Comedy's producers not immune from jargony buzzwords

W1A brilliantly skewered the buzzword-laden jargon in the BBC’s executive culture.

But it seems the makers of the show have bought into some of the same corporate babble that they mocked.

A press release announcing the new project from the team – the World Cup-based Twenty Twenty Six – told how the production was getting ‘additional support from OKRE regarding climate and health expertise.

The acronym stands for ‘Opening Knowledge across Research & Entertainment’ and is an organisation dedicated to putting social messages in TV shows.’

But their website is full of examples that could almost have come from the mind of writer John Morton.

OKRE describes itself  as ‘a non-profit supporting creation of entertainment which challenges perceptions’ and ‘a catalyst for content’.

Their website boasts: ‘We nurture relationships, create serendipity across sectors, and sow the seeds of new creative collaborations. From providing funding to convening salons, and from match-making to stimulating inspiration, we help researchers, people working in social impact and content creators to work with each other, and with their audiences to create stories to drive social change.’

A recent report told of how ‘Entertainment companies are factoring social impact into various stages of the content lifecycle… and amplifying impact as part of their launch strategies.’

And speaking of setting up an entertainment impact index, they said: ‘This new framework will complement existing impact measurements, while enabling greater cross-sector collaboration and shared understanding of definitions and impact language.’

It also warned: ‘Even within organisations there can be uneven adherence to guiding principles. Where social impact teams may prioritise sustainability in content creation, commissioners may perceive it merely as a box ticking exercise. As a result, there is opportunity for better alignment within organisations on the social impact agenda.’

Published: 20 Jun 2025