06 Informed Update Crippling cuts at the BBC


Salami slicing across multiple teams at the broadcaster continues with recent announcements of 130 posts within news and programming to be cut and if you’re questioning how long savings can be sought through endless job losses then you’re not alone. Laura Davison, NUJ senior organiser


and general secretary-elect, said: “It is unclear how much journalism at the BBC can withstand without decisive action and investment that recognises the immense benefit of independent, credible news and current affairs programming.” Te Asian News Network risks losing its entire news team and punchy interviews from HARDtalk will soon be no more as the programme will cease broadcasting by March 2025. Proposals on changes to the newsroom


and to radio bulletins have been met with shock due to their implications. If plans proceed, millions of UK radio listeners will receive their news from the World Service and risk losing access to local relevant content. Te BBC’s local radio stations, 5 Live and Radio 2 are all affected. Te union believes the approach adopted is flawed, especially as some savings are disproportionate to


the scale and value of content produced. General secretary Michelle Stanistreet said cuts, “represent a damaging assault on journalism at a time when the UK needs greater plurality and diversity of news.”


It has been confirmed that an increase in funding for the BBC World Service will be provided by government, giving some light at the end of the tunnel. However, the BBC has made clear that financial constraints mean the World Service is not immune to pressures faced by the rest of the organisation. As journalists wait in anticipation to hear more on whether this might result in cuts, the NUJ will continue its engagement with the broadcaster, doing all it can to avoid compulsory redundancies. Te Foreign Affairs Commitee is holding an inquiry into the future of the World Service. “Te BBC World Service is a cultural institution and integral to our soſt power and standing across the world.” said commitee chair Emily Tornberry MP. Te NUJ stressed in its submission that the 320m World Service audience formed the vast majority of the broadcaster’s 450m weekly listeners, making the service a


Accessible journalism


Text descriptions (also known as alt tags or alt text) are a crucial tool for making all online content accessible to those who don’t access content in what might be considered the traditional way. For news organisations, the use of


these text descripts aren’t just a mater of good practice or compliance, they’re a commitment to serving all audiences, including those who are blind or visually impaired and who use a screen reader to access content.


When news organisations publish


articles they share stories that oſten rely on photos, charts and infographics. Failure to include meaningful text descriptions effectively shuts some people out of the full story and undermines the fundamental mission to inform and engage all members of society. In 2022 I was lucky enough to complete


a fellowship with the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism at the University of Oxford where my research focused on how blind audiences are being leſt behind


Radharc Images / Alamy Stock Photo


crucial one – indeed a lifeline to citizens reliant on it for accurate and impartial journalism. We need look no further than examples of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the coronavirus pandemic and the ongoing war in the Middle East to recognise that future cuts to language programmes would have a considerable impact on diminishing the UK’s soſt power and reduce access to information for wide-ranging audiences.


in the data visualisations revolution. Since then I’ve created detailed guidance for all BBC journalists on how to write meaningful text descriptions for all images in news articles. Audiences today access content in


new and diverse ways; including from text-to-speech soſtware to smartphones. By using text descriptions on all images news organizations send a powerful message: “We see you. We value you and we understand how you engage with our content.” Watch the webinar. Johny Cassidy is the NUJ’s Disabled Members’ Council vice chair and a BBC journalist.


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