news


BBC plans major cuts to news coverage and to axe 450 jobs


THE NUJ has warned of an ‘existential threat’ to the BBC after the corporation said it planned to cut 450 jobs in its news operation. It will also cover fewer stories in a drive to save £80 million by 2022. The award-winning Victoria Derbyshire


(pictured) programme is being closed and Newsnight, Radio 5 Live and the World Service’s English-language output face substantial cuts. More journalists will be pooled in centralised


news teams rather than working for specific programmes and there will be more emphasis on online output. At Newsnight, 12 jobs will go, its in-depth films will be halved and spending on investigative journalism reduced. Michelle Stanistreet, NUJ general secretary,


said: “These damaging cuts are part of an existential threat to the BBC, and a direct consequence of the last disastrous, secret licence fee deal the BBC agreed with the government. This is before the impact of taking over responsibility for the over-75s licences kicks in. “Against this backdrop, the BBC’s very


existence is being threatened, with public service broadcasting under unprecedented threat. If the government goes ahead and


decriminalises non-payment of the licence fee, we know the impact will be further losses for the BBC of around £200 million a year.” Fran Unsworth, BBC head of news, told staff:


“Producing fewer stories means we have to be a smaller organisation.” She said the BBC was under attack from changing media habits, accusations of bias and threats to its funding. “Never in my career have I felt this


organisation is quite under the threat that it is currently. Many believe that how we are funded is no longer appropriate when consumers seem to prefer to pay for just what they use.” She said decriminalisation of non-payment of the licence fee could trigger further cuts.


Raymond Snoddy, page 19 PATRICK NAIRNE / ALAMY STOCK PHOTO “


NEGOTIATIONS BETWEEN the NUJ and the BBC over equal pay are continuing following the landmark employment tribunal win by the broadcaster Samira Ahmed. Ahmed, who presents viewer feedback


programme Newswatch, claimed she was owed almost £700,000 in back pay because of the difference between her £440-an-episode rate and the £3,000 an episode Jeremy Vine received for presenting Points of View.


THE GOVERNMENT has ruled out creating an Institute for Public Interest News to help save the news industry. In its response to the recommendations from Cairncross review into the future of high-quality journalism, it said such a body could be seen


as government interference in a free press. However, it said it was willing to


consider extending some tax breaks, which could include removing the VAT charged on online news subscriptions to fall into line with printed newspapers.


Never have I felt the BBC is quite under the threat that it is now. Many believe how we are funded is no longer appropriate when consumers seem to prefer to pay for just what they use


Fran Unsworth Head of News, BBC


inbrief...


BBC BOSS GOES TO NATIONAL GALLERY Tony Hall, director general of the BBC, is to leave in the summer after seven years in the role. He will become chair of the National Gallery. Sir David Clementi, BBC chairman, is searching for the next leader. The corporation faces a mid-term review in 2022 and the renewal of its charter in 2027.


TUCKER TAKES REINS AT SUNDAY TIMES The Sunday Times has appointed Emma Tucker as its first female editor in more than a century. She is deputy editor of the Times and replaces Martin Ivens, who is stepping down after seven years. Ivens has joined the board of Times Newspapers and will contribute as a commentator and broadcaster.


Equal pay victory for Samira Ahmed The employment tribunal said the BBC failed


to provide convincing evidence that the pay gap was for reasons other than sex discrimination. Ahmed said: “No woman wants to have to


take action against their own employer. I love working for the BBC. I’m glad it’s been resolved. “I’d like to thank my union the NUJ [and] all


the women and men who’ve supported me and the issue of equal pay.” The battle for pay parity, page 7


No institute but tax breaks for news The government agreed to a


£1,500 discount on business rates for office space occupied by local newspapers in England, and it said it would make a £2 million grant to the Nesta charity to encourage innovation in the news industry.


GUARDIAN BANS OIL AND GAS ADVERTS Guardian Media Group has banned all advertising from oil and gas companies across all its titles and platforms. It said the decision may make its short-term financial future ‘a tiny bit tougher’ but it hopes that the ban will attract some other brands to advertise.


PRE-TAX PROFITS FALL AT DC THOMSON Pre-tax profits at Scottish publisher DC Thomson fell by three-quarters last year from £86.4 million to £21.1 million. The group, which publishes the Press and Journal, reported advertising revenues were down by 5.6 per cent to £37.1 million for the year ending 31 March 2019.


BUZZFEED FOUNDER GOES TO NY TIMES Ben Smith, the founding editor-in-chief of Buzzfeed News, has left the website eight years after helping to launch its US newsroom. He has joined the New York Times as a media columnist and said he was “eager for a spell of writing and reporting and thinking”.


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JESS HURD


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