Caught Red Handed…
Percy and Warren in association with the Royal Television Society
When the Red Handed podcast was forced to issue an apology after attributing the Hillsborough disaster to football hooliganism, it brought into focus for me that we really do live in an era where the media allows opinions to be taken as fact and rarely held accountable – and in particular in the true crime genre, writes Xander Ross (right)
This was two years ago and has since sparked many conversations with several of our producer clients about the ethics in true crime production and where the genre needs to head.
There are countless similar shows to Red Handed, many with a huge volume of episodes, which makes you begin to wonder how often content creators are making these mistakes – disingenuous or not. Where is the journalistic rigour? How many of the subjects of these shows have an organised and vocal community holding them to account like those of the Hillsborough disaster? And what are the consequences of this lack of accountability?
Don’t get me wrong, there are plenty of good, worthy true crime programmes made too – a number of which have been produced or had the involvement of the speakers on tonight’s panel.
I also understand that the podcast world has a far lower barrier to entry due to the much cheaper costs in producing an audio show.
However, the Red Handed case brought into stark light the reality of how true crime content needs to hold itself to a higher standard than making flippant comments or accusations. This is as true for Ofcom regulated TV docs as it is for the Wild West of podcasting – which cumulatively have racked up billions of views, listens and social media posts.
As a PR agency we sit in an interesting place where we don’t make programmes, but we want to help drive conversation and push for the changes we think the industry needs to make.
Those conversations inspired tonight’s event, which we have partnered with the Royal Television Society to produce. With an outstanding set of speakers bringing different expertise and perspectives on to the panel it will cover the debate around what type of shows should be made, what their purpose is (entertainment, social justice, or both), best practice in compliance, and how we can end the unscrupulous exploitation of victims and their families.
Ultimately from my perspective it comes down to two things: firstly, if we are to make programmes about such awful trauma, it needs to have a purpose beyond entertainment. It needs to show justice being done and it needs to help equip people with knowledge about the risks we all face.
And secondly, it needs producers, commissioners, and channels to seriously consider the aftermath for those affected by it, from the way the content is made to the way it’s advertised and consumed.
We are looking forward to listening to a rigorous discussion of the above and much more on the panel. The speakers are:
Diana Carter, Commissioning Editor & Head of Talent, A+E Networks UK
Will Hanrahan, Creative Director, FirstLook TV
Clare Hoban, Solicitor, Reviewed & Cleared
The moderator is Nazir Afzal OBE, Former Chief Crown Prosecutor & IPSO Complaints Committee Member
Diana Carter
Will Hanrahan
Clare Hoban
Nazir Afzal OBE
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