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Strike brings BBC to standstill
A strike today by up to 11,000 BBC journalists, producers and technicians over a move to cut 4,000 jobs will drastically alter radio and TV schedules. Politicians, newspaper editors and more than six million other listeners who start their day with Radio 4's Today will be hit, with the familiar tones of John Humphrys and James Naughtie replaced by recorded comedy and drama. The 24-hour strike ends at midnight tonight, followed by a 48-hour stoppage next week. There is widespread anger across the corporation at director general Mark Thompson's aim to do away with one in five BBC jobs and cut budgets by 15% across the board in order to release ￡355m to reinvest in programming within three years. Staff, including some senior executives, are convinced it will lead to a drop in quality, and leave those remaining overworked and lacking in essential support services. Today's main 1pm, 6pm and 10pm TV news bulletins will be cut to between five to 15 minutes. Because technical staff, graphics artists and cameramen will not be working, the programmes will resemble a 1970s nostalgia show - with just a newsreader, a desk, and a single camera. BBC News insiders said it was "impossible to say" in advance who would read the news; staff who did not have a show would be told to stay at home. Darren Jordan, a regular on the One O'Clock News, has been lined up to present some of the main bulletins, but was believed to still deciding whether to work last night. In the last big strike in 1989, Nicholas Witchell was branded a scab for reading the Six O'Clock News. George Alagiah was scheduled to present this show today, but will not cross the picket line. Other well-known presenters refusing to work include Fiona Bruce, Moira Stewart and Sian Williams. Feelings are highest in the news division, where several managers privately support the staff action. "This is a very sad day for the BBC," said broadcast union Bectu national official Luke Crawley yesterday. "It's a shame that it's come to this, but there's no question that Mark Thompson's cuts will cause huge damage in the short and medium term. We realise there will be disruption for viewers but believe it is for the greater good," The skeleton staff has the added complication of the unions refusing to talk to BBC crews about major stories of the day; instead, the BBC is likely to have to buy footage from Sky or ITN. Regional programmes that follow the early evening news will be hit even more severely, with managers presenting bulletins of a few minutes rather than a half hour; some will be without an autocue and speak to a single fixed camera. The BBC will attempt to air some news in place of the Breakfast show, although regulars Dermot Murnaghan and Natasha Kaplinsky will not cross the picket line and the show will be drastically cut. BBC2's late night Newsnight will be off air. Jeremy Paxman has already questioned the validity of the cuts, which Mr Thompson argues are essential to remodel the BBC for the digital age and convince the government to hand it a generous licence fee settlement. "I don't understand why it's necessary, particularly at a time when you can spend hundreds of millions building new buildings, moving staff to Manchester and all the rest of it," Mr Paxman told the Guardian earlier this year. Picket lines will surround Television Centre in west London, Bush House, Broadcasting House and other offices around the UK. Unions also plan to picket the Chelsea Flower Show, where the BBC2's live coverage will try to recruit freelancers to stay on air; because unions have no legal right to protest there, the corporation is likely call police to move them on. Radio 4 and Radio 5 Live will be among the worst affected, with nothing live for most of the day. On Radio 4, the Today programme, the World at One, and PM will be replaced by recorded programming. Short hourly bulletins will be read by managers or freelance staff willing to break the strike. Radio 5 Live stars Nicky Campbell and Victoria Derbyshire will not work, but the network is determined to continue coverage of the British Lions against Argentina from Cardiff tonight. In the absence of reporters, it is believed former internationals Jason Leonard and Martin Bayfield will try commentary as well as punditry. The National Union of Journalists, Bectu and Amicus said yesterday said support had been "overwhelming", with applications to join them running at record levels. Mr Thompson sent a conciliatory email to BBC staff on Friday, insisting he wanted to talk to the unions "at the earliest possible moment", and adding that management would not begin talks "in an intransigent spirit". However, the unions want a 90-day moratorium on the cuts, no compulsory
redundancies, and a promise to negotiate over total job losses. Otherwise, the
next strike will go ahead a week tomorrow for 48-hours, with the promise of
further action into summer.
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