NUJ urges BBC to use additional World Service funding for BBC Persian radio
The union has called on the BBC to reverse cuts to services and jobs at the station, follwing government's £20m injection.
The NUJ welcomes the decision of the UK government to give an additional £20m of funding to the BBC World Service following lengthy lobbying by the union.
The World Service provides unrivalled journalism which shines a light on all parts of the globe. It is the world’s largest external broadcaster and provides many millions of people with trustworthy and impartial news they are unable to get at home. This vital work should be properly funded by the UK government in a sustainable way that can sustain the necessary breadth of accessible services into the future.
Last year the BBC announced it was cutting the World Service’s budget by £28.5m per year from April 2023, with 382 posts (almost one in five) to go. This is a result of the freezing of the licence fee, soaring costs, inflationary pressure and the BBC’s decision to move to a digital-first service. Seven Asian-language services will become digital-only, meaning that almost half of the 41 foreign-language services will be digital-only. BBC Language Services have played a vital role in covering protests in Iran, war in Ethiopia, and pro-democracy protests in Myanmar. This work has come at a huge personal cost for many BBC journalists.
The NUJ is deeply concerned that despite the extra £20m investment, the BBC is still ploughing ahead with its planned cuts. This goes against the spirit of why the extra money has been made available and squanders a vital opportunity to reverse both the cuts in services and consequential job losses. Just £800,000 of this new funding could save BBC Persian Radio and with it 10 journalist posts. This would preserve a service relied upon by 1.6m Iranians who are in the middle of an uprising linked to a campaign for women's rights. We also believe estimates of radio audience figures are hugely under-estimated and do not fully reflect the full reach and impact of BBC Persian radio.
Paul Siegert, NUJ national broadcasting organiser, said:
“This extra funding is a huge opportunity for the BBC to change tack, and to offer a lifeline to BBC Persian radio. Since the cuts were first embarked upon, the Iranian authorities have escalated their hostility towards BBC Persian output and its journalists. This is not a time for the BBC to be retreating from vital reporting that acts as a beacon of hope to its audience.
“We call on the BBC to use the opportunity this extra money brings to pause this process and reverse the decision to cut services and jobs. Going forward the NUJ is clear that the World Service should be funded directly by the government and not out of the licence fee – as it was prior to 2011 – and the NUJ will continue to lobby for that to happen.”