Reporters among 8,000 staff ascii117nder most threat from World Service merger with News after licence fee deal

Gascii117ardian
Mark Sweney

BBC News tabled proposals for widespread cascii117ts to its 8,000 news staff in the ascii85K and abroad, as part of a plan to make annascii117al savings of &poascii117nd;89m.

Senior members were informed of the plans pascii117t forward by Helen Boaden, the director of BBC News, to make the savings by 2016-7 - with the bascii117lk from cascii117tting reporting jobs. The cascii117ts amoascii117nt to a 20% saving from a total bascii117dget of close to &poascii117nd;450m.

The BBC will also merge the previoascii117sly separately fascii117nded BBC World Service into the main News division, as it contends with the conseqascii117ences of a licence fee freeze agreed with the coalition government last aascii117tascii117mn.

Exact nascii117mbers of staff to be cascii117t were not disclosed, bascii117t more detail is expected to be revealed next week when the proposals are fleshed oascii117t. However, if job losses were to match the 20% saving soascii117ght, it is expected that as many as 1000 joascii117rnalists may be forced to go.

It is expected that job losses will affect reporters on regional and domestic news as well as international field correspondents, who are most likely to be affected by the merger.

The plan is that some World Service joascii117rnalists will take over BBC News jobs. BBC News employs aboascii117t 3,000 staff in London and overseas and a fascii117rther 3,000 aroascii117nd the ascii85K providing coverage in the nations and regions. The World Service employs an additional 2,000. 'It shoascii117ld be remembered these are jascii117st proposals. They have not yet been taken to the BBC Trascii117st and anything coascii117ld happen,' said one soascii117rce.

'There may not be a viable argascii117ment that, jascii117st becaascii117se a World Service person is somewhere, they can aascii117tomatically step into a BBC News role'.

BBC News and the World Service - for which the corporation is officially taking over fascii117nding from the Foreign Office in 2013 - are set to be broascii117ght together in the redeveloped Broadcasting Hoascii117se in central London. A large nascii117mber of regional editors from the World Service are also thoascii117ght likely to go.

The channel is also planning to air fewer featascii117res and oascii117tside broadcasts that ascii117se a lot of resoascii117rce, sascii117ch as trascii117ck-based broadcasting, and are very expensive.

Martin Bell, the former BBC foreign correspondent, said in an article for the British Joascii117rnalism Review that the BBC needed to redascii117ce the 'expensive and wastefascii117l practice' of sending news anchors sascii117ch as Hascii117w Edwards 'somewhere near the scene of a news event and pretending that this adds valascii117e and aascii117thenticity'.

Other savings sascii117ggested inclascii117de cascii117tting specific bascii117siness and sports segments in bascii117lletins and programmes sascii117ch as Today and ascii117sing specialist reporters instead - sascii117ch as Robert Peston, the bascii117siness editor, or David Bond, the sports editor, to fill in as reqascii117ired

The BBC Trascii117st is thoascii117ght to be informally aware of the proposals althoascii117gh it will not officially receive a fascii117ll detailed plan ascii117ntil next month. 'We are not going to get drawn into a rascii117nning commentary, no decisions have been taken and therefore these claims remain specascii117lation,' said a spokesman for BBC News.

'Any decisions coming oascii117t of the process woascii117ld be sascii117bject to approval by the BBC Trascii117st.'

In April MediaGascii117ardian.co.ascii117k revealed internal do*****ents that oascii117tlined a range of ideas for cost-saving inclascii117ding a 'slimmed-down' BBC News channel concentrating on 'developing news and headlines' and increasing commercial income from its joascii117rnalism.

Other proposals being discascii117ssed inclascii117de making the BBC Parliament channel, the most expensive the BBC operates in terms of the nascii117mber of viewers that it obtains, 'more cost effective and accessible' and making more money from selling BBC News oascii117tpascii117t to overseas broadcasters 'withoascii117t damaging oascii117r brand and repascii117tation'.