BBC World Service moves overnight bulletins to Australia
I’ve been sent this internal email, which I’ve been told is from Matthew Grant who is Executive Editor, Radio & Audio Newsroom, BBC News. It suggests that the BBC World Service is moving its entire “overnight” operation from Broadcasting House London to Sydney - including bulletins, and production of a podcast and of a radio programme.
(The BBC News website is already operated by the BBC News Sydney bureau during Australia daytime hours).
It arrives via two trustworthy people; I otherwise don’t know anything more; and I can’t see any coverage of this.
Hi all
I am writing to give you details of proposals we are setting out today for the World Service bulletins and The Newsroom teams. As you know, there have been significant savings announcements in News earlier this year, including in the Domestic Radio Newsroom. There are others being made today, including this one affecting the World Service Radio Newsroom.
You will be aware of the financial challenge facing the BBC and need to reduce costs across the organisation by £500m. As well as the requirement to save money, we also need to make fundamental changes to how we produce our content to have a sustainable production model that protects and enhances our core output.
We are proposing moving the overnight production and presentation of the World Service bulletins, The Newsroom programme and the 0600 episode of The Global News Podcast from London to Sydney. This means the current night shift for both teams would end.
This proposal would lead to the closure of a total of 26 posts across the two teams. In forming this proposal we have considered the high level of interest in voluntary redundancy in these teams and across the Radio & Audio Newsroom.
For the World Service bulletins team there are 14 proposed post closures, which are:
- 1.5 x Assistant Editors
- 5 x Senior Journalists
- 1.5 x Senior Presenters
- 6 x Journalists
For The Newsroom programme there are 12 proposed post closures:
- 1 x Assistant Editor
- 1 x Senior Journalist
- 1 x Senior Presenter
- 9 x Journalists
This is a significant change. However, we believe it would allow us to build a resilient model to continue to provide the output produced by both these teams for the long term.
The proposal would allow us to retain the current staffing levels on the UK daytime shifts – the early and late – and their existing rota pattern.
This new model would also mean we can continue to produce a 24/7 World Service news service – a vote of confidence in what we do.
The current night shift model has many challenges, including financial, operational and health and wellbeing concerns. This proposal would end night working in our World Service teams as part of a wider effort to reduce it across News.
Our new Sydney team would work alongside the online operation in Sydney, developing a wider multimedia newsroom where staff can develop their careers working for the BBC across a range of output.
We propose creating 19 posts in Sydney. This new team would work eight-hour shifts across seven days to produce the output for the World Service bulletins, The Newsroom and the 0600 Global News Podcast.
The proposed post openings in Sydney are:
- 1 x Band E News Editor
- 1 x Band E Assistant Editor
- 7 x Senior Journalists
- 3 x Senior Presenters (Newsreaders and Presenters)
- 7 x Journalists
In summary, the proposal would close 26 posts in London across World Service bulletins and The Newsroom programme teams and open 19 posts in the new team in Sydney, a net closure of seven posts. In addition, the proposal would lead to a significant saving on night payments, taxis and freelance costs. We recognise the impact this proposal will have on freelance colleagues, but the level of freelance spending on nights is unsustainable.
In terms of technical operations, the output from the Sydney team would be routed through our London studios with Media Operations staffing here. The Sydney team would produce all the output, using OpenMedia and VCS Dira, and read and present it, but playout would remain in London. This would give us operational resilience.
Voluntary Redundancy
We understand this proposal represents a high level of post closures within the World Service newsroom, but we are aware there has been for some time a high level of interest in voluntary redundancy across our teams.
We are today inviting anyone working across the Radio & Audio Newsroom who would like to express interest in VR but has not yet done so to let us know. The window will remain open until 10th November, and you can register your interest here. If you submitted an expression of interest during the June/July window, you do not need to register again. However, if you have changed your mind and wish to withdraw your interest, please let us and our HR colleagues know (send an email (email removed)).
As with all savings proposals, we will try to achieve post closures through vacancies and voluntary redundancy.
Consultation
We will consult the joint trade unions about these proposals and – again – we hope to achieve these savings without compulsory redundancies.
As part of this consultation process, trade union members have the right to seek advice and support from their recognised trade union representatives. Your local union representatives are (names removed)). Their role is to support and represent employees who are union members throughout the redundancy consultation process, provide advice on your rights and the information being shared, raise any concerns or questions on behalf of members, and participate in collective consultation meetings where applicable.
Next Steps
I recognise this is a major announcement and that change of this sort is hard. I want to acknowledge that it has been and will continue to be a difficult time and that the long period of uncertainty while you have waited for this announcement has been a challenge.
Now we have been able to set out this proposal, we’ll put in team meetings to discuss it in more detail over the coming days and weeks. The first will take place this afternoon at 1530 in Dimbleby or on Teams (url removed)
I recognise post closures at all levels will cause concern, but we hope to work this through in the coming weeks. Please let me, (additional names removed) know if you would like to talk.
I would like to take the chance to thank everyone for their hard work and belief in what we do in the Radio Newsroom. This is a significant change, but the proposal represents a commitment to the future of the output produced by the World Service newsroom.