What the BBC said about Digital Storytelling

The links on this page reveal what the BBC at a high level viewed Digital Storytelling as it made its case for the renewal of its Royal Charter.

The English Regions project BBC Telling Lives was concluded in April 2005. Both teams that had delivered workshops in England were disbanded.

For those involved in the project it was a disappointing decision - but I am thankful to the BBC for it's investment in BBC Telling Lives which gave over 300 people new skills in storytelling and created one of the largest archives of digital stories in the world.

I have named my digital storytelling blog Telling Lives after the project

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Once the BBC became involved with Digital Storytelling official reports and high level people, started to analyse, promote and finally disband the Telling Lives team. Local workshops are still being commissioned for special projects.

In preparation for the renewal of its charter the BBC put together a document called Building Public Value. Digital Storytelling appears on page 48.

Another document published in December 2004 details how the BBC delivers its Corporate Social Responsibility. Digital Storytelling is used as an example of how the corporation is fulfilling its role.
Living Public Value.
Open the document and look at page 22

The BBCs Annual Review - a bit like the headmaster's report - contained a section on projects in the English Regions. Telling Lives was in the 2003/4 report, which is no longer on the BBC site.

Digital Storytelling was promoted strongly by people at the top of the BBC.

Mark Byford as acting Director General spoke about it at the Newspaper Society's annual lunch in May 2004. The head of global news, Richard Sambrook gave an interview to Hypergene and gave Digital Storytelling as an example of participatory journalism.

At the Cardiff Conference in 2003 Pat Loughrey, the Director of Nations and regions appeared to confirm a future for Digital Storytelling within the BBC.

"And I think that Digital Storytelling has, in a God-like way, discovered the validity, the truth, the extraordinary emotional power that we've seen this morning, and has liberated it. And if people like Menna Richards and I have our way, it will be liberated a great deal more across the whole of the United Kingdom because there is something truly wonderful about it."

Official reports from government departments praising digital storytelling >>