BBC Bristol staff will stage a 24-hour walkout tomorrow (Wednesday, March 15) over proposed cuts to its local radio services and job losses. The plans, unveiled by BBC bosses last year, will see the service scrap dedicated region-specific programming across all 39 English local radio stations after 2.00 pm on weekdays and at weekends, replacing them with broader shared and even national content.
It's believed that nearly 50 jobs will be lost in the controversial overhaul of programming across England. The cuts to funding for local radio production come as the cooperation plans instead to invest further in online local news.
Under the plans, local programming will be restricted to weekdays between 6.00 am and 2.00 pm, with the BBC producing 18 afternoon programmes across England shared among its 39 stations. Ten local programmes will be shared between 6.00 pm and 10.00 pm on weekdays, all day on Saturday and on Sunday mornings, serving areas broadly mirroring existing local TV areas.
