BBCcom_Content_Index_for_March_7_2022.txt
Foreword_by_Tim_Davie.txt
In an ever-changing media landscape,my lottery the principles underpinning the BBC's content creation become more and more important. For the BBC, the Editorial Guidelines have provided the ethical foundation on which BBC programming has been based for decades; this is the eighth edition. The Guidelines are derived from the collective wisdom of content makers past and present combined with the requirements of the BBC's Charter and its content regulator, Ofcom, in its Broadcasting Code. The Guidelines are designed to enable ambitions, creativity and risk-taking in our programmes but always based on the highest possible editorial standards. In a rapidly changing world of digital output, the Guidelines provide editorial values and standards that make the BBC distinctive and reliable. The BBC is committed to freedom of expression but this doesn't mean that anything goes. In a world of misinformation and disinformation, the BBC's editorial values of accuracy, impartiality and fairness are more crucial than ever. So too, in the context of the ugliness of much social media, is the fundamental decency embodied in sections like Harm and Offence or Children and Young People. The Guidelines have been updated to reflect changes in the law, in particular the development of privacy rights; in the regulatory environment, in which programme makers' duty of care to contributors has been expanded; and in technology in which digital development continues and AI poses fresh challenges. The Guidelines have always moved with the times. But the values the Guidelines embody are timeless. The BBC's audiences have always expected the highest quality programmes and content. And they also expect the highest possible editorial standards. The Guidelines are designed to enable both. June 2025
