The BBC raises £300 million each year in the West Midlands alone and about £500 million in the Midlands as a whole, yet we account for a meagre volume of hours when compared to what the BBC produces elsewhere.

What also sets Birmingham’s programming apart is that most of it is not about us.

Our city, region and people are not reflected. What is it about our industrial, vibrant, multi-cultural conurbation with a unique regional accent that the BBC does not seem to like?

The price we are paying for our absence from the airwaves is incalculable. The nation knows little about Birmingham or the Black Country.

With no drama, entertainment or youth programming we are disappearing from the national consciousness. It’s no wonder Lonely Planet, ironically owned by the BBC, has omitted Birmingham from its list of British places to visit when other cities bask under far brighter media spotlights.

The biggest scandal of all is that the great and the good who run or represent the Midlands have allowed these broadcasting cutbacks to happen. With one or two exceptions, you can bet there will be no protests from any city council, marketing body, MP, local councillors or civic associations.

Would Manchester ever allow itself to be sidelined in this way? You only have to look at the huge new shiny MediaCity for the answer. We allowed it to happen and that is shameful.

We need to find our lost passion for our city and region and we must demand our share of investment, jobs and, crucially, our profile in the national media.

Do it now. There is only a month to go before a final decision is made about the BBC’s factual programming in Birmingham. It should be saved.

Michael Bradley

Solihull