The Newsroom

BBC NEWS CUTS

Cuts reactivated - P43 onwards (January 2020)

This site closed in March 2021 and is now a read-only archive
CI
cityprod
Okay since we're talking about another BBC economy campaign, as they used to be known, we're getting all the stupid ideas brought back again.

Well if we're going to throw crazy ideas around, I'll throw one in that actually I do think has a chance of it happening now, where as I wouldn't have seen it happening much before this, and that's the cancellation of Newsnight. We already know that the Johnson regime have got the show on their blacklist, and after all the controversies the programme has gone through in recent years, making blaming it's cancellation on having to make cuts will save the BBC some face in this. A late 11pm return of News on 2 from Studio A will probably replace it.

I'm thinking that Today might get cut back to 2 hours or 2.5 hours on Radio 4, The World At One and The World Tonight both get cut to 30 minutes, and PM will lose its Saturday edition. I think the major change will be to 5 Live. I've heard talk before of splitting it into 5 Live News and 5 Live Sport, especially as now you have LBC News on digital radio as well. If 5 Live News happens, then it will probably be a rolling news type service just like LBC News is, rather than anything like what 5 Live is now, which is more like LBC than LBC News.

I fear that BBC local radio may suffer more cuts as a result of this as well, though honestly it is difficult to see how they could do that without doing something really unpopular, like daytime programme sharing.
BR
Brekkie
dvboy posted:
There's a lot of stuff above I disagree with but I want to make the point particularly on Wimbledon coverage. The BBC do not produce all-court coverage solely for a domestic audience, those feeds are produced for broadcasters worldwide and it would be a huge step backwards to cut them when almost every match at every other tournament throughout the year is televised.

The BBC no longer produce the coverage anyway - Wimbledon do it themselves now.


We will see with the Olympics this year what a disaster removing multistream coverage is. Even though the vast majority may watch the main coverage removing the option to watch alternatives removes more value than it saves in costs.
RN
Rolling News
Brekkie posted:
One obvious salary saving would be the Six o'clock News presenter. Having Huw on BBC1 at 6pm makes better use of him than on BBC News at 5pm, and if presenters on BBC News need to go better to start nearer the top than the bottom.

Someone else mentioned the morning News Channel host fronting the One o'clock News, simulcasting Politics Live in between at noon. Afternoon Live could move to 1.30-4 and share a host with News at 5, with a World simulcast at 4pm. An evening news channel host would cover from 6.30pm, so although you don't save any NC presenter shifts you're losing Victoria Derbyshire and the host of the 1pm and 6pm bulletins. Simulcasting Newsnight at 10.30 means you can axe The Papers too - why waste money on two guests a night promoting rival media organisations that just slag you off anyway?

I can't see them axing the likes of Sophie and George.
AJ
AJB39
To those looking for the BBC to scrap their coverage of Wimbledon, my understanding is, and as always I’m open to correction, is that the BBC no longer produce the court coverage of Wimbledon other then their own presenting segments and reports. The All England Club took over video production a few years ago. The BBC commentators commentate for the World Feed first. This feed is then carried on the BBC and many other broadcasters. The BBC does pay for the punditry done especially for it which is often by the same commentators.The BBC does of course pay a fee for the contract to broadcast the tournament. If tennis is dying which I would contest, then it will definitely be dead in Britain if the BBC axe Wimbledon, and yes I am a tennis fan.
LS
Lou Scannon
Brekkie posted:
Simulcasting Newsnight at 10.30 means you can axe The Papers too


If that would mean it actually starting bang on 22:30:00 (for what I think would be literally the first time ever?!), I would advocate this.

I kind of wonder whether NN is deliberately delayed to avoid/minimise a clash with the BBC One late regional news, except I'm sure that NN's chronic inability to start on time massively pre-dates the 9 o'Clock News being moved to 10pm.
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A former member
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JK
JKDerry
Closing the BBC News Channel will mean there will only be one UK based 24 hour news channel - Sky News, and the BBC and others do not want Sky having a monopoly on that, so I can think we can safely guess the news channel will be staying put.
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JK
JKDerry
Watching the US news channels just shows how very different world we have here in the UK with regards to news channels. CNN, MSNBC and Fox News all have very dedicated separate programmes each day on their schedules, with each one having their own distinct host and style. Something we do not have here in the UK with Sky News or BBC News.

I enjoy watching MSNBC's programmes now and again such as Rachel Maddow, Chris Hayes and Lawrence O'Donnell. Anderson Cooper on CNN is always a nice watch too - we have none of these types of shows on Sky News or BBC News.
JK
JKDerry
Fox and Friends is just a pure comedy show to watch on FNC. I laugh at how blatantly they are slanted to the Republicans and Trump - with people complaining about BBC Breakfast and GMB with Piers Morgan, they really need to watch Fox and Friends and imagine GMB being the same way and think themselves lucky.
CU
Cusack
AlexS posted:
Cusack posted:
AlexS posted:
My suggestions would include extending the world news simulcast on BBC One and BBC News in the early mornings until between 06:30 and 07:00 as the amounts of viewers awake at these times is no greater than late in the evening which is already simulcast and additionally because WN is already focused on Europe at this time of day. As this would allow breakfast to start later I would either extend it on BBC One and the NC to 10:00 in order to cut the daytime budget or finish it at 09:00 on BBC One so that the Salford team can continue on the NC until 10:00. I would also reduce Newsnight to be broadcast for 30 minutes and on Mondays-Wednesday's only (as the viewer base is watching question time on Thursdays and the programme tends to be light on content on Friday's in any case).
Another possibility would be to simulcast politics live on the NC and get the morning NC presenter to also present the One (which is no different to a typical NC half hour except for an in studio weather forecast) so that one presenter can cover from 10:00-14:00. Furthermore I would scrap the Five and extend Afternoon Live until 6 or simulcast with World between 17:00 and 18:00.

I would also scrap the need for a sports presenter on weekdays with any important stories being covered by the main presenter and the less important ones being dropped (there is no need for 3 reports back to back on the Australian open for example) but maintain a business presenter in a similar role to a present.
At weekends simulcast with world until 08:00 and then have a single headed version of breakfast from Salford until 10:00 on BBC One and 12:00 on the NC on a Saturday and scrap breakfast completely on Sunday with the extra hour absorbed into the London NC rota. I would also drop the Saturday edition of PM and make the Saturday version of Today and weekend breakfast on 5 Live single headed.

On radio I would turn 5 live into an opt of world service with only its own breakfast and drives shows (and any sports opts needed) and also simulcast this with radio 4 and local radio overnight. I would combine the news bulletins on radio 2, radio 3 and radio 6 music and also on radio 1 and 1 extra during evenings and weekends, but would maintain Newsbeat during weekday daytimes.
Outside of News I would close the linear red button and BBC Scotland in their entirety, would reduce some sports coverage noticeably giving up Wimbledon as producing coverage of 15 courts some of which are watched by a handful of people at best is not even close to a good use of resources. I would merge BBC 4 into BBC 2, would create a distinct strand for BBC3 on BBC2 between 22:00 and midnight on Thursdays and Fridays, reduce the numbers of programmes in genres well covered elsewhere such as period dramas and weight loss documentaries. I would also make 6 Music a part time station so that it only broadcasts between 7am and 7pm Monday-Friday and 9am-5pm at weekends, would close down all AM radio frequencies outside of rural areas that cannot recieve a FM or DAB signal.


Wow, where to start with this mess! Firstly Radio 1 and 1xtra already share news 7 days a week, and don't have many updates after 5.45 Newsbeat during the week anyway, so there's no savings there. Apart from weekday breakfast on Radio 2, the same presenter does Radio 2 and 6 Music news, one on the hour, one on the half hour, so no saving there.
Why does 6 Music have to be reduced to those silly times? Why not Radio 3? Or Radio 2? Is that because you're not a listener of 6 Music?

The first half hour of weekday Breakfast is in my opinion the most news focused of the whole show, handling the developing overnight stories, newspaper reviews, sport, weather and local news. I take it, you're not up before 7, unlike so many viewers?

While i agree that something needs to be done about the content on 5 live, your idea of being an opt out service from the World service doesn't work. If you are going to cut it down so much, just close it!

I'm also getting the feeling that you aren't a tennis fan, mentioning the Australian Open and pointless Wimbledon coverage, but Wimbledon is one of the BBC's crown jewels.

I mean personally I'd scrap radio 3 completely but that'd never happen (despite the existence of both classic FM and Scala making it unnecessary). Whatever it's listeners may think 6 music has already been proposed for closure once and the scale of the cuts needed now mean that it should go completely so reducing it to the times that radio has its highest audience is probably the best that people should hope for. Furthermore Radio 2 has specialist content for much of the evening making it unnecessary duplication during those times.

The fact that people can get away with suggesting that match of the day should be scrapped but the first mention of reducing tennis coverage is overly criticised just highlights one of the biggest problems at the BBC, which it that it wants to make content for middle aged (and older) middle class people and doesn't know how to cater for anyone else. Whatever some may want to believe Tennis is a dying sport that is increasingly the domain of the privately educated and Wimbledon would get coverage on another channel if the BBC dropped it making its position on BBC nonviable in my opinion.

I mean arguing that the first half hour of breakfast being the most news focused means it shouldn't be replaced by news is rather strange and the amount of people awake at 06:00 is now no larger than at the times in the evening the NC simulcast begins so it is strange that people are so against the simulcast of world being extended in the morning but don't seem to care about how early it starts in the evening (unless let again the fact those awake early tend to be older and richer means the people in charge think they are more important). Quite frankly the numbers of people who would turn over because it was Sally Bundock reading the news at 06:00 rather than Dan and Louise could almost certainly be counted on one hand and I can only assume you have never been awake during the night if you think a world simulcast means the weather updates disappear.


Unfortunately TV executives would like for the BBC to scrap its genuinely PSB content that attracts the viewers not catered for elsewhere and who need to be attracted for the BBC to have a long term future in favour of chasing viewing figures which has lead to it leaving a generation behind and if the BBC continues in the way that it is heading it will die with its current audience as there is nothing that makes my generation want to buy a TV licence.


Firstly I can't stand tennis, so they can scrap for me, I just thought it was unusual that you mention dropping tennis coverage twice during your post.

With regards duplication between Radio 2 and 6 Music during the evenings, having listened to both on many occasions, I don't hear much of the same music being played by the two. During the evening is where 6 Music really comes into it's own with Marc Riley and Gideon Coe, while Radio 2 have less specialist content in the evenings than I can remember with the likes of Jo Whiley and Trevor Nelson presenting very entertaining and enjoyable shows, but neither could be classed as 'specialist' compared with the output on the station 15 or 20 years ago. Yes the nightly specialist slot at nine covers it as it always has, but there's no comedy anymore like the 'old days'. Although it's not as much as it used to be, there's still a bigger crossover with Radio 1 and Radio 1Xtra in the evening than between 2 and 6.

And my point about the first half hour of Breakfast being replaced by World News was that it's UK focused on BBC 1, rather than what World News provide before six. And I have been awake during the night, so I know that weather doesn't disappear, that again wasn't my point. I also think you would need more than one hand to count the viewers who would miss the likes of Dan, Louise, Naga and Charlie if they were replaced by the fine broadcaster Sally Bundock.
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A former member
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NE
News96
Seems they still have money to replace The Breakfast sofa!



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