Media: Talk of the Trade: Relaxed over race

THE BROADCASTING Standards Council's research on how minority groups are depicted shows there is no apparent public anxiety over the use of reconstructions on programmes such as BBC 1's Crimewatch when they feature black criminals. Pressure groups such as the Bar's Race Committee argue that whenever these popular shows feature an unidentified black person, they result in an outbreak of harassment of black people by the police.

Meanwhile, Nikki Cheetham, former editor of Crimewatch, has moved to the new breakfast franchise GMTV to produce a half-hour consumer programme that will include a crime spot once a week.