Journalists at BBC studio in Brighton on strike again

Journalists at the BBC studios in Brighton went on strike again yesterday (Thursday 20 July) and today.

The strike is part of a campaign by members of the National Union of Journalists (NUJ) against the BBC’s plans to cut local radio output.

The 24-hour strike is the third walkout by journalists at BBC Local – from 11am yesterday until 11am today.

The NUJ said: “You are invited to join them. Go along to your nearest picket line and say hello.

“Despite the dispute winning huge support among the 5.4 million loyal local radio listeners, MPs and councillors of all parties, a huge range of charities, non-league football fans and community groups, the BBC is going ahead with plans to cut local content by almost half, with many popular presenters losing their jobs or choosing to go.

“The NUJ continues to engage with BBC management in an effort to resolve the dispute but the BBC has refused to rule out compulsory redundancies and major changes including to rotas and journalists’ terms and conditions.

“BBC journalists in England held a successful 48-hour strike in June. This followed a 24-hour strike on Budget Day in March. A work to rule is also in play.

“The union held a parliamentary lobby and event on Wednesday 7 June in the House of Commons where more than 70 concerned MPs and peers of all parties came to meet reps, officials and Michelle Stanistreet, NUJ general secretary.

“It is increasingly important to use political pressure on Tim Davie, the BBC’s director general, to change these plans.

“The NUJ supports digital expansion of local news but this should not be at the expense of linear local radio and its loyal listeners.”

Michelle Stanistreet said: “Tim Davie has had an opportunity to take on board the widespread concerns and criticism of these damaging and unnecessary cuts to BBC Local.

“We’re calling on the BBC to pause and engage with staff and audiences in a meaningful way. BBC Local services are clearly treasured by listeners the length and breadth of the country.

“Local radio in particular plays a role that other media has largely abandoned as local papers have folded in towns, villages and cities across the country in the past decade.

“Now that licence fee payers are aware of the cuts to shows and presenters that they love and value, they are speaking out.

“The BBC should pause and engage with listeners and politicians across the political spectrum who are all calling for a different approach – one which treats journalists and presenters with dignity and respect and seeks to preserve local public service broadcasting.”

Paul Siegert, the NUJ’s national broadcasting organiser, said: “Many of our members who have had to reapply for their jobs and face redundancy have had a very bruising and upsetting time.

“They feel this has been very badly managed by senior managers. This fight is about the heart of the BBC’s public service remit.

“Local news is vital not just so people can be informed to be able to participate in local democracy, it binds communities together and for the many who will not be able to access local news digitally they will lose the familiar presenters who have become their friends.

“Local radio is not expensive in terms of the BBC’s budget and we believe that the BBC could easily solve this dispute.

“Once local radio stops being local then it is the beginning of the end and BBC managers don’t have the right to destroy an institution that has existed for over 50 years.”

Lord Hall, the former BBC director general, said that the BBC should not be trimming local content on local radio – it is what makes it so special, he said.

Last month, on Thursday 22 June, Sir Mike Penning, the Conservative MP for Hemel Hempstead, called a backbench debate proposing a motion which was unopposed.

The motion said: “That this House calls on the BBC to reconsider its decision to reduce local news output from local radio journalism which will have a negative impact on communities across the UK, reduce access to local news, information and entertainment and silence local voices.”

MPs from all parties queued up to support their local radio station, to call on the BBC to change it plans and for Ofcom, the broadcasting watchdog, to “do its job” and enforce the BBC’s remit to licence fee payers.

MPs from all parties spoke out in favour of local radio and against the proposed cuts in an earlier debate called by Emma Hardy MP in the House of Commons.

They said that BBC local radio was “a lifeline for news and education, mitigating against rural isolation and supporting people’s rural mental health”, a “great incubator for new talent” and “one of the crown jewels of our public sector broadcaster”.

The BBC announced detailed proposed changes to local radio output last October. The broadcaster said that all 39 BBC Local Radio stations would continue with their own dedicated local programming from 6am to 2pm on weekdays.

Between 2pm and 6pm on weekdays, the BBC would produce 18 afternoon programmes across England, with a number of local stations sharing programming.

Between 6pm and 10pm on weekdays, there would be 10 local programmes across England. This would also apply all day on Saturday and on Sunday mornings, the BBC said.

These programmes would serve areas that broadly mirrored the BBC’s existing local television areas such as BBC South while a national “all-England” programme will be launched after 10pm across the week and from 2pm on Sundays.

Local news bulletins and sports coverage would continue.

In January, the BBC said that it had “listened carefully to the feedback we received from staff and audiences”. In response, the broadcaster announced changes to the original proposals.

These included

• Increasing the proposed number of afternoon weekday programmes from 18 to 20 between 2pm and 6pm.
• Increasing the proposed number of weekend daytime shows from 12 to 18 between 10am and 2pm on Saturday and Sunday mornings.
• Revising some of the proposed pairings of stations in response to feedback from audiences.