BBC local radio hit by budget cuts
Thursday 6th October 2011, 1:30PM BST.
The BBC will cut 2,000 jobs, sell off offices and show more repeats as it seeks to cut 20 per cent from its budget, it was announced today.
The jobs are expected to go by 2016 and a further 1,000 staff will move to the new BBC base at Media City in Salford.
There will be more repeats on BBC One and fewer panel and chat shows on BBC Two under the shake-up, ordered as part of a deal to freeze the licence fee.
Local radio stations bore a large brunt of today’s proposed cuts with a £5.3 million reduction in their budgets.
Reports said that equated to 280 jobs being lost – 14 per cent of entire BBC cuts.
At BBC Shropshire, 20 per cent of the workforce will be lost as eight jobs are axed. Staff at the station were called into a meeting this morning where they were told the details of the cuts.
It is thought local radio could see major changes under the plans. More regional programming will be introduced with some programmes being shared between stations after 1pm on weekends.
There will be “a phased but full exit for the BBC’s public services from their current home in West London” including its White City offices.
Under the proposals factual programming will leave Birmingham and go to Cardiff and Bristol although some shows like Doctors and The Archers will stay in the Midlands.
The plan is expected to lead to savings of £670 million a year by 2016/17 and comes after the annual licence fee was frozen at £145.50 for six years.
Director General Mark Thompson said: “It’s a plan for a smaller BBC, but a BBC which uses its resources more effectively.”
The BBC HD channel will be closed and replaced with an HD version of BBC Two and all new daytime shows will be moved to BBC One with more repeats on Two.
There will also be less original programming on radio, with cuts to comedy on Radio 2 and Radio 5 Live and fewer lunchtime concerts on Radio 3.
Some radio stations will also share news bulletins.
The Asian Network radio station, which was previously threatened with closure, will lose a third of its “service licence budget reduction”.
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They have not gone far enough. A 100% cut to BBC Shropshire would be more apt.
Last time I heard it, it was total drivel.
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Not particularly fair, there are some there who do give excellent value, then again there are those who churn out the same ‘drivel’ as you put it, day in,day out.
If I had one wish it would be to dilute those who seem to get a buzz out of others misery or trauma. To them it just seems an opportunity to put another tick on their cv or something to boast about.
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couldnt agree more no.1 a few hours asking———–do you snore—-pull sheets off—ect and does it need 3 to chat among themselves? instead of the listener
local tv at 6-30 is as bad eg: a whole
tv crew to report a cute baby show–ect
in short–scrap them
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AGREE. Lets get rid of the P.C.lot.
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Colin.D. ,, Respectfully ,, you are way off line there ,, I have listened to local radio all over the UK ,, believe me ,, BBC Radio Shropshire is way and above the best in the UK . THATS FACT !!
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Good, the entire BBC needs an overhaul!
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What like some sort of makeover decorating or gardening show, I wonder who’d present it?
Bagsy Charlie Dimmock, obviously it would have to be shown on tv.
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Colin, It does whats its supposed to, local news for local people, salopians. You should be supporting it not knocking it.
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You have summed it up so well, BBC Radio Royston Vasey, ” this is a local radio station for local people”
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Where’s Eric Pickles when you need him ? He, and only he, can save local radio. Localism is writ through him like a stick of Blackpool rock.
This maybe the only paragraph where Eric Pickles is likened to a stick, remember it well.
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Just heard a report on the said radio station with unions saying ‘strikes are inevitable’…tell me something new!
Perhaps if the corporation didn’t portray such left wing leanings and reported straight down the line then the government might have been less stringent on them. When Brown and Blair were shown the door the writing was as they say, on the door.
It has for years been unwilling to accept efficiency savings that have become the norm for the rest of us. You see if they hadn’t got rid of Mystic Meg they’d have seen this coming
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Yet another valuable service that is on its way out all because the bankers chose to bankrupt us. Shame on this govt.
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I agree with you Colin, it’s still drivel and certainly not good local radio
There always seem to be two presenters on most programmes talking about themselves.
Why not just give us traffic and weather at 07.00-9.00am and at 4.30pm – 6.00pm and close it down the rest of the time.
I thought Beacon Radio had offered to buy it
anyway
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What relevance is the weather, you can get that anywhere, traffic bulletins are only as good as the information is and that can be hours out of date. Where will people go so that they can report Pippin the cat missing? And can you buy a BBC station?
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OK NOT#5 – I give in and agree with you close it all down!
Now;according to Beacon Radio they have offered to take over the running of this station making savings by running it as a commercial firm – I ain’t making this up, it was actually on Radio Shropshire the other day – so it must be true!
BBC labour cost’s must be incredible I can never understand why they need two presenters for most programmes
(We always have a race in our house to see who can switch Jim Hawkins off the quickest at 09.00am when it all goes downhill – is he staying?)
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I do hope Jim Hawkins stays, one the best programs on Radio Shropshire.
Beacon Radio are they still going!
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Jo: BBC “efficiency savings” have been an annual feature for the last 10 years – or have you not been keeping up? Trouble is, they were applied to journalists at the coal face, not to overpaid managers and so-called “talent”.
And Mystic Meg worked for News International (Sun, News of the World), not the BBC… did SHE see the hacking scandal coming?
Try and watch the news before posting nonsense… maybe watch BBC News?
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By journalists presumably you mean those that read the Shropshire Star and then reveal it via the news bulletins? All those journalists beavering away to provide a whole 3 minutes input…every hour on the hour.
Are you saying that Mystic Meg who appeared for many years on the BBC wasn’t paid by them, if she was then I think you’ll find she was ‘employed’ by them.
I am amazed that they had 40 staff on the books locally, I just wonder what they all do, probably refining their latest soup recipe to bore us with when the cold weather sets in.
Ooh Eric please tell us how you make your spicy mangelwurzel and lettuce soup, can’t wait. double yum
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Jo: Maybe if you bothered to check,rather than make sweeping misinformed statements, you’d realise that in most cases BBC Local Radio sets the local news agenda, and other outlets follow.
Beavering away to make 3 minute news bulletins? You say you wonder what they do? Well if you had your facts right, you’d know that they contribute to news and current affairs programmes through the day, going out to do interviews, talking to members of the public in towns and villages getting stories from them and talking to them about what their lives, as well as supply local stories to the regional and national newsrooms.
And as for your last comment….you clearly havent listened recently as your dated stereotyped characterisation of what listeners want and what is provided is way off the mark, and to be frank, insulting.
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Arthur: Unfortunately “you clearly haven’t listened recently” otherwise you would know that recently Adam Green & Vicky Archer went on their travels around Shropshire gathering the ingredients for a Shropshire Fidget Pie recipe supplied by a local listener. As you missed it here is the link to their web page: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p00b4qf9
I am sure the pie was delicious but does that make it drive-time listening?
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Strange that the radio always seem to get a whole host of news stories just after the first edition of the Shropshire Star hits the shops, I don’t know how many work at the editorial side of the newspaper but I’d be surprised if it was as many as the BBC locally, so how are they earning their corn?
You’re right I hadn’t listened to the radio station much recently,when you find something better you don’t tend to go back, so I did this morning, glad I made the earlier move!!
I suppose I was a little hasty in the soup comment, that’ll be next month won’t it? And how come one minute you start off as Arthur and end up as Frank, how does that happen?
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BBC local radio is probably the worst for restrictive practices and poor subject content. I believe these radio stations would be better privatised , once open to the competitive market I doubt many would be viable.
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I am always amused at the BBCs stance on equality, you could thought they had invented it; next look at the figures from the locally sourced 0500-1900 productions , seven male presenters and two females and not a sign of anyone from a minority background.
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Clearly unaware that the former managing editor of BBC Radio Shropshire, Tim Pemberton (now at BBC Radio Bristol), is black.
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Perhaps you would care to read rather than glance at the comment, Tim Pemberton is not a presenter i.e the face or should I say sound of the station.He joined BBC Bristol from Shropshire on 3.4.2006, it’s great living in the past isn’t it?
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It does not matter what colour he is you can’t see him on radio.
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Well on a saturday i think its the best sports coverage around, thank you 96FM and DAB
hurrah for Shropshire United
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Well, along with many people in the county I enjoy several of the shows on Radio Shropshire. Genevieve Tudor does sterling work promoting folk music, for example. I’m concerned that these cuts will simply reduce the quality and depth that is on offer. I don’t enjoy being bombarded with commercials every 10 minutes, but that’s all the commercial stations offer. Rather like the NHS or the Post Office, I’m happy that my taxes are actually used to provide something in return. Maybe you don’t personally like everything on offer, but some do.
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I agree but there is much the muchness within the system with high levels of duplicity surely that is where the savings can and will be made. Many of the shows are filled with networked offerings.
Ms Tudor is indeed a fine presenter and in my amateur opinion the best interviewer they have at the station as she never seeks to mock others as appear to do. Class always shines through.
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Each to their own, but one point that would surely make sense is not to have the doubling up of presenters on a show. Its a real a waste and they end up just trying to out do each other or worse – amuse themselves at the expense of engaging with the Shropshire listeners.
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Spoken like a true BBC employee
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No, no BBC employee at all – just a housewife. But someone who knows the value of local radio and local jobs. And with an elderly mother who relies on local radio to keep informed about what’s happening in Shropshire. It’s a lifeline to her.
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Entirely agree with you Jayne. Radio Shropshire provides a vital and unbiased service to the people of Shropshire.
I am not or ever been an employee of the BBC.
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Any cuts to BBC Radio Shropshire news coverage would leave our county without an important media organisation to keep a critical eye on Shropshire Council and Telford and Wrekin Council. Our local BBC station is excellent at reporting on AFC Telford Utd and Shrewsbury Tn FC and is the only station to offer full reports on local soccer which is appreciated by mant ‘thousands’ of football fans in our county. Democracy would be damaged and I would urge everyone to contact the BBC Trust to complain about these badly thoughtout proposals.
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Radio Shropshire is an un-biased non-profit making local news service. I also empathise with the 8 people for whom their livelihoods will disappear. It’s a tragedy.
The only people who don’t like Radio Shropshire and the BBC are Tories. I under why……?
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Ollie – are you saying that the BBC is Left Wing and Labour biased?
These 8 people have enjoyed, in the middle of a recession, I suspect, a good living up to now, and surely with ALL the public sector cuts the (Coalition) Government has been pushing – the writing must have been on the wall for them
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In fact all the main political parties think the BBC is against them. Just shows how good the BBC is.
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I’m a regular listener, well most days, there are people there worth their weight in gold yet others who I wouldn’t pay in washers,that is all down to personal choice. Whilst I also empathise with those facing the chop it is just a microcosm of society, when money’s tight jobs go, that’s life we have to get used to it.
I would dispute that the radio station is completely unbiased you only have to listen to some of the presenters to see that they give certain political parties a harder time than others, and no I am not a tory.
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Local radio provides a great service to the diverse community of our county and should be protected. The local news, events, sport and information ie. Schools closure/traffic etc etc are excellent.
Not everyone has the internet.
Shropshire also has a disproportionate elder population who we must all respect.
I do agree we don’t need 2 presenters on programmes.
Perhaps the Beeb should look closer to London where they still pay out massive amounts of money to “celebs”.
What did Ross earn? 3 million a year ?
We should fight for local services.
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I very rarely lsten to BBC Radio Shropshire these days.
A new raft of ex tinpot commercial FM jockeys have arrived & the standard of the station is not a patch on what it once was.
Unfortunately thestation now resembles Beacon [spits] Radio without the moronic adverts but with the moronic presenters.
Quick tip for Jim Hawkins……Respect the music & don’t talk all over it. Yes I know you know a bit about music & I respect your knowledge but this is the reason I stopped listening to your weekend show.
If you love the music so much then let the listeners hear it in its full glory.
BBC 6 Music now has most of my listening. It’s an oasis of quality in a substandard world.
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who is your fav presenter / show?, personally I only listen to drive time with Adam and vicky
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A way to save money for the BBC would be to stop having news time ‘Talking heads’ broadcasting live from outside buildings. Why on a Sunday do we see a presenter outside some ministry or other location telling us about the story? Why not have them in the studio with the location on a screen behind them??
An outside broadcast crew at a location just for a 30 second slot cannot be cost effective.
On the midlands evening news last week a presenter was stood outside the studio at the mailbox, talking to Nick Owen who was in the studio in the mailbox about the cuts!!
Local radio is just that, a service for a local area, as for Beacon taking over has anyone heard their psuedo Radio 1 style? Where is the local content in 24hr music and repetative adverts?
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just out of interest – who do people actually enjoy listening to on radio shropshire – I love the drive time show with Adam and Vicky, loads of energy and a good laugh
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Don’t know who within the BBC Radio Shropshire camp put you up to this thinly disguised attempt at market research, but it’s not very subtle.
To answer the question, none of them. As for Adam & Vicky, what a load of unintelligible, unfunny, tedious rubbish.
We hope the foregoing clarifies the situation, however if you require further input please do not hesitate to post a repost.
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Ha ha – actually i dont work for the BBC at all – or even listen to Radio Shropshire very much (nothing has my turning the radio off faster than Colin Young!), I just happen to like the drive time show because its really different to the rest of the shows – the presenters sound a lot younger than the rest and its a lot more fun.
Obviously you dont share my opinion HF but you know …. nevermind!
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What do you normally listen to? Dana FM.
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they’re all a bunch of trots
good riddance
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If they’re all a bunch of trots then it’s strange that True Blue Tory Keith Barrow has written to the DG at the BBC to try and save it..
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Keep the station…
But please change the presenters, most of the males remind me of the spoof TV program ‘Alan Partridge’, especially the guy who is on in the afternoon, have to turn it off it’s too painful.
But that’s my choice..
Gary
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