The BBC has this morning publicly confirmed its intention to launch a 12 hour-a-day Arabic-language TV service funded by the closure of a number of language radio services – a story we gave to AIB members last week.
The World Service announcement said that broadcasts in Bulgarian, Croatian, Czech, Greek, Hungarian, Kazakh, Polish, Slovak, Slovene and Thai would end by March 2006. BBC World Service Director Nigel Chapman said many of those services resulted from the Second World War.
“It is acknowledged that their presence has contributed to the building of freedoms now enjoyed by their citizens. We believe this will be a lasting legacy.”
But he said many national and local services “which subscribe to similar values as the BBC” had since been started in Europe.
According to the BBC News website, National Union of Journalists (NUJ) general secretary Jeremy Dear condemned the cuts ahead of the confirmation of job losses: “It would be a bitter blow to BBC World Service staff and a step which has the potential to cause massive damage to Britain’s influence in a significant part of New Europe. Does Jack Straw [UK Foreign Minister] really believe that countries like Kazakhstan where intimidation of political opponents remains common and there is significant international concern that recent elections were rigged no longer need the type of public service broadcasting offered by the World Service”.
All the countries will continue to be served by other BBC Global News division services such as BBC World Service radio in English, BBC World television, and BBC News Online. The changes follow a ‘root and branch’ strategic review of BBC World Service.
BBC World Service Director Nigel Chapman said: “The changes add up to the biggest transformation of BBC World Service that has been undertaken – and one of the most far-reaching – since the BBC began international broadcasting more than 70 years ago. Whilst the mix of services has to evolve as the world changes, the overall core aims of the BBC World Service will remain the same: to provide quality news and information that people trust, which stands out for its independence, authority and objectivity; and to be an open forum for global debate. Our new services on television and in new media will be judged by those values just as their distinguished predecessors have been.
“BBC World Service is already the most successful, trusted and respected voice in the Middle East with more than 60 years experience of broadcasting in the Arabic language on radio, and more recently and successfully, online. The BBC Arabic Television Service will build on this legacy by offering trusted and accurate news with an international agenda.
“It would mean the BBC will be the only major broadcaster who will provide a tri-media service in Arabic to the Middle East using TV, radio and online for sharing views and perspectives across the region and the wider world. Our research suggests there is strong demand for an Arabic Television service from the BBC in the Middle East.”
In its press announcement about the plans, the BBC says that the changes have been approved by the BBC Board of Governors. It also reports that the British Foreign Minister, Jack Straw, has given his approval as he is required to do under the terms of BBC World Service’s agreement with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.