Radio 4 revamp misery
While the public are being encouraged to look ahead with hope to the new Radio 4 schedules, programme staff will be worrying about their futures.
BECTU Press Release: Monday 16 March 1998
Radio 4 revamp: The human misery behind the new schedule
It will be no surprise if James Boyle's pronouncements about the new Radio 4 schedule focus on the need to refresh the network and to cater for existing audiences while attracting new ones. All of this without compromising programme quality.
These objectives present a major challenge for the BBC departments which will provide much of this output: the London-based Topical Features department, Entertainment Features in Manchester and the Bristol-based Features department.
But that is only half the story. Not only do the departments have the challenge of meeting the objectives of new commissioners and a new commissioning structure. They are also being forced to deliver dramatic cuts in staff numbers.
While James Boyle trumpets the attractions of his new schedule his colleagues in BBC Production are dealing with the significant human pain brought on by these changes.
While media pundits and the Radio 4 audience are being encouraged to look ahead with hope, programme staff responsible for today's listening will be worrying about their futures. Will they have a future serving the network? Alternatively will the promise of career development elsewhere in BBC Production be fulfilled?
Seventy posts are to close in Topical Features; while departments in Manchester and Bristol face posts closures of 13 and 16 respectively. The consequent outcry from staff strengthened the hand of union officials of BECTU and the NUJ who have secured a guarantee of no compulsory redundancies before the end of 1998. This additional time is intended to maximise the chances of staff being resettled into other jobs.
"This commitment by the BBC comes as a response to staff anger at the scale of the cuts and at BBC Production's initial plans for dealing with reduced expenditure for 1998/99 coupled with a new schedule" explained BECTU official Sharon Elliott.
"Every member of staff working on Features output represents talent nurtured by the BBC through the payment of the licence fee. We all of us have an interest in ensuring that that talent continues to be valued and developed by the Corporation." she continued.
Current discussions bring to a head growing discontent about John Birt's restructuring of the BBC which created the split between commissioning and scheduling and programme-making departments in 1997.
Commissioners and schedulers in BBC Broadcast hold the purse strings. The new Radio 4 schedule is being achieved by a cut in departmental budgets of up to 30 per cent. And this is only year two of a five year plan to generate savings to fund BBC Digital.
Meanwhile bigger questions beg an answer. How can programme departments survive when the demand is always much more for less and when staff morale is expected to take a constant battering?
Furthermore the attack on dedicated radio production in the regions puts the BBC at odds with its own statements about regional proportionality and the need to support programme making outside London.
Chief executive of BBC Production, Ron Neil's promise of BBC Production as "a powerhouse for programme innovation" is powerless in the face of Broadcast's mission to cut costs.
BBC Radio Classical Music was one of the first departments to experience the cold winds blowing from BBC Broadcast and the upshot of schedule changes there coupled with budget cuts resulted in at least 16 post losses. Radio Two Production has also been on the receiving end with losses amongst support staff last year and discussions continuing now on proposals to cut six producer posts.
"While we have made some progress in negotiations with the BBC there is no question that members are looking for greater commitments from management. Developments in the Radio 4 negotiations are being watched closely by other BBC departments which have still to experience the painful effects of the Broadcast/Production split." commented Sharon Elliott.
ENDS
BECTU (Broadcasting Entertainment Cinematograph and Theatre Union) represents all grades of staff in the BBC. Tel: 0171 437 8506 for more information from Sharon Elliott or Janice Turner, press officer.