'Making a Difference': the BBC is shutting the door on 20 little offices and studios around England. They represent, in radio terms, probably the last of the 'unattended' studios, where contributors too far from either their local hub or London, could be interviewed in good quality. Sometimes they weren't 'unattended'; local stations boosted their income by insisting that 'assistance' was required, and would charge London. They were also places where reporters on the road could cut tape on a decent-sized machine, and file their material, to be recorded at the 'far end', via a permanent network of lines connecting the UK.Now the laptop and smartphone are 'studios' for reporters; lines have been replaced by satdishes, Skype, Zoom, ISDN and file transfer. But to lose BBC letter plates in places like Grimsby, Scarborough, Hereford, Blackpool, Lancaster, Portsmouth, and Canterbury is nonetheless sad.
In a former life I often provided “assistance” to our friends in London. Most often it meant working well outside of your normal hours as a BA, already a huge work load without the resources I later saw “Today” enjoy. I can safely assure that often yes the assistance was needed. As much down to the panicking of the cubicle and production team in London as a member of the public who wouldn’t (and quite rightly) have any idea how to operate the Glensound in front of them...
ReplyDeleteNot the first time is it? https://www.nuj.org.uk/news/regional-news-coverage-suffers-as-bbc-closes-most-of-its/
ReplyDeleteHowever, this time round "our services in those areas will not change" https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-52543152