Newsnight - Printable Version
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RE: Newsnight - NickyBoy - 26-09-2023
Looks like Newsnight might be the tip of the cuts iceberg https://inews.co.uk/news/media/newsnight-bbc-news-services-cuts-2641519
It does seem strange that all we seem to hear about are cuts to BBC News, but we don't hear anything about cuts to BBC Sport, or any Entertainment cuts.
RE: Newsnight - DTV - 26-09-2023
(26-09-2023, 04:42 PM)NickyBoy Wrote: It does seem strange that all we seem to hear about are cuts to BBC News, but we don't hear anything about cuts to BBC Sport, or any Entertainment cuts.It's because the costs aren't as structured or fixed, a lot of it is not internal, involves freelancers rather than staff and little of it is permanently allocated to certain programmes - this all makes it harder to identify specific cuts. Entertainment programmes largely simply don't get recommissioned (and silently not replaced, or replaced with cheaper programmes), rather than being talked of as being a financial cut. Additionally, increasingly with drama programmes, the BBC co-produces with streamers or US producers to get additional funding, which is only available on a small scale with BBC News (World brings in about £6-10m in syndication fees).
News is also the biggest expenditure per genre by far, so there's more to cut. Nonetheless, there have been reductions in BBC Sport output and significant cutbacks on entertainment, factual, etc. commissioning over the same period. (Plus, always worth highlighting, the only major BBC broadcast service with a higher real terms budget in 2022/23 than 2012/13 was the BBC News channel).
RE: Newsnight - Scratch_Perry - 26-09-2023
(26-09-2023, 04:59 PM)DTV Wrote: It's because the costs aren't as structured or fixed, a lot of it is not internal, involves freelancers rather than staff and little of it is permanently allocated to certain programmes - this all makes it harder to identify specific cuts. Entertainment programmes largely simply don't get recommissioned (and silently not replaced, or replaced with cheaper programmes), rather than being talked of as being a financial cut. Additionally, increasingly with drama programmes, the BBC co-produces with streamers or US producers to get additional funding, which is only available on a small scale with BBC News (World brings in about £6-10m in syndication fees).Agreed, there's always been cuts to BBC Sport output, usually by way of a loss of rights; this time next year, the TV cricket rights would have expired and I'm not sure that they will be renewed, especially if at it seems, the free-to-air rights will go out to tender (the live rights with Sky have already been renewed up to the end of summer 2028). Also, with the UEFA Champions League highlights rights heading their way next year, books will probably have to be balanced.
News is also the biggest expenditure per genre by far, so there's more to cut. Nonetheless, there have been reductions in BBC Sport output and significant cutbacks on entertainment, factual, etc. commissioning over the same period. (Plus, always worth highlighting, the only major BBC broadcast service with a higher real terms budget in 2022/23 than 2012/13 was the BBC News channel).
RE: Newsnight - Brekkie - 26-09-2023
And there has been significant loss of exclusive rights throughout the year - granted sometimes due to international deals but increasingly it suits the BBC to share rights rather than have them exclusively.
RE: Newsnight - Omnipresent - 11-10-2023
Newsnight’s editor Stewart Maclean is leaving his role to become World News Content Africa bureau chief in Nairobi:
https://deadline.com/2023/10/bbc-newsnight-editor-stewart-maclean-quits-amid-cuts-1235569776/
RE: Newsnight - thePineapple - 11-10-2023
Don't think this puts Newsnight in a great place in terms of fending off rumored cuts - in the time that it takes for the programme to find a new editor and direction, bosses might decide to steer the show away from investigative journalism by slashing its budget.
As a lot of people have outlined in this thread, that would be *hugely* damaging to the BBC's news offering.
RE: Newsnight - Radio_man - 14-10-2023
(11-10-2023, 08:56 PM)thePineapple Wrote: bosses might decide to steer the show away from investigative journalism by slashing its budget.It looks like that's the way the program is going
Quote:While the show – whose viewing figures, like those of most news programmes on traditional television, have been falling – is expected to continue, insiders say its format is likely to change drastically. Its team of eight dedicated reporters is likely to be reduced, and reported films may make way for a debate and interview-style programme.And of course the whole reason the BBC is needing to make enormous cuts to it's budgets is because of 13+ years of a government that's actively hostile to the very idea of a publicly funded broadcaster........
Quote:Newsnight’s travails come against a backdrop of successive Conservative cuts that have left its funding for UK services 30% lower in real terms than a decade ago. In January last year, the then culture secretary, Nadine Dorries – who barely disguised her dislike for the broadcaster – froze the licence fee at £159 until April 2024, forcing it to make cuts of £285m a year.
The fee will then increase in line with inflation, and the BBC’s royal charter – which sets out the corporation’s mission, purpose and funding model – will be up for renewal at the end of 2027.
https://www.theguardian.com/media/2023/oct/14/looming-newsnight-cuts-add-to-fears-over-future-of-bbc-licence-fee
RE: Newsnight - Stockland Hillman - 14-10-2023
(14-10-2023, 01:02 PM)Radio_man Wrote: It looks like that's the way the program is going
And of course the whole reason the BBC is needing to make enormous cuts to it's budgets is because of 13+ years of a government that's actively hostile to the very idea of a publicly funded broadcaster........
https://www.theguardian.com/media/2023/oct/14/looming-newsnight-cuts-add-to-fears-over-future-of-bbc-licence-fee
No. Just no.
The BBC is a £5.7 billion revenue organisation. The licence freeze isn't the biggest factor.
Every time the government is blamed on a "hostile" government it let's the BBC management off the hook. Every time it excuses poor management choices this way it enables cuts.
Every time the government, the Internet, the US streaming services get blamed rather than the finger pointed where it belongs, it enables these cuts.
Every time nonsense is posted about BBC Studios commercial budgets and licence fee PSB budgets you enable cuts. The internal accounting being passed of as if biblical verse set in stone, and not what it is: technocratic slight of hand.
The simple fact is the BBC has chosen to spend huge sums on niche content and opinions on BBC sounds, where its podcasts don't follow the same broadcast rules on impartiality - many shows on BBC sounds get so few listeners that per pound/per audience the service is the most expensive of all. It's chosen to spend money on 'BBC Verify ' where it selectivity targets a handful of topics to "correct" while ignoring huge issues that are misrepresented (which happen to coincide with issues it's accused of being biased toward)
Its not lack of budget - everyone has a spending limit of some sort - it's where is being spent by BBC Managers.
Want investigative journalism on newsnight? Want regional News? Want journalism based local radio? Want a dedicated UK news channel so the 50+ audience (most likely to vote) get PSB news rather than GB News? Then stop buying into the 'it's the licence fee cuts' narrative. Stop enabling failure, stop promoting this false narrative.
RE: Newsnight - thePineapple - 14-10-2023
(14-10-2023, 01:53 PM)Stockland Hillman Wrote: The BBC is a £5.7 billion revenue organisation. The licence freeze isn't the biggest factor.
Every time the government is blamed on a "hostile" government it let's the BBC management off the hook. Every time it excuses poor management choices this way it enables cuts.
The BBC has 30% less money than it did in 2013, according to the Guardian. This licence fee freeze forces them to make cuts of £285mn/yr.
For context, the entire news and current affairs budget in 2022 was £342mn.
So, if the BBC cut its whole news division 3.5 times over in the next 5 years, it still wouldn't save enough money.
They've already cut BBC Parliament, a plethora of language services, and a news channel. They've cut BBC Two to the bone. They plan to cut BBC Four and CBBC.
There has been mismanagement, but is it 3.5x-the-news-budget mismanagement? I doubt it.
RE: Newsnight - Brekkie - 14-10-2023
Not sure how you get that to add up to 3.5 the figure but the point stands - this is a cut through political choice and removal of the ability of the BBC to have shows scrutinise the government in as much detail through investigative reporting is job done.
Or perhaps Victoria Derbyshire is just cursed - whereever she goes the axe seems to follow.