UK: Using technical terms makes you elitist

Alan Yentob has been mocked for denying that the BBC was elitist while using marketing speak of 'C2s and Ds' to describe working class people.

The broadcaster's creative director was appearing on Newsnight to defend the sacking of Jeremy Clarkson, whose contract is not being renewed after he attacked Top Gear producer Oisin Tymon.

He had denied that the corporation was elitist, but said it made programmes that attracted audiences who were 'C2, Ds' - marketing terms for working class consumers.

'The BBC is a place that, despite what people say, that does embrace diversity,' he told Newsnight presenter Emily Maitlis.

He was then asked whether losing Clarkson meant the BBC were no longer catering to audiences who were not the 'metropolitan elite'.

'I don't know that I would buy that about the metropolitan elite,' he said.  'There are quite a lot of programmes that reach out to audiences who are C2, Ds, who aren't the metropolitan elite.

Mr Yentob's comments quickly attracted the attention of social media users, who criticised the way he had described viewers.

User Edward Oldfield wrote: 'I'm sorry but the moment that Alan Yentob starts using demographic terms when defending the metropolitan elite attacks he loses.'

Another, Robert MacDonald, tweeted: 'Did Alan Yentob really just say 'lots of our programmes reach out to C2 Ds' (in rejecting BBC is for 'metropolitan elite')?'

Twitter user Sacred Antinous wrote: 'Yentob describes all those who aren't 'metropolitan elite' as C2DEs. Our licence fee is so well spent on this man of the people"

SOURCE