The newest job cuts on the BBC have been a part of a “worrying trend” that dangers harming its news output, a U.Okay. union representing media employees warned on Wednesday.
The BBC revealed plans on Tuesday to axe at the very least 100 news roles as a part of a raft of proposed adjustments that embrace scrapping the long-running in-depth interview present HARDtalk.
It is the newest spherical of job losses on the British public service broadcaster affecting its news division, which has already halved employees numbers on its prestigious Newsnight program and minimize its weeknight working time to half-hour.
The BBC has been beneath rising monetary stress because of excessive inflation and elevated prices, and a below-inflation license charge settlement.
The annual charge – which rose by 6.6% in April to 169.50 kilos ($220), after a two-year freeze – is necessary for each U.Okay. family watching dwell channels on a colour tv.
“The BBC’s need to make savings is clear, but this latest round of cuts follows a worrying trend towards reducing services that provide critical, in-depth analysis,” Philippa Childs, head of the broadcasting union Bectu, mentioned in an announcement Wednesday.
It represents greater than 40,000 employees, contract and freelance employees within the media and leisure industries within the U.Okay.
“Bectu is concerned that in a world of fake news, disinformation and political turmoil, these cuts will hit not just jobs, but also reduce the breadth and range of news content that the BBC can provide and is known for,” Childs added.
Bectu is the newest union to voice considerations at Tuesday’s announcement.
National Union of Journalists (NUJ) General Secretary Michelle Stanistreet known as it a “damaging assault on journalism and news.”
She famous it got here “at a time when the U.K. needs greater plurality and diversity of news, and trust in journalism is under attack at home and abroad.”
A BBC spokesperson mentioned in an announcement that the broadcaster “can no longer afford to run so many bespoke program teams.”
Source: www.dailysabah.com