Protect the BBC
The NUJ is campaigning against cuts to jobs and programmes at the BBC for its harmful impact on journalists and journalism.
World Service cuts "yet another blow to journalism."
In January, the BBC announced its plans to make £6m in savings within the World Service to close the shortfall caused by the freezing of the licence fee. The NUJ is scrutinising the impact cuts will have on several teams including BBC Monitoring and World Service English.
The union recognises the role of the World Service in shining a light through its journalism on all parts of the globe. It is the world's largest external broadcaster in terms of reception area, language selection and audience reach. It provides millions with trustworthy and impartial news and must be protected.
Its weekly audience reach of 320 million according to the BBC Global Audience Measure 2024, is significant but without sustainable funding that ensures it can thrive, we fear journalists may face further cuts in future.
Laura Davison, NUJ general secretary, said:
“Cuts announced today serve as yet another blow to journalists at the BBC. Proposals will see the loss of talented and experienced journalists committed to the unrivalled journalism produced by the World Service and relied upon by countries globally. The freezing of the licence fee has had a profound impact still felt acutely today; we need a commitment from government to provide long-term sustainable funding that allows the provision by teams including over 40 language services to thrive.
“It is wrong journalists are once more bearing the brunt of changes at a time when the BBC's journalism and soft power is needed more than ever. As we support members impacted by cuts, we urge the BBC to engage meaningfully with us to do all it can to protect jobs."
The importance of local radio
BBC journalists have been involved a long dispute, including strike action, with the corporation over its plans to cut local radio content by almost a half and shift local journalism online.
As the BBC has continued to drive forward changes, many popular presenters lost their jobs or left and scores more staff faced the threat of redundancy. The plans meant huge parts England would share programmes during the afternoon and weekends, however the union has now agreed a deal on jobs, income protection, and workload, along with new concessions on recorded radio news bulletins and shared programmes.
The union has been supported by MPs and councillors of all parties, charities, sporting teams and community groups who say the BBC’s local radio service is vital for democracy, binding communities together and providing vital relevant and genuinely local news.
A report by the cross-party Culture, Media and Sport Committee said:
“We continue to be concerned about the impact of the BBC’s Digital First strategy on linear TV and radio audiences. Sharing content across large areas risks undermining the sense of localness that has, until now, made BBC local radio distinct. We are similarly concerned that the direction of travel in linear TV provision could also diminish coverage for local audiences. While we recognise that the latest license fee settlement is difficult for the BBC, its changes to local radio and local TV provision are evidence that the drive to prioritise digital strategies can often come at the expense of local audiences.”
The strikes took place in July and June 2023 and to coincide with Budget Day in March. See all the #KeepBBCLocalRadioLocal stories and picket pictures.
The BBC closed the local television news programmes in Oxford and Cambridge in December 2022. Blue day for Cambridge and Oxford local TV
MPs from all parties spoke out in favour of local radio and against the proposed cuts in a debate called by Emma Hardy MP in the House of Commons. They said 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. Watch the debate or read it in Hansard.
#KeepBBCLocalRadioLocal. "It's not good for democracy, it's not good for our city," Sadiq Khan, London mayor.
BBC Charter Review
The NUJ’s core priorities include a Charter that:
Boosts the BBC’s role as a national public asset and:
- Enshrines universality and guarantees a sustainable public funding model for the long term
- Protects public service broadcasting – ending the increasing move of content and programming into the commercially-run BBC Studios, operating as a competitor within the wider broadcasting landscape instead of a pivotal driver to raise up the entire creative industry
- Improves the BBC’s public engagement – starting with genuine engagement and consultation with the British public about what they value from their BBC, gaining their input into its future funding and direction
- Public and staff representation on the board – improving diversity and reflecting the priorities of licence fee payers more fully
- Reverse initiatives that have diverted licence fee income away from core work - including the cost of free licences for the over 75s, which should be funded directly by the government
- Injecting greater independence and safeguarding the BBC from political interference – including BBC board and its chair to be chosen by an arms-length body
Better reflects the communities it serves by;
- Continuing to improve cross-cutting diversity measures – both on and off screen
- Piloting innovative initiatives to improve local news provision in communities that represent news deserts, or near news deserts
- Opening up access to journalism with targeted training programmes to increase opportunity, including apprenticeships for school leavers
- Recognising the importance of the BBC role in the creative sector and wider economy for both staff and freelances
- Building and protecting the spectrum of news provision across linear and digital platforms – including proper resourcing of local radio news of local radio – ensuring a breadth of diverse content that prioritises quality
Protecting its vital role abroad by:
- Acknowledging the value of the BBC’s global reach – including by re-establishing full government funding for BBC World Service and BBC Monitoring
- Valuing the strategic importance of the BBC’s provision of impartial and trusted news and information at a time when journalism and journalists are being undermined and threatened around the world
Boosts trust in its news output and wider importance of journalism by:
- Participating in a roll-out of UK-wide media literacy initiatives – equipping children and adults with the skills necessary in an era of mis and disinformation and deep fakes
- Investing in news resources – including BBC Verify – that helps the public assess and interrogate the veracity of sources and information
- Improving levels of trust – including by adopting a fully transparent and cautious approach with meaningful safeguards in the use and deployment of any generative AI