Everyday Engagements with the BBC Across Leave and Remain Identities, Drawing on Survey Analysis, Ethnographic Interviews, and Ethnographic Case Studies

In this chapter, we examine the everyday media practices of British citizens. Unlike the traditional press and the more polarised tabloids, which endorsed a Leave or Remain position in the Brexit campaign, the BBC, as a public broadcaster, maintained impartiality. The BBC was central to how the British public experienced both the Brexit transition period and the Covid-19 lockdowns. We integrate qualitative and quantitative data to examine everyday engagements with the BBC across Leave and Remain identities in Britain during this time. We draw on an online survey of 5000 respondents conducted during the pandemic lockdowns and in-depth interviews that formed part of ethnographic fieldwork within community settings between 2018 and 2021 to examine everyday use and how perceptions of bias and impartiality underpin trust in the BBC. These experiences show a nuanced picture of the BBC and its public. Echoing the themes of other chapters in this volume (see Blamire et al., Chapter 7), we find instances of shared experience and commonality that provide a contrast to the narratives about a polarising and divisive media environment.