Agencies
Posted online: Tuesday , May 20, 2008 at 0735 hrs IST
London, May 20: Several journalists from South Asia working in the BBC World Service have staged a unique floral protest against recent changes that they believe will affect the quality of journalism produced by the 75-year-old broadcaster. Journalists from the Hindi, Tamil, Urdu, Bengali, Nepali and Sinhala sections symbolically laid flowers outside Bush House and placed a large banner across its iron gates, with the words: 'BBC World Service 1932-2008?' The journalists, backed by the National Union of Journalists, have launched a campaign to protest against off-shoring of programming to the Indian sub-continent in what is described as a "money-saving adventure" of the BBC management. The journalists alleged that BBC was compromising its standards and professional integrity by entering into agreements with governments and subsidiary Companies in the Indian sub-continent. Nearly 60 south Asian journalists gathered at the event, which was addressed by Jeremy Dear, NUJ general secretary. The NUJ, he said, would turn the protest into a national campaign across Britain. Dear said: "We are committed to opposing these off-shoring plans which are ill-founded and put at threat not just jobs but editorial quality, integrity and the future of the World Service. "You can dress up the changes any way you like – when stripped bare it means more work from fewer staff, more work for less money and an apparent willingness to undermine editorial integrity. This shows a blatant disregard of agreements with staff and unions. "The BBC's behaviour would cause a national scandal if its domestic staff were being treated this way." Defending the plans to move staff to their countries of origin in south Asia, the BBC said it had plans to have around 50 per cent of overall language service staff located closer to their audiences. Mike Gardner, Head of Media Relations at the BBC World Service, said that the BBC management was in discussions with staff and unions about the changes.
"The proposed redeployments of staff to India, Pakistan and Nepal recognise the new media realities in those countries. It has been BBC World Service's policy for its language services to be working closer to the audiences they serve for some time," he said. The off-shoring involves new contracts for the London-based journalists who have been told to accept redundancy or relocate to their countries of origin in south Asia, and accept downgraded pay conditions. Indian and other south Asian BBC journalists said that the redeployment would "dismantle a broadcasting service that is the envy of the world". They...
Posted online: Tuesday , May 20, 2008 at 0735 hrs IST
London, May 20: Several journalists from South Asia working in the BBC World Service have staged a unique floral protest against recent changes that they believe will affect the quality of journalism produced by the 75-year-old broadcaster. Journalists from the Hindi, Tamil, Urdu, Bengali, Nepali and Sinhala sections symbolically laid flowers outside Bush House and placed a large banner across its iron gates, with the words: 'BBC World Service 1932-2008?' The journalists, backed by the National Union of Journalists, have launched a campaign to protest against off-shoring of programming to the Indian sub-continent in what is described as a "money-saving adventure" of the BBC management. The journalists alleged that BBC was compromising its standards and professional integrity by entering into agreements with governments and subsidiary Companies in the Indian sub-continent. Nearly 60 south Asian journalists gathered at the event, which was addressed by Jeremy Dear, NUJ general secretary. The NUJ, he said, would turn the protest into a national campaign across Britain. Dear said: "We are committed to opposing these off-shoring plans which are ill-founded and put at threat not just jobs but editorial quality, integrity and the future of the World Service. "You can dress up the changes any way you like – when stripped bare it means more work from fewer staff, more work for less money and an apparent willingness to undermine editorial integrity. This shows a blatant disregard of agreements with staff and unions. "The BBC's behaviour would cause a national scandal if its domestic staff were being treated this way." Defending the plans to move staff to their countries of origin in south Asia, the BBC said it had plans to have around 50 per cent of overall language service staff located closer to their audiences. Mike Gardner, Head of Media Relations at the BBC World Service, said that the BBC management was in discussions with staff and unions about the changes.
"The proposed redeployments of staff to India, Pakistan and Nepal recognise the new media realities in those countries. It has been BBC World Service's policy for its language services to be working closer to the audiences they serve for some time," he said. The off-shoring involves new contracts for the London-based journalists who have been told to accept redundancy or relocate to their countries of origin in south Asia, and accept downgraded pay conditions. Indian and other south Asian BBC journalists said that the redeployment would "dismantle a broadcasting service that is the envy of the world". They...
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Related story :
An article on BBC offshoring published in "Journalist" May-June 2008
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