sport, News and iPlayer. It will also showcase digital content from the BBC’s UK-wide Weather Watchers initiative, which launched this week. Weather Watchers allows everyone to join the nation’s favourite conversation - weather - while enabling audiences to get creative on digital devices to share the weather across the UK. The Blue Room content will be regularly updated.
BBC Director General Tony Hall said: “When I last visited BBC Birmingham, I said we would do more for the city, and since then investment has gone up 50 per cent per year to £125m and we’ve moved significant parts of our operations here. Now we’re making BBC Birmingham more open to the public and working with some great creative partners. I want everyone to come to our home at The Mailbox and get involved."
Joe Godwin, Director of BBC Birmingham and BBC Academy, said: “BBC Birmingham goes from strength to strength. We’ve got more money coming in – in difficult circumstances - the BBC Music Awards are coming from the Genting Arena, and now these new initiatives, which are all designed to inspire and find the programme-makers of tomorrow, cement BBC Birmingham’s role as the BBC’s centre for skills and talent.”
Sir Lenny Henry, patron, said of the Birmingham Writer in Residence: “We need to hear more Midlands voices on TV, radio and on stage. The Birmingham Writer in Residence is an excellent step to make this happen and is a clear sign that the BBC and Birmingham Repertory Theatre value regional voices and are prepared to invest in their future. Its enduring success will just take like-minded people who are keen to collaborate and co-operate across different programmes, channels and productions.”
Notes to Editors
Writers interested in applying for the Birmingham Writer in Residence opportunity will be able to find out more at BBC Writers Room this winter: bbc.co.uk/writersroom/opportunities
Audiences can find out more about the Blue Room and when they can visit here: bbc.co.uk/showsandtours/information/blue_room
BBC Taster and the first content from The Digital Guerrillas and the National Film and Television School can be seen here: bbc.co.uk/taster
The organisations partnering on content with BBC Taster include:
1. Birmingham City University
2. Ravensbourne University
3. Glasgow School of Art
4. University of Bradford
5. Commercial Break – a social enterprise that focuses on social mobility
6. Bournemouth University
7. Bristol – University of West of England
About The Digital Guerrillas
The Digital Guerrillas work on a range of projects such as with BBC Drama to create exciting and immersive experiences around new TV programmes like Thirteen for BBC Three, partnering with the Birmingham-based Asian Network team on social media projects, tracking Ramadan In A Day across the UK, or turning Radio One's Newsbeat Website into a speed read for mobile.
JM5
