BBC cuts to radio undermine Charter mission and harm audiences, says NUJ
The NUJ said it is “alarmed” by news of further cuts across BBC Radio and warned that following through would undermine the broadcaster’s core mission and harm audiences.
In April, BBC management announced plans to cut between 1,800-2,000 jobs as part of a 10% reduction to its total costs by the end of 2028-29. The union has restated its calls for urgent government intervention ahead of Charter Renewal to prevent more damaging cuts to jobs and programming.
Laura Davison, NUJ general secretary, said:
“The union is alarmed by news that more long-running programmes at the BBC are set to be axed to save costs. A huge part of the BBC’s success has been the ability to provide a wide range of valuable content that informs, educates, and entertains diverse audiences. Radio 4’s You and Yours is a great example of this, and listeners are now due to lose this important source of consumer rights news and information as well as other programmes that help us better understand the world we live in.
“In recent months, the BBC announced the closure of numerous TV and radio programmes such as Radio 4’s The World Tonight and the World Service’s The Conversation. This trend of piecemeal cuts is incredibly worrying for viewers and demoralising for our members as the BBC implements its proposal to cut 10% of its total costs and 2,000 jobs.
“The NUJ has urged BBC management to reconsider these decisions and avoid heading towards a doom spiral of cuts and diminishing services - and to instead focus on securing a sustainable funding settlement through Charter Renewal. The union has also written to the UK Chancellor, calling for urgent intervention for the BBC in the upcoming Autumn Budget to prevent further cuts. The NUJ will continue to engage with the government on this and we hope to see this call come into fruition.”
The NUJ BBC Audio chapel said:
“NUJ members in Salford are dismayed that the only live daily programme made for BBC Radio 4 outside of London is being axed.
“You and Yours is one of Radio 4’s heritage titles. It is loved by audiences and has solid listening figures, which have increased since Covid, reaching similar levels to Desert Island Discs. The BBC has been inundated with thousands of messages protesting the loss of this specialist consumer programme - which has changed laws and lives - and it will happen at a time of prolonged cost-of-living pressures.
“It is the perfect example of public service broadcasting. The programme has charted the growth of fraud and scams for 20 years - long before fraud featured in the British Crime Survey. It has recovered millions of pounds in total for victims of crime and led to reform in laws and regulations on online banking security, gambling, and insurance terms and conditions.
“The BBC’s decision to cut You and Yours alongside other much-loved TV and radio programmes utterly undermines the BBC’s core mission to ‘act in the public interest’ and provide ‘high-quality and distinctive output’.
“The situation is dire. In the latest round of cuts in Salford, the teams making Radio 4 programmes are facing 11 post closures. Episodes of Loose Ends, the long-running comedy strand, are being reduced. The Religion and Ethics department is being slashed and The Daily Service, one of the longest-running radio programmes in the world, will have a significant budget cut. A new digital format is proposed, leading to questions around how digitally excluded listeners will be served.In Touch, the weekly programme for people who are blind or partially sighted, is also losing funding.
“We urge the public to write to Caroline Dinenage, who chairs the Parliamentary Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee, and to their MPs, letting them know how important these services are to their constituents and asking them to support the NUJ’s call for investment in our BBC to avoid these destructive cuts. We also echo calls for the UK government to provide urgent intervention to save jobs and vital programming.”