Spent the day sorting out a power cut at home, having to be resourceful to get keep the laptop and mobile charged up. Spent some of the time preparing for the upcoming strike ballot at the BBC. Our members are to be balloted because the BBC is seeking to force through a number of compulsory redundancies. It's an unnecessary act. They have the scale and financial stability to manage budget changes and job cuts in a sensible way. We have been successful in forcing the BBC to spend its money wisely, not wasting it on redundancy payments. On an average week, the BBC is recruiting for over 200 jobs. To try and force through a handful of redundancies is madness. It hasn't come to a ballot for some years. At a time when the industry is facing serious issues, no-one should be forced out of a job if it can be avoided.

BBC NUJ members prepare for strike ballot

Letter to ALL MEMBERS AT THE BBC
Colleagues

You will have seen the announcement concerning senior managers and pay. Whilst we welcome pay restraint at the very top and have been calling for it for many years, for many the announcement will be seen as too little, too late. Particularly, as the executive board recently were awarded consolidated increases on their basic pay of more than 30%. Some within the wider senior manager group (our members, for example) are deserving of an increase however, the Union does not currently have negotiating rights for this group of workers.

Following a meeting of our reps across the BBC, the Joint Unions have submitted our pay claim for this year. We are clear that we are seeking a significant increase for all members within grades 2-11. The claim is for an across the board payment of £1,800, this means that the increase will significantly help those at the lower end of the pay scale. Amongst other things, management is proposing an increase of employee contributions to the pension scheme of 0.75% in April of this year. The Union has been given no justification for the proposed increase and we know that the scheme is generally in good health. Any increases in pension contributions should be shared by the employer and the employees. We have indicated we wish to conclude our negotiations with the BBC on pay and pensions prior to April 2009 for pay increases due in August 2009.

Over the last several months, the Union has had to intensify its campaign to continue to avoid compulsory redundancies of members at the BBC. Your representatives, the M/FoCs have continued to affirm the mandate that we will take all available steps including balloting our entire membership across the BBC if management seek to enforce compulsory redundancy on our members. Thus far, we have been successful and have been able to reach agreements avoiding compulsory redundancies. However, last night talks broke down concerning the threat of compulsory redundancies in BBC Scotland. Management there are hell bent on pressing ahead with compulsory redundancy. We offered solutions that would allow us to continue to work through the issues, as we have elsewhere. However management refused and are now intending to begin compulsory selection of NUJ members. BBC Scotland has suffered from bad managerial decisions. A boom and bust approach has been taken, initially, overspending on new premises and technology at Pacific Quay. Now our members are being asked to bear the brunt of the overspend. On the same day that the Director General talks about one of his main priorities being increasing spend on network production from the Nations, management threatens to make more than twenty television programme makers redundant. This takes the lack of joined up thinking in management to new levels. We are also facing the prospect of compulsory redundancies in BBC World Service, where management are trying to offshore production and jobs to South Asia, losing editorial control from Bush House and forcing members out of work unnecessarily.

The Union is calling on management to take a step back. However, we are also beginning the preparations for an industrial action ballot of all BBC members. We will update you on this in the next few days and let you know when to expect your ballot paper. At a time when an organisation with the scale of the BBC has guaranteed additional funding, there is no excuse for the compulsory redundancies among programme makers.

We know that when we have called on the membership to support members under threat, you have always risen to the challenge. It is important you do so again. We will keep you updated as to events as they unfold.

Regards Paul
Paul McLaughlin
National Broadcasting Organiser
NUJ

ITV BBC partnership

In a sign of increasing desperation, ITV is now apparently pinning its hopes on a partnership with the BBC to safeguard the future of regional news on the channel. The newly promoted director of News and Sport, Micheal Jermey has written to staff stating that the partnership idea is now 'ITV's preferred option for the future'. This is worrying news for a number of reasons; The announcement by the BBC late last year, looked like a back-of-a-fag-packet job; a poor attempt at diverting the heat over top-slicing. It follows previous initiatives such as the 3sixty media partnership which was a disaster, especially for the staff who transferred into an ill-conceived venture. The new idea now seems to be playing a part in ITV's political manoeuvring as the end game for PSB takes shape. Many staff both at the BBC and ITV are opposed to the move as ill-thought out, unworkable and counter-intuitive. At a time when many members at ITV are losing their jobs, the thought of BBC staff providing the material that ITV journalists once produced leaves a pretty sour taste in the mouth.

bad day for news

Ofcom has finally published its plans for ITV and the future of Public Service Broadcasting. The launch was not as slick as usual, for some reason no-one at the briefing was given a copy of the report and had to rely on a few hastily photocopied sheets - a good start for the communications regulator. As the plans emerged it went downhill from there. ITV to be allowed to butcher its regional news service, cut back to virtually nil its regional non news output. The cheery news is not confined to ITV, both the BBC and Channel Four will suffer, a slice of licence fee hived off, and a half hearted commitment to a sustainable model for C4 all adds up to a bit of a mess. We are meeting ITV in the coming days and planning our resistance in order to try and save ITV from itself and an old style, non-regulatory regulator.

BBC Editorial double standards

New guidelines issued by the BBC Trust today aim to improve the arrangements for handling editorial complaints by members of the public. But the balance has shifted too far in favour of complainants. The guidelines say that the public can expect a response within ten days, yet the average time spent by BBC management in dealing with a grievance by a member of staff is 112 days. We have seen problems recently for NUJ members who have faced disciplinary procedures as a result of alleged breaches of editorial policy brought on by complaints from outside bodies or individuals. In one case, the management decided to move to a disciplinary hearing prior to even investigating the matter. Members are exposed to double jeopardy; they can be found guilty of a disciplinary offence and face criticism as a result of the complaints unit or even the BBC Trust. Since Hutton and the internal navel gazing that followed, BBC management have sought to use the disciplinary procedures against journalists who are accused of editorial breeches. External complaints need to be taken seriously however, guilt should not be the presumed. Powerful bodies and individuals will complain relentlessly. It is the job of BBC management to protect its journalism and journalists, ensuring such complaints are treated only with the seriousness they deserve and not to the detriment of staff or output. The same rigour should apply when dealing with complaints by members of staff.

Disputes at the BBC

Two chapel meetings today: BBC World Service Arabic Service and BBC Worldwide. The first was held in the new Broadcasting House, as the service is based across the road in refurbished Egton House. We are currently consulting over a dispute with twelve separate elements, including everything from holidays to rotas. This was the second of two chapel meetings convened to consider the proposals; four hours in total and still none the wiser. Then over to W12 to woodlands for Radio Times (and others mags). They have just rejected a below inflation pay offer and today unanimously decided to take action. A ballot will begin in seven days and action could commence to coincide with their move into new premises.

out and about

Another busy day today, starting with discussions over Red Bee pay and conditions; They are proposing a pay cut in real terms as well as seeking to exclude some workers from any pay rise at all, nice. Negotiations over a personal case followed by some further discussions with members, then down to World Service to participate in the flower protest; meet members of the Romanian service, following the announcement yesterday of the proposed closure of the service; finally negotiations over the World Service South Asia offshore outsourcing.

BBC news and current affairs

Vivian White explains unexpected developments at our meeting with management over potential compulsory redundancies in BBC News.

What's a Jonathan Ross worth?

Speaking about salaries of top stars on Richard Bacon's five live programme Monday night ten o'clock - and looking like its past my bedtime.

should we trust the Trust?

Last weeks BBC Trust report into online revealed some shocking truths about the state of the BBC and the reactions from commercial rivals have been predictable. In an era of cheese pairing penny pinching across the corporation, to be £38 million pounds adrift takes some doing. Successive Director Generals have altered the structures of the organisation. Like a football manager, a new DG will change the team and mold it in his image. Each DG has the outward aim of improving the function pf the organisation. Each with the inner aim of harnessing the vast body into a shape that he can control and, like an Elizabethan court, this involves favourites being promoted and others being sent to the tower. Greg Dyke's flatter management led to more than twenty divisions, each with a seat on the management board; an unwieldy group who don't need reminding that they presided over the events surrounding the death of Dr David Kelly. The BBC that Mark Thompson inherited was a product of these events. Many of the structural changes that Thompson has brought in have centralised functions that had previously been devolved to the various divisions. However it still often appears as a multi-headed beast with little or no internal discipline.


Part of the landscape inherited by the current DG was the perceived need for greater external regulation. Previous governance was seen to be too close to BBC management. Ofcom was waiting in the wings, and privately, would have been pleased to have control of the BBC. The fix for this supposed problem was the creation of the BBC Trust. Although quiet in its first few months, it has now shown to take itself very seriously. It is a common joke at the BBC that the BBC Trust is the BBC's biggest growth area. Bit by bit the Trust has set up its own structures mirroring the BBC's. So there is a committee looking at finance, editorial issues, commercial issues and so on. They scrutinise BBC management plans and set the financial parameters; When the chairman of the BBC wrote directly to staff to give an update over impending cuts, many saw this as crossing an important line. Now they commission external consultants to tell them where management is going wrong. As a result the BBC is now effectively being run by a shadow government in Marlebone High Street. Important lessons can be learnt from the experiences of Future Media and Technology and the BBC's inability to properly supervise its own activities, however, a BBC reliant on, or influenced by, any external body, BBC Trust included, must be bad, not only for business but for the future stability and function of the BBC.

stray fags?: call the smoking police

Anyone who deals with the BBC will know how unusual it is. There are few organisations that would publish a booklet about how to get through a revolving door. Today we had one of many surreal meetings that could only happen at the beeb. One or two highlights from a very long list; 'policy simplification', a process, not to be confused with making things easier to understand; regarding the security (or lack of it) at BBC buildings, they promised to share a recent report into the subject however they would have to remove all the bits concerned with security; finally, a smoker on the Union side asked what action was being taken to ensure that smokers only smoke in designated areas- we could offer a simple solution - appoint a team of enforcers, the smoking police. They could easily offer these jobs to the people they are currently trying to sack, for the added bonus of killing two birds with the same stone.

No such thing as a free launch?

BBC and ITV launched their version of freesat today. It will have significant reach and hopefully provide a viable alternative to Sky. However the details are still very unclear. Channel four is involved but not with its HD channel. Five are conspicuous by their absence. For what might be a very significant venture, it's odd that it didn't merit a press release from ITV plc. The ITV component includes exclusive HD content. HD seems to be one of the main marketing propositions, yet with the launch today all that could be said was that ITV HD will come 'in the next few weeks' and no clear idea of what it will contain. Reactions from potential viewers have been predicable. We meet ITV plc on a regular basis and have often raised concerns over their HD proposition. Unlike the BBC and Sky, ITV has been slow to recognise the importance of this format to its overall business approach. They prevaricated under Charles Allen when others acted. It''s early days for the new freesat, but the lack of joined up thinking by the PSBs seems to be a missed opportunity.

Arrivederci Caversham

"On 11 April the NUJ chapel at BBC Monitoring, Caversham, paid tribute to two union stalwarts - Deputy General Secretary John Fray, who has retired, and Pierre Vicary, who is moving on to take a seat on the National Executive Council. The chapel thanked John and Pierre for the generous and unstinting help they had given over the years to dozens of members at Monitoring. A farewell lunch and drinks followed in a nearby public house." - NUJ BBC Monitoring Chapel

The offside rule

I've been asked to participate in the PricewaterhouseCoopers review of the economic impact of the BBC. The BBC Trust has commissioned this work in order "to help inform its judgements on future priorities and investment decisions". It's all part of the Trusts drive to be seen to be rigorous and independent, however, they are very conscious of the BBC's 'footprint' and one feels they are sometimes embarrassed by the BBC's success. The terms of reference are available here. There seems to be a dilemma inherent in all this. On the one hand, if the BBC is successful, it will inevitably have a larger impact on the market and therefore, be likely to have its wings clipped for erring into commercial no-fly zones . If, on the other hand, the BBC fails to make a significant impact, critics will use this as evidence that the licence fee cannot be justified and cue further attacks on the BBC. Or, to put it another way: In football there is much discussion over the offside rule and, in particular the rule that says that if a player in advance of the ball is not interfering with play then they cannot be judged to be offside, however, if the player on the football pitch is not interfering with play then they shouldn't be on the pitch in the first place.

Another dilemma highlighted by this project; the more that the Trust conducts its own studies and makes it decisions in isolation from the BBC executive, the more people will ask the question - who actually runs the BBC? Mark Thompson or its Government in exile at Marylebone High Street? Any thoughts on this and the study terms would most welcome.

A tough job...

A bunch of us met with Pat Loughry BBC Nations and Regions today. This is us having lunch beforehand. He outlined some of his thinking over local television - now not called that now, of course - in fear of powerful commercial lobby and in keeping with the new BBC 'lite' - the full proposal has been cut back. We fully support the initiative. It will be interesting to see how the plans change as they go through their gestation via BBC management and then on the the BBC trust and beyond to what might be a difficult birth.

learning lessons from others

I saw this at The Register - a piece about Tescos setting up a digital download service next year:
A couple of extracts;
"...buying digital music isn't a habit that has caught on. The global market is worth $3bn annually, but that's a drop in the ocean; Reg readers pour scorn on people who actually fork out real money for digital songs - on a song-by-song basis - calling them "paytards"."
and
"Our commercial broadcasters - and the BBC - are hoping that we'll get into the habit of paying for TV shows and movies. The Beeb already sells Dr Who through iTunes in the USA, and is awaiting the arrival of Kangaroo to sell us repeats here, too. But if current behaviour patterns persist, that's only going to increase the attractiveness of PirateBay."

Apart from the fact that the Tescos venture will probably come about five years too late. I was struck by the fact that digital music downloads only produced $3bn dollars revenue last year. This makes you realise what a state the music business is currently in. With UK mainstream broadcasters - BBC and commercial - looking for salvation, with a business strategy involving Internet revenues and online programme sales, they should be careful. Illegal music downloads are outstripping legal sales by a factor of 20 to one. There is no obvious reason why the market for quality television output won't go the same way. At best the broadcasters plans look risky at worst they could be a recipe for disaster.

Alan Johnston at the NUJ annual conference

Alan Johnston's speech to the National Union of Journalists Annual Delegate Meeting, Belfast, 5 April 2008.

talking heads

Time spent today at the BBC talking about their approach to the upcoming Public Service Broadcasting Review, then to Ofcom to bang my head against a brick wall for a bit. They told us how everything will be run in the consumers best interest once all the public assets have been sold. Nearly thirty years on from Thatcher and her privatisation scams, this Government will auction off one of the last few pieces of silverware, the public spectrum - which we currently own - and sell it to the highest bidder who will then sell it back to us in bite sized and considerably inflated chunks. Result.


Finally I attended the George Viner memorial fund event this evening at the NUJ's head office. The charity funds bursaries and grants for aspiring Journalists from an ethnic background. The guest speaker was Samira Ahmed from Channel Four news.

be of good cheer

Managers seemed to feel the need to communicate today. All staff emails were flying about like Santa's sleigh. Couple of highlights from the Mark Thompson one;

‘I ...have been pretty pleased by the work that’s going on between management and unions...’ -an odd thing to say in the middle of a strike ballot but I guess you'd call it work . And then;

‘2007 has been a pretty bumpy year but it has been a year of fantastic effort and work from almost everyone...' I love that word almost. Who can he mean? The controller who fell on his sword, for whom parting was such sweet sorrow, or those who are currently being fatally marked in BBC Vision? Wherever you are in the scheme of things such seasons greetings probably bring cold comfort.

reading room

Lots of announcements today. Ofcom bringing our its statement on the Digital Dividend Review. The BBC Trust with a report on procurement and spectum use and ITV gave a trading update. Too tired to read them now.