News / bbc
BBC Bristol staff strike over planned cuts to local radio
BBC Radio Bristol presenters Steve Yabsley, Claire Cavanagh and John Darvall were all off air on Wednesday as they joined colleagues on strike over planned cuts to local radio.
The trio were among a group of staff on a picket line outside the BBC studios on Whiteladies Road, with stand-in presenters filling the airwaves.
Members of the National Union of Journalists (NUJ) are planning a 48-hour walk-out over the BBC’s plans to “dramatically reduce” local radio services across England.
is needed now More than ever
It follows previous industrial action in March with staff remaining unhappy about an increase in shared programmes across radio stations, with money saved diverted to online journalism.
BBC Points West political editor Paul Barltrop interviews BBC Points West health correspondent Matthew Hill on the picket line – photo: Simon Chapman
Bristol24/7 reported in April that Claire Cavanagh, Joe Lemer, Laura Rawlings and Steve Yabsley are the presenters at BBC Radio Bristol who have not been offered a show in the station’s biggest ever presenter shakeup.
“We are local radio presenters but more of the content will be regionalised, meaning that your local voices won’t be heard as much as they are at the moment,” said Cavanagh on Wednesday.
“Local presenters live and work here. This is our home. It’s really sad that we won’t be able to speak about everything that’s happening in this place we know so well.”
Father of the NUJ’s BBC Bristol chapel, Matthew Hill, said that BBC local radio “is unique and distinctive”.
“Listeners love their local presenters, people like Steve Yabsley and Claire Cavanagh from Radio Bristol who are here on the picket line today.
“Pan-regional presenters will not necessarily have the same local knowledge, the same local connections. It’s going to be the death knell of local radio.”
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Read more: Former journalist Rees criticises standard of Bristol’s media
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A BBC spokesperson said: “We understand this is a difficult period of change for many colleagues and we will continue to support everyone affected by the plans to strengthen our local online services across news and audio.
“Our goal is to deliver a local service across TV, radio and online that offers more value to more people in more local communities.
“While the plans do impact on individual roles, we are maintaining our overall investment in local services and expect our overall level of editorial staffing across England to remain unchanged.”
Main photo: Simon Chapman
Read next:
- These are the BBC Radio Bristol presenters who are leaving
- BBC radio presenters boycott their live shows to ‘save local radio’
- Journalists in Bristol to go on strike for first time since 1970s
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