BBC NEWS CUTS

I was at school in the 70s, I don't recall being taught anything about civil rights etc, such things were kept brushed under the carpet

By the time I made it to school in the 90s it was considered history. Going way off topic but we seemed to learn far more about American political history than British political history. I think the UK history I was taught was basically 1066, Tudors and Stewarts, Queen Victoria and the two World Wars.

OK, (a URL would be useful ?)

Did you not go to school? If there are two names you should remember from being taught about the civil rights movement it would be Martin Luther King and Rosa Parks?

That said the point still stands - drama can be a very effective way of reaching an audience factual programmes wouldn't and informing an audience who may not be aware of the story of someone like Rosa Parks of her story. And beyond the content, filming across the UK can literally bring money to the regions too - not just from money spent during filming but also in future tourism.

You can get the yearly numbers of TV licences held going back several years from here;
https://www.tvlicensing.co.uk/about/our-performance-AB6

The last BBC Annual report which contains licence fee numbers/income and how it is spent can be found on page 209 (not recommended as a bedtime read) https://downloads.bbc.co.uk/aboutthebbc/reports/annualreport/2018-19.pdf

The detailed figures for that recent 5 month period are a result of an FOI request:
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/82-000-ditch-tv-licence-as-streaming-grows-m0v2hw5hg

Did you not go to school? If there are two names you should remember from being taught about the civil rights movement it would be Martin Luther King and Rosa Parks?

That said the point still stands - drama can be a very effective way of reaching an audience factual programmes wouldn't and informing an audience who may not be aware of the story of someone like Rosa Parks of her story. And beyond the content, filming across the UK can literally bring money to the regions too - not just from money spent during filming but also in future tourism.

Not at my school.

Thank you, I'll take a read. I'd assumed when the BBC said they had lost £120m because of CV19, they were referring to revenue, and not increased costs ? There might end up being a loss of revenue due to programme sales, but I wouldn't have expected that to decline sharply from day one of the lockdown ?

120m equates to 750k annual TV licence payments, but if we're only talking about since lockdown then are there 2 million plus extra non payments ? That's often the problem with Amol Rajan, he talks at a million miles an hour, without giving any meaningful context or detail.

The Andrew Neil Show will disappear from BBC schedules as part of cuts to the corporation's news operation.

The political discussion programme had already been off the air during the Covid-19 crisis and will not return. But the BBC said it was talking to Neil about a new BBC One interview show.

In total, 520 jobs will go, from a workforce of around 6,000 people.

That includes 450 job cuts that were announced as part of an £80m savings drive in January, and then put on hold.
Meanwhile, The Guardian has announced that it will cut 180 jobs, including 70 from editorial teams.

What next for Andrew Neil?

Neil has been one of the BBC's top political broadcasters over the past two decades on shows like This Week and Daily Politics.
The Andrew Neil Show began in autumn 2019 in the run-up to the general election and the UK's departure from the European Union. It included interviews with most party leaders, but Prime Minister Boris Johnson did not appear - leading the host to controversially deliver an on-air ultimatum.

Announcing the latest cuts, the BBC said: "We remain committed to Andrew Neil's in-depth interviews (as well as the Budget, US Election and other Specials).
"The Andrew Neil Show will not be returning but we're in discussions about a new interview series on BBC One."

Neil had previously told the Radio Times he feared he would become "surplus to requirements" as the BBC made cutbacks.
BBC media editor Amol Rajan said the former Sunday Times editor has been talking to other broadcasters.

One of Neil's former programmes, lunchtime TV show Politics Live, will return four days a week after being rested during the pandemic.

More than 100 MPs and peers recently wrote to the BBC, arguing that axing it permanently would "seriously harm the ability of the BBC to scrutinise and explain" politics.

Why are the cuts being made?

The BBC announced in 2016 that it needed to save £800m, with around £80m of that figure coming from News.

Just over £40m - around half of the savings required - has been found over the past four years.

In January, the corporation announced plans to close 450 jobs, as well as programmes like BBC Two's highly-regarded Victoria Derbyshire show.

The cuts were later postponed as the newsroom faced the demands of covering the coronavirus pandemic.

At the same time, the BBC delayed a decision to end free TV licences for the over-75s. That contributed to a further budget shortfall, meaning that the number of proposed job losses in news has increased by 70 posts.

A separate decision to cut 450 jobs in the BBC's regional newsrooms was announced earlier this month.

Which other programmes will be affected?

Most of the changes will take place behind the scenes.

The corporation's head of news, Fran Unsworth, said the BBC would concentrate on fewer stories, with journalists pooled in centralised teams, rather than working for specific programmes.

The BBC News Channel and BBC World will continue to share some output, as they have done during the Covid-19 crisis, although they will remain separate channels.

Radio 4 programme In Business will close, as will the Business Live page on the BBC News Website, while bespoke business news bulletins on the BBC News channel will be reduced.