The BBC has unveiled cuts worth £24m ($31m) as part of a wider effort to save £700m per annum. Among the programmes and services affected are the interview strand Hard Talk and the Asian Network News service. The cuts will result in the loss of 155 jobs. Hard Talk’s presenter, Stephen Sackur, who is to leave the corporation, decried the move, maintaining that such programming provides in-depth interviews which compel “those who all too often avoid accountability in their own countries” to face questioning.
The changes include moving the production of BBC Radio 5 Live’s overnight programme to the corporation’s nations and local teams and increasing the number of digital roles within time zones outside the UK whilst closing such roles in London, with new positions to open in Sydney.
Deborah Turness, CEO of BBC News, stated that even following the cuts, the department would maintain its resources in comparison with its competitors. However, the National Union of Journalists expressed alarm at the funding reductions, arguing that the decision could harm the BBC in the long term. General Secretary Michelle Stanistreet argued that the reductions represented “a damaging assault on journalism and news” at a time when the UK needed more variety and trust in the field.
No cutbacks were announced for the World Service, though the service has already experienced cuts to its foreign language services, including Arabic and Chinese, which make up around a quarter of the service’s £366m budget. The BBC is requesting an increase in funding for the service from the UK government, with a decision expected by the end of October
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