Staff at the BBC's Nottingham centre will strike for 48 hours this week over plans which a union says will 'leave a lasting impact on local radio'. Well-known presenters, including BBC Radio Nottingham's Mark Dennison, have announced they are leaving the corporation amid controversial plans for its radio stations across the country.
The National Union of Journalists (NUJ) says current plans would see BBC Radio Nottingham's afternoon show coming from Leicester in the week and being shared with Derby. The union also says weekend programming would be either regional or national, excluding news bulletins and sports coverage.
BBC staff first walked out in March over the plans, before calling off a planned strike last month whilst fresh proposals were considered. The NUJ said the revised plans would have removed the redundancy risk from 300 journalists and three extra pairs of weekend breakfast shows would have been provided, but these plans were rejected by its members.
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NUJ members will therefore go on strike across Wednesday (June 7) and Thursday (June 8). Kevin Stanley, the NUJ Rep for BBC Nations and Regions, who is based at BBC Radio Nottingham, said: "The BBC wants to move some of its existing budget to digital content.
"We absolutely agree that a greater digital presence is need, but we don't agree that this should come from cutting parts of the existing BBC Local budget. The BBC should be looking at providing a properly funded local news service, and ensuring that the Government provides a stable funding model for this to happen."
This week's strike will include staff from BBC Radio Nottingham, BBC East Midlands Today and East Midlands news online, with over 80 percent of NUJ members across England backing the walkout. Jason Horton, the Director of Production for BBC Local, has previously outlined the corporation's position by saying: "This is a transformation programme not a savings plan.
"That means we're not cutting our spend – instead, we plan to move about 10% of our funding towards strengthening our local online services and the impact of our storytelling. But change is essential. If our local services are to remain relevant in an increasingly online and on-demand world of live and increasing on demand services, we must change."
But opposition continues to grow against the BBC's plans, with Rolling Stones legend Ronnie Wood lending his support to the NUJ's campaign in a recent tweet. NUJ members also recently passed a vote of no confidence in the senior leadership of BBC Local, with 93 percent of those polled saying they did not back current managers.
Paul Siegert, the NUJ's Broadcasting Organiser, said: "Members have shared their disappointment over the treatment of colleagues who have had to reapply for their jobs. Results of the (no confidence) vote indicate the strength of many journalists, alongside frustrations about the BBC's handling of the dispute.
"Members wants to avoid strike action and remain doing the jobs they love. The NUJ is urging the BBC to reconsider its planes that will leave a lasting impact on local radio."
Jason Horton added: "As audiences change the way they consume media, we have to change with them and continue to invest in new areas despite the significant funding constraints we face. That means making smart decisions about how we spend our protected local budget by moving to more shared audio programmes during afternoons, evenings and weekends."
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