BBC told to listen to its 5.7m local radio fans

  • 07 Nov 2022

NUJ members have signed a motion of no confidence in the BBC managers behind plans to “kill off” local radio.

A letter sent to Tim Davie, BBC director general, from the union says:

“Local radio is celebrating its 55th birthday, but the proposal to share output after 2pm is potentially the beginning of the end. Local radio is successful because it’s local.  People in Norfolk tell us they don’t care about stories and issues from Suffolk, they want stories about the community on their doorstep…Please listen to the 5.7m local radio listeners and the politicians who want local radio to be protected. Don’t go down in history as the director general who killed off local radio. Please keep local radio local.”

The letter says the union understands the need for the BBC to focus on digital services and says, “there are other ways of achieving this without taking funding from local radio”.

Debates in both Houses of Parliament last week revealed huge cross-party support for local radio and against the plans with MPs and peers saying 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”.  Tim Davie has received letters from MPs and councillors urging him to rethink his proposals.

The plans mean that most local radio output in the afternoons and evenings will be shared. Overall, BBC local staffing in England is expected to reduce by around 48 posts. The NUJ has described this as the greatest risk to local radio since its launch in 1967. 

Paul Siegert, NUJ national broadcasting officer said: “The key to its success over the past 50 years has been its localness. When it stops being local it loses its Unique Selling Point. The very essence of the service is that it is of the community and has a distinct local identity. “

The no-confidence motion

This M/FoCs meeting notes the proposed Digital First plans from BBC England. It further notes that BBC England management has a notoriously poor track record in making bad decisions on its structure, including :

  • The cutting of 450 jobs in 2020
  • Scrapping Inside Out
  • Erasing the Online subs desk
  • Reducing numbers in TV
  • Imposing 4 hour shows in Local Radio

This meeting notes that some of the people involved in those decisions are now behind these proposals. We are deeply concerned at the prospect of redundancies and members being put at risk and are further concerned that the current proposals effectively spell the end of BBC Local Radio.

This meeting therefore has no confidence in the Senior Management of BBC England and the Director of Nations. It calls for these proposals to be paused pending a review, noting that these plans are not about saving money - and therefore there is no pressing financial need to implement them.

NUJ Reps from BBC England

BBC radio briefing

  • The BBC’s plans for local radio will mean most output in the afternoons and evenings will now be shared. Overall, BBC local staffing in England is expected to reduce by around 48 posts. After 2pm on weekdays, the BBC will produce 18 afternoon programmes across England - with local stations sharing programming. The NUJ believes this will seriously diminish a service that is highly valued by listeners and underpins local democracy.  BBC Local Radio provides a vital service of news, information, and companionship for its communities.
  • The cuts will mean just 40 hours a week of guaranteed local programming.
  • Local radio, connecting communities and providing local news, sport, entertainment and religious services, has been the bedrock of the BBC’s role as a public service broadcaster. It connects listeners to their elected representatives and holds them to account.
  • In its last annual report, the BBC boasted how local radio “delivered real value by keeping people safe and informed through challenging times such as Storm Arwen, where audiences in the Northeast were left without power for weeks” and during the pandemic when many people were isolated in their homes. Its Make a Difference campaign brought together volunteers to help neighbours during the Covid-19 emergency.
  • Of the total licence fee, just £7.60 is spent on local radio.
  • Latest figures show that 5.7 million people listen to local radio.
  • The former voice of BBC Radio Suffolk's afternoons, Lesley Dolphin, has written to Tim Davie, BBC director general, saying: "BBC managers are proud that they have journalists on the ground in every county, but local radio is so much more than a news service – it is embedded in local communities and gives people a sense of place, a chance to celebrate heritage and art. It will be impossible to do that if programmes are shared across a wider area.”
  • The urgent question debated in the House of Commons on Tuesday 1 November showed huge cross-party support for BBC local radio as “a lifeline for news and education, mitigating against rural isolation and supporting people’s rural mental health”, as a “great incubator for new talent” and  “one of the crown jewels of our public sector broadcaster”. [https://hansard.parliament.uk/commons/2022-11-01/debates/985BA021-5CFA-4BC2-AA13-E17811000C8D/BBCLocalRadioProposedReductionInProvision]
  • The UK has seen a steady decline of local newspaper titles, the Press Gazette reported that at least 265 titles have gone since 2005.
  • The BBC says it is pursuing a digital-first policy, chasing younger viewers. The NUJ believes digital services can be improved by working differently and using technological solutions. For example, digital news bulletins are already provided seven days per week on smart speakers and via BBC Sounds. This summer, Sounds launched a new “local rail”, signposting the digital audience to other audio content. Every BBC region already provides a live “local” page on weekdays – this is already available on the BBC News regional index pages, which are poorly promoted. The BBC could be using some of its vast marketing budget to promote such initiatives.
  • All BBC local radio staff have been told their job is at risk and as managers intend to roll out the plans, some staff will have this hanging over them for up to a year. NUJ members are sad and angry – they know just how valued they are to their listeners, if not to the BBC’s panjandrums.
  • Media minister Julia Lopez said the government was disappointed that the BBC is reportedly planning to make such extensive cuts to its local radio output, however it was her government which chose to freeze the BBC’s TV licence for two years at a time when inflation is soaring.
  • The NUJ has now entered a consultation period with the BBC.

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