Only 150 sign up to fight BBC Radio Shropshire cuts
Wednesday 9th November 2011, 10:59AM GMT.
An online petition launched to try and stop a planned 20 per cut to the budget of BBC Radio Shropshire has only attracted just under 150 signatures, it was revealed today.
The e-petition has been on the Government’s official website but it has so far attracted a rather muted response. On Tuesday afternoon, a grand total of just 144 people had signed up to the e-petition.
But to force a Parliamentary debate on any e-petition, 100,000 signatures are required.
The petition states the radio station needs to be protected as a ‘wonderful asset’ to the community, providing people in the county with news, as well as supporting local musicians and artists.
It comes as trade union chiefs revealed plans to write to BBC bosses demanding that the planned budget cuts be scrapped.
Shropshire and Telford Trades Union Council is planning to write to the BBC Trust to express its anger over plans to cut local radio services in the county.
It plans to claim in the letter that cutting funding to BBC Radio Shropshire would hurt vulnerable people who rely on its services, such as the elderly and people living in isolated areas.
Union officials said that more than 100,000 people in Shropshire listened to the station, with one-quarter of those failing to tune in to any other BBC radio service.
Brett Davis, president of the Trades Council, said replacing local services with programmes produced in Birmingham and London was not the right way to address budgetary issues.
“We believe BBC local radio gives people in Shropshire a voice and it should remain local,” he said.
“The BBC should look at other ways to save money instead of targeting people who rely on its services most.”
Radio Shropshire, which has offices in Shrewsbury and Telford, will lose 20 per cent of its workforce under plans.
The proposals, which could be implemented by April 2013, would result in greater programme-sharing for local radio, including the creation of an all-evening England programme.
The petition is at http://epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/21265
By Chris Burn
Most Commented
- Clampdown on Shrewsbury chuggers
- Bishop's gay marriage views do nothing to support bible teachings
- Planners ordered to stay on Newport visit bus
- Letter: Angered by close encounter of the furred kind
- Letter: Alcohol price plans annoy me
- Shrewsbury’s broadband speed one of slowest in UK
- Letter: No sense in overseas job adverts
Shropshire Star on Twitter
Keep updated with the latest breaking news and content on our Twitter feed.
Lifestyle
Interactive Dining Out map
Hundreds of reviews by the Shropshire Star and Express & Star's teams to help you decide where to eat.
Entertainment
All the film reviews
Before you plan a trip to the pictures, get our critics' verdicts on all the latest movie releases.
OUR NEW APP
Get the new Shropshire Star app
Download the Shropshire Star’s new app to your iPad or iPhone to get one week of access to our digital newspapers absolutely FREE.
shropshirestar.com
Popular sections
Useful links
Looks like their listener base has risen as one in rebellion….they’d be mad not to listen
Report abuse
now then, now then guys and gals
Report abuse
Perhaps people would rather give their views to the BBC Trust by means of the official consultation, rather than sign up for an e-petition that focuses purely on BBC Radio Shropshire?
http://consultations.external.bbc.co.uk/bbc/localradio/
Report abuse
144?? Really, I am surprised they got that many. Looks as though Radio Shropshire is not as popular as it’s employees would like to make out.
I always presumed the BBC stood for Boring,,Bland,,Claptrap. Maybe I was right?
Report abuse
Think this just about sums up how much people care about BBC Shropshire, no doubt presenters and staff’s excuse will be “Many of our listeners don’t have the internet and shows how important we are to delivering them information.” I await a certain presenter to have a rant about the Star as usual when anything BBC is mentioned in a bad light but yet happy enough to spread the article about Keith Barrow backing BBC Shropshire.
Report abuse
How many staff are there?
I assume all of those signed the petition…
Bye, bye radio shropshire… you wont be missed…
Report abuse
This torrid piece fails to mention that the petition has only just been set up. It is local journalism at its worst and the Shropshire Star should be ashamed to have printed it.
Report abuse
My 85 year old mum listens to Radio Shropshire all day. It’s her ‘window on the world’.
She’s suffering from an old-age pension that buys less and less, increased VAT on products, less winter fuel allowance and now her beloved local radio will face budget cuts.
She’s worked all her life, lived through a world war when she worked in a munitions factory, been worried about the church bell ringing to signal an invasion and seen the world change with various governments, but I’ve never seen her more angry as she is now.
She didn’t cause the recession, but she’s suffering as a result. Why is she paying for it and not the bankers?
Report abuse
Thank you for such a good example of how the cuts are hitting those most vulnerable in Shropshire. There are alternatives which would not make people like this suffer, but unfortunately this government do not want to listen to them.
1. Introducing a bank transaction tax would raise £20bn a year.
2. Cut Trident replacement
3. End the use of expensive consultants
4. Bring the troops home from Afghan.
5. When the time is right, sell our shares in banks.
6. Stop tax injustice – make companies pay the right amount of tax instead of avoiding it.
Report abuse
The petition has only been published on the 3rd November,which was not mentioned in the article – consultation deadline is not until the 21st December – lets see what the total number is then!! Since the article another 20 signatures have been added – perhaps the article will encourage others to sign.
Report abuse
Rather than mess around with an e-petition i went straight to the bbc trust.
Report abuse
I am not surprised that only 150 people have signed up, since the petition is pointless, the aims of a petition on the Governments official site is for the Government to do something, but under the laws of this country ensuring that the BBC is independent, means that Parliament can’t do anything!
The only thing that Government could do would be to ask the BBC Trust to launch consultation, since at the moment the BBC Trust have two separate consultations going on 1)The Future of Local Radio and 2)DQF. Again this would appear redundant
I would urge everyone who has views on this subject to take part in these consultations
Report abuse
Radio Shropshire should remain local.
Report abuse
The unions are right – this will hurt the elderly and people in isolated areas in Shropshire. Sign the petition!
Report abuse
There is a major review of Local Radio stations by the BBC, not just Radio Shropshire. We fully appreciate that there are more shows in jeopordy on Radio Shropshire than the Sunday Folk Show, but this is the show for which we are gathering support. Folk and othe music genre shows in other English Local Radio areas have already been scrapped.
Supporters of the Sunday Folk Radio Programme have their own facebook page.
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Save-Sunday-Folk-Radio-Programme/108493112594855
We have 705 supporters to date.
The number of times people have viewed a News Feed story posted by the Page is 68,339. This includes people who have liked the Page and people who haven’t. This data corresponds to 10/10/2011 – 08/11/2011.
We have support from individuals, folk performers, folk festivals, other folk Facebook pages.
Page likes come from
638 United Kingdom
16 United States
8 Canada
6 Ireland
5 Netherlands
4 France
3 Australia
3 Spain
2 Greece
2 Finland
2 Poland
2 Italy
1 Austria
1 Bosnia and Herzegovina
1 Belgium
1 Germany
1 Jamaica
1 Jordan
1 New Zealand
1 Sweden
As Hugh Slaney says, the best form of protest is to take part in the BBC Consultation process. I think the BBC is banking on lethergy to allow them to make sweeping changes to Local Radio.
Three things to do:
1) Go to the online consultation document and fill in the form at http://consultations.external.bbc.co.uk/bbc/dqf/
2) Write a letter – the old fashioned kind: paper, envelope, stamp
3) Keep an eye on this page to see what else is going on.
We need to keep our local identity.
Fliss Burke SSF page admin.
Report abuse
Whether or not the audience does have an older type audience, a total of 233(as of 1050hrs 13.11) out of a county population of some 400,000 have added their names to the petition (and how many of those are BBC employees or their family?), people aren’t bothered, it’s not just a case that people haven’t got a computer. Strange how the silver surfer voters came out in their masses when Mr Forsyth was after his Brucie royal bonus.
Report abuse
Of course we should have local BBC Radio.
The solution is for these stations not to rely on handouts from the taxpayer but to seek advertising or donations from the viewership especially if as mentioned they have so many people up in arms about the situation.
Report abuse
“Donations from the viewership” ?
Won’t raise much for a RADIO station.
Report abuse
235 and counting….
Report abuse
TBH, Radio Shropshire – for me – is (with the exception of Adam & Vicky) very 1970′s regional tat, with a hat always tipped to the 1950′s.
What with Ian Perry’s juvenile “humour”, Eric Smith’s “Wakey wakey rise and shine”, and Colin Whatsisname’s Fluff Freeman impression show.
And yet……
Fans of the station have an outlet, a means, of registering their support and I would urge them to do so. Sometimes, one doesn’t have such a luxury.
When ClassicFM axed Nick Bailey’s Relaxing Classics at Two programme, it was, for me, painful. There was no warning about it, no chance to voice concerns. Luckily, I soon learned to enjoy afternoons on BBC Radio 3 but those that enjoy Radio Shropshire may not have such a ready alternative.
So yes, I hope enough listeners voice their concerns about the proposed changes with enough veracity to stop them.
Report abuse