Re: [Swprograms] [dxld] BBC World Service to reduce shortwave transmissions

The biggest threat I see to BBC World Service is not the additional loss of shortwave services, but instead is the recent decision to include commercial breaks in their programs. BBC on shortwave has been absent for a long time here in the USA. Instead many in the USA get their BBC fix via a local FM outlet that carries BBC World service on their HD2 channel and translators that receive the HD2 channel programming and rebroadcast the program material on old fashioned analog FM. Such is the case here in Palm Beach County Florida.

FCC rules will not permit the airing of commercials on stations licensed as non-commercial stations. I wonder how BBC intends to filter out commercials from feeds to such stations. Failure to come up with a plan will result in the loss of many USA listeners to BBC World Service.

Joe Buch

On Wednesday, February 19, 2014 10:03 PM, John A. Figliozzi <jfiglio1@xxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

At one time, there was an annual publication put out by the BBC called "The BBC Handbook". It was an excellent primer on how to organize, operate and manage a prototype public service media enterprise. Today, the BBC seems intent on demonstrating how one destroys a former prototype public service media enterprise across multiple platforms. Is it merely coincidence that all of this "(un)creative destruction" began to emerge as the BBC's management became infiltrated by those who formerly worked for commercial media corporate entities--many of which were abject failures--and who had no understanding nor respect for the unique governing principles of public service vs. "let's throw anything out there as long as it makes money" commercial "values".

One thinks not. A sad end for a once great institution now shepherded by small minded, untalented hacks.

John Figliozzi

Sent from my iPad

> On Feb 19, 2014, at 9:43 AM, Mike Terry <miketerry73@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
>
> The Guardian
> 19 February 2014
>
> The BBC World Service will further reduce its shortwave transmissions next year as part of a £15m savings drive which staff have been warned will be a "real stretch".
>
> The money will be used to invest in new TV and digital services, part of a programme called Invest to Innovate.
>
> An extra £6.5m is being pumped into the World Service's budget this year, alongside an extra £1.5m of savings, helping to create 130 jobs. New initiatives include a global version of Radio 1's Newsbeat.
>
> But the BBC's director of global news, Peter Horrocks, said further savings would be required in the future.
>
> Horrocks told staff on Tuesday: "There will be a respite on editorial job cuts, for a year, but we will need significant further editorial and organisational savings in subsequent years.
>
> "We need to save at least £15m to fund new investments across the World Service in the next three years. We have already identified about half that saving. So we need to find at least £8m extra … that is going to be a real stretch."
>
> Horrocks said changes would include more multilingual reporting, with staff filing for their own language service and in English, as well as a further reduction in shortwave transmissions.
>
> He said the World Service would also have to integrate further with the main BBC News operation.
>
> Horrocks also announced that the BBC's global news division, which includes its world news TV channel, would be renamed "World Service Group … a sort of World Service-plus" and the World Service board would be axed with the change in its funding.
>
> The new round of cuts comes after the World Service had to find £41m of savings after its budget was cut in the government's comprehensive spending review three years ago, leading to the loss of about 550 jobs.
>
> It closed five language services, stopped radio broadcasts in seven languages, cut back on shortwave and medium-wave transmissions and axed a number of World Service English programmes.
>
> The World Service is to be funded directly from the BBC licence fee, along with BBC Monitoring, rather than a Foreign Office direct grant, from 1 April. This switch was agreed between the BBC and the government as part of the 2010 licence fee settlement.
>
> http://www.theguardian.com/media/2014/feb/19/bbc-world-service-reduce-shortwave-peter-horrocks
>
>
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