Birmingham and Coventry National Union of Journalists

BBC World Service Cuts are a 'Terrible Assault on a Much-Loved Institution'

Following the announcement on Thursday 18 October that the BBC plan to cut another 73 jobs from the World Service, the NUJ has urged George Entwistle not to make the same mistakes as his predecessor.

Michelle Stanistreet, NUJ general secretary said: "These job cuts fly in the face of the new director general's commitment to sustaining quality programming at the BBC.

"The World Service is prized around the world – slashing journalistic jobs and cutting programmes is a terrible assault on a much-loved institution that provides a lifeline to listeners around the world.

"Instead of pressing on with these cuts, George Entwistle should be taking the opportunity to rethink the approach of his predecessor, and seize the chance to push for a renegotiation of the licence fee settlement. The deal, clinched behind closed doors in 2010, froze the licence fee and foisted an additional £340million of spending commitments on the BBC, setting the corporation on a path of decline that threatens our world-acclaimed public service broadcaster – it's time for a fresh start and a a real commitment to quality programming and journalism." 
http://www.nuj.org.uk/innerPagenuj.html?docid=2666http://www.nuj.org.uk/innerPagenuj.html?docid=2666