Press Gazette’s Post

"BBC News has announced cuts totalling £24m as part of wider BBC efforts to save £700m a year. Casualties include hard-hitting global interview programme Hard Talk, which is being axed. ... The bespoke Asian Network News service will also close, with the station taking its bulletins from Radio 1's Newsbeat instead. The proposals would result in a net loss of 155 jobs, with 130 journalism roles at risk and 25 from media operations (technical roles including camera operators). The £24m saved represents 4% of the corporation's news budget. Other changes include production of the overnight programme on BBC Radio 5 Live moving to the BBC’s nations and local teams. The number of digital roles in time zones outside the UK will be increased, with some roles in London closing and new positions opening in Sydney. ... The corporation did not include an announcement about the World Service, which has already seen cuts to foreign language services including Chinese and Arabic." Emma Saunders, BBC News job losses aim to save £24m, 𝘉𝘉𝘊 𝘕𝘦𝘸𝘴, 15 October 2024, https://lnkd.in/gd5f79rg

🌍 BBC Faces Allegations of Bias in Gaza Coverage Over 100 BBC employees and more than 230 media professionals, including influential figures like Sayeeda Warsi and Juliet Stevenson, have signed a powerful letter urging the BBC to restore its commitment to fair, accurate, and impartial reporting on Gaza. 📜 The Letter to Director-General Tim Davie The letter claims that the BBC has fallen short of its own editorial standards, providing favorable coverage toward Israel at the expense of balanced journalism. Signatories call for the BBC to adhere to “the highest editorial standards,” emphasizing fairness, accuracy, and impartiality, and to report “without fear or favour.” 📊 Key Issues Raised: Limited journalist access to Gaza. A tendency to prioritize Israel’s perspective, even when evidence is unclear. Dehumanizing headlines, which have drawn global criticism. 📢 Voices of BBC Employees Some BBC employees report feeling “paralyzed by fear” regarding the broadcaster’s approach. Staff have observed what they describe as a “huge disparity” in coverage, prompting an exodus of colleagues who no longer trust the organization to deliver honest news. 💬 BBC Response The BBC asserts its dedication to impartial news, acknowledging the unique challenges of covering such a polarized issue. They stress the need to “deliver trusted news” by carefully weighing facts and representing varied perspectives. However, as complaints of bias from both sides mount, critics argue the broadcaster must take real action to rebuild trust. 🌐 Why It Matters Amid rising global awareness, audiences are turning to alternative sources for accurate coverage. This letter highlights the growing expectation that mainstream media uphold the integrity and transparency audiences deserve. Will the BBC truly recommit to these standards, or has it already lost its way? #BBC #GazaCoverage #MediaIntegrity #Journalism #FairReporting #GlobalAwareness #MediaBias #Impartiality #TrustInMedia #CurrentEvents Read more from source : https://lnkd.in/d_JpSWNi

📰Local news outlets play a crucial role in keeping Australians informed about the matters and events that impact them📰 The $15 million News Media Relief Program (NMRP) is designed to support the sustainability of Australian news publishers by strengthening public interest journalism across regional, independent, suburban, multicultural, and First Nations news organisations. The NMRP is helping the sustainability of Australian news publishers by providing a proportion of salary costs for journalists producing core news content that is distributed digitally with grants of $13,000 per FTE journalist. 📝Applications will close on 31 March 2025, if funding is not exhausted before this date. For more information or to apply, visit ➡️https://lnkd.in/gCqfY2wu #news #fundingopportunity #journalism

BBC extra funding - welcome but too little and very late "BBC World is to receive an additional funding boost, according to the new budget by the UK goverment.“In 2025-26, the settlement provides an increase in funding to the BBC World Service, protecting existing foreign language service provision and its mission to deliver globally trusted media, in support of the UK’s global presence and soft power,” according to the UK’s budget document." However, this comes late in the day for the BBC, which has already had to cut back on services. Just the other week, HARDtalk and Click were axed from the lineup, and the BBC news service has gone from being two separate feeds for international and domestic news, to now one single feed, with key programming cut. Even before that it´d been cut back considerably. The BBC's suffered years of under-investment from the licence fee, as well as continued uncertainty as to what its future source of funding would be. This is expressed in the statement, "“However, despite today’s announcement, the BBC World Service is not immune to the immense pressures facing the rest of the BBC – freezes to the BBC licence fee, materially significant global inflation, and the need to make investments for tech and digital upkeep. “Given this, we will need to work through the details of the funding, and we will say more in due course about any changes and savings we need to make to stay competitive in the face of those continuing pressures.”" So, the funding is welcome, but its come so late in the day. Ultimately, a new model of funding the BBC will need to be found as less and less people pay for the licence fee, yet still use and expect high standards from the BBC services. BBC, like all #publicservicemedia, needs sustainable funding to be able to continue to deliver the high-quality service people expect of it. #mediaindustry #newsmedia #sustainablefunding #media #bbc #bbcworldservice https://lnkd.in/e35pYZpP

"We are not looking at a sub-culture of Israeli society, we are looking at Israeli Society." The subculture in Israeli society are those Israelis' who want peace and co-existence with Palestinians. It is difficult to see a society like this turning around into something aligned with its own religious values or the values of the modern world, without a huge international diplomatic pressure, creating a 2 state solution that is realised by boots on the ground forcing the illegal settlers out of the all territories, Isolating Jerusalem as an international special city and which borders henceforth and for 100 years is supported heavily by UN Peacekeepers. https://lnkd.in/g9E2GjvD

"The BBC is bringing its long-running international interview show Hardtalk to an end after 30 years as part of a 4% cut in the BBC News budget. Under the proposals there will be a net reduction of 130 roles across BBC News. 185 roles will be closed with 55 new roles created. Long running technology magazine Click is also being lost, while the Asian Network will lose its dedicated news service, with bulletins coming from Radio 1." Very sad to hear this news that the BBC is having to make deep cuts, even to flagship news shows as influencial as HARDtalk, and as insightful as Click! This never-ending cycle of cuts is destructive to the news ecosystem, at a time when #publicservicemedia is more valuable than ever, these cuts cheapen the service. They result in people searching for news elsewhere because of the limitations, whereas they should be going to it as a trusted source of news. It already seemed as though the service had already been cut back to the bone before this news. I can only echo what Stephen Sackur, longtime host of HARDtalk said: “This is sad news for me personally, but much more important, I think it’s depressing news for the BBC and all who believe in the importance of independent, rigorous deeply-researched journalism. At a time when disinformation and media manipulation are poisoning public discourse Hardtalk is unique – a long-form interview show with only one mission. “A brilliant team of producers and researchers is being disbanded just as BBC DG Tim Davie is trying to persuade the British Government that the journalism of the BBC World Service is such a vital expression of democratic soft power that the taxpayer must fund it. Whatever the outcome of that, it seems it will be too late to save Hardtalk – for so long a pillar of the World Service schedule.”" I'm very sorry for people at the BBC who worked on those shows who are affected by this. I know how it feels.

⚡️BBC’s flagship Question Time found to be prioritising right-wing voices since 2014⚡️ Excellent spot from Matt Walsh here. If you ever watch QT, you may have noticed the same trend. The Conversation has found that they broadcast significantly more right-wing panelists than people from the centre or left. And yet again, Nigel Farage became a feature of the panel just one week after the U.K. election was called. 🧠 Yes, it’s this simple: when balance is off, niche and extreme views quickly go mainstream. It’s happened to us in the U.K. (particularly with Brexit), and is happening across Europe right now. We all deserve reporting without bias, whatever our views or heartfelt beliefs. I cover the balance issue in my book The Future of Truth (and How to Get There). Here’s what it means in news: 🔥 Balance is the accurate reporting of the most commonly-held views, in the right proportions. Not 50-50! Nothing more, nothing less. The BBC hasn’t responded to this story yet. 💫 Thanks Matt for putting this out. And just search ‘The Future of Truth Lindley’ to find my book. It’s out now, and you might even be able to cram in a little reading before we vote next month! #TFOT #election #disinformation #education #politics

More than 100 BBC staff members have accused the broadcaster of biased coverage, favouring Israel, in its reporting on the war in Gaza, urging the BBC to “recommit to fairness, accuracy, and impartiality.” In an open letter addressed to BBC Director General Tim Davie, over 230 media professionals, including 101 current BBC employees, have accused the BBC of failing its editorial standards in its Gaza coverage. They urged the broadcaster to prioritise “fair and accurate evidence-based journalism,” condemning the current approach as “a systematic dehumanisation of Palestinians.” “The consequences of inadequate coverage are significant,” the letter stated. “Every television report, article, and radio interview that fails to robustly challenge Israeli claims systematically dehumanises Palestinians.” The BBC, along with other British media outlets, has faced growing criticism over its handling of Gaza coverage. While the broadcaster denies accusations of bias, asserting it strives for “trusted and impartial news,” a growing chorus of journalists, academics and public figures question its approach, urging a renewed commitment to balanced reporting.

More than 100 BBC staff members have accused the broadcaster of biased coverage, favouring Israel, in its reporting on the war in Gaza, urging the BBC to “recommit to fairness, accuracy, and impartiality.” In an open letter addressed to BBC Director General Tim Davie, over 230 media professionals, including 101 current BBC employees, have accused the BBC of failing its editorial standards in its Gaza coverage. They urged the broadcaster to prioritise “fair and accurate evidence-based journalism,” condemning the current approach as “a systematic dehumanisation of Palestinians.” “The consequences of inadequate coverage are significant,” the letter stated. “Every television report, article, and radio interview that fails to robustly challenge Israeli claims systematically dehumanises Palestinians.” The BBC, along with other British media outlets, has faced growing criticism over its handling of Gaza coverage. While the broadcaster denies accusations of bias, asserting it strives for “trusted and impartial news,” a growing chorus of journalists, academics and public figures question its approach, urging a renewed commitment to balanced reporting. Source: TRT World

The 199-page report from Trevor Asserson on how the BBC has covered the Israel-Hamas War is incredible. Page 122 describes how the BBC has completely veered from the truth by parroting Hamas casualty numbers from Gaza. ❌ The BBC have failed to mention that Hamas numbers are unreliable. ❌ The BBC have failed to include that Hamas do not distinguish between combatant and civilian. Nor do they ever mention IDF estimates of terrorists eliminated. ❌ The BBC have not mentioned that women and children can be combatants. ❌ No mention of the ratio of combatants to civilians in Gaza. ❌ The BBC fail to ever mention how Palestinian rockets & explosives have killed Gazans. ❌ No mention that the Gaza Health Ministry numbers also includes those who have died from natural causes. ❌ Even when the UN did revise their death toll numbers in Gaza, the BBC did not correct any of their previous articles with inaccurate figures. It is a total scandal that taxpayers in the UK are paying for such shoddy reporting which is simply anti-Semitic. The BBC have failed Israel, Jews around the world, particularly those in the UK and ultimately fueled much of the anti-semitism seen virtually every weekend on the streets of London and elsewhere in England for nearly a year since 7/10.