​BBC announces cuts to regional news

The BBC has confirmed plans to axe a number of regional news operations, with plans to merge teams as part of cost-saving measures.

The British public service broadcaster will cut 450 jobs across its regional TV news and current affairs operation, as well as restructuring its online and radio news services.

Seven of the 20 presenters on 6.30pm regional TV bulletins will be cut, and some local radio shows will be axed. The Corporation has also revealed plans to axe Inside Out, instead launching a new investigative journalism programme, which will have six regional editions instead of the previous 11.

The BBC said it aims to save around £25 million by 2022, part of a wider drive to cut costs across the broadcaster.

More than 150 roles are due to be lost in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, the corporation announced in June, and all of these job cuts come on top of 450 redundancies previously announced and put on hold by the BBC.

Helen Thomas, the director of BBC England, said the corporation’s local and regional services were created more than 50 years ago, and “have changed very little and need significant reinvention”, according to the BBC.

She said: “That has meant taking some difficult decisions.

“We are in the age of the Facebook community group and the WhatsApp neighbourhood chat. We must adapt to better reflect how people live their lives, how they get their news and what content they want.

“We’re going to modernise our offer to audiences in England by making digital a central part of everything we do. We’ll take forward lessons from Covid-19 that will make us more agile and more in touch with communities while also ensuring we’re as efficient as we can be.

“I’m confident we can evolve our local and regional services while improving our impact and better serving our audiences.”