Tons of coverage, few bust-ups and decent ratings: at first glance, the broadcasters have reason to be pleased with their coverage of the EU referendum. The BBC and ITV have discovered that having current affairs in their peak schedules can bring good audiences: more than four million people tuned in to watch ITV’s debate between David Cameron and Nigel Farage, beating all other channels. The masterly older interviewers, such as the BBC’s Andrew Neil, have been supplemented by the blossoming talent of Faisal Islam on Sky News. The longer-form programmes on all channels have been illuminating; online coverage has added depth; and radio is, as usual, the more intelligent medium.
For a close-run campaign, public rows between politicians and broadcasters have been scarce. There was a skirmish between ITV and Vote Leave about the prominence of Farage, and Alan Johnson wrote to news editors about the underplaying of Labour’s case. But the big issue – impartiality – doesn’t seem to have been contested with any vigour. London broadcasters have always been more comfortable with a Europhile sensibility but nobody has argued convincingly that there is any cultural bias in the coverage of this referendum. Indeed, the problem for some Remain zealots has been that the BBC has been too impartial, allowing Leave exponents equal airtime to make their case.
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