BBC Strikes Affect News Output

BBC news programmes have been severely cutback today in the first of the one-day strikes by journalists and technicians, as a protest against performance-related pay. Radio 4’s Today programme was cut to five minutes, and Breakfast News was replaced by the film Colossus of Rhodes. The One O’clock News has been cut from 30 minutes to 10, and the Six O’clock News is down from an hour to 15 minutes. Further strikes are planned.

BBC WHITE PAPER PROMISED SOON

Peter Brooke, the national heritage secretary, told the Commons yesterday that the white paper on the future of the BBC will be published “fairly shortly”. When questioned about the type of services the BBC may produce in the future, he referred to the recent announcement of the partnership between the BBC and Pearson.

YTTV REPORT LOSS

Yorkshire Tyne Tees has reported interim results this morning; there was a pre-tax loss of £4.6m, compared to a profit of £3.8m last year. However, YTTV claimed to have its “strengths intact”, despite the trouble, which began last year with the reporting that it had sold too much advertising. Chairman Ward Thomas said profits were up before the ITC licence fee, and that the group had no debts. Share prices fell 5p to 314p.