BBC journalists have been told that it is "not racist" to "air concerns" about immigration as a review investigates the corporation's coverage.
The independent report - ordered by the BBC board - found that coverage of migration contains "risks to impartiality".
It also revealed that its own journalists were "anxious" about tackling topics that "could appear hostile to migrants".
Policy specialist Madeleine Sumption carried out the review and spoke to more than 100 people inside and outside of the company.
It's 'NOT racist to air concerns' about migration! BBC blasted over impartiality risk as review tears into broadcaster for dodging key voicesPA
The report concluded that although the corporation provides "a lot of excellent content on migration" there are "risks to impartiality that point in multiple directions", despite there being "no consistent bias towards one point of view".
One frequent problem identified was that the BBC "often tells migration stories through a narrow political lens, reporting what high-profile people are saying without really getting under the skin of the issue".
It added that "the perspectives and voices of migrants themselves are often missing entirely from BBC reporting".
Sumption wrote that migrant voices would not make reporting biased and said "BBC coverage should have equal empathy for migrants and UK residents who worry about the impacts of migration".
LATEST DEVELOPMENTS:
The research also revealed that some stories need "clear explanation and context" because they are not always fully understood by viewers.
In addition, the study found a lack of confidence, time or expertise meant BBC journalists sometimes failed to carefully examine claims and challenge "questionable statements".
The report said that "fully interrogating political claims may help the BBC to avoid presenting an overly polarised picture of the arguments."
The corporation were also advised to use the term "asylum seekers" instead of "migrants" for groups of people that only include asylum seekers.
The study found a lack of confidence, time or expertise meant BBC journalists sometimes failed to carefully examine claims and challenge 'questionable statements'
GETTY IMAGESSir Nicholas Serota, BBC board member and chair of the editorial guidelines and standards committee said: "As recent events confirm migration is a highly contested area of public policy, and that is why BBC reporting on it must meet the highest editorial standards.
"This board-commissioned review finds that BBC coverage of migration has many strengths, but that it could also better reflect the topic's complexities, as well as ensuring coverage is not overly dominated by political and high-profile voices.
"We have asked the director-general and the executive to ensure all actions suggested in the review are implemented and the editorial guidelines and standards committee of the board will monitor progress to ensure all the challenges raised are addressed.
"Along with my fellow board members I want to thank Madeleine Sumption for her thorough review and extremely helpful insights, which I hope become indispensable to newsrooms both in and outside the BBC."
