Salford-bound
One of the biggest changes in the 91Èȱ¬ over the next few years - - didn't get much comment when Mark Thompson .
Naturally most of the attention was focused on job losses. But for 5live, Salford is looming larger all the time. Our assumption now is that all the programmes will move - that's the way to create a more editorially cohesive and efficient radio station. With that in mind we've looked at how the news summaries and headlines are provided for the network, and we've concluded that the summaries have to be compiled on site by 5live's own team.
The logic for that seems inescapable but it's a decision that has a profound impact on a venerable section of 91Èȱ¬ News - . Up to now, the summaries on 5live have been provided by the Radio Newsroom, which makes the news for most other national networks, including Radio Four and Radio Two.
This is not an easy change for us to make, and we've got to tread carefully; the last thing we want is to duplicate the work of the Radio Newsroom. But we have to start preparing for the change now. For some it will mean big changes and there are also some big opportunities.
For the station it's a chance to make a new statement about our commitment to vibrant, comprehensive news coverage. Our aim is that whatever the scale of the internal changes, 5live's listeners will still get the news service they want and trust.
Comments
You've lost me. Why is 'the logic inescapable'? What impact will the move to Salford have on the news? Seems like 'empire building' to me.
And as for 'the last thing we want is to duplicate the work of the Radio Newsroom' - it is inevitable that you will. It will be the same news stories, will it not?
I can't help but notice the irony that the 91Èȱ¬ have just opened a £ 200 million office in Scotland, are spending zonks of cash on a move to Salford [heaven only knows how this is going to be justified] yet at the same time Horizon and Storyville are having a 40% budget cut.
How will moving to Salford benefit Newsnight who are having to lose 20% of their staff ? Will the reporting of the news from Africa, Latin America, China, India and the Middle East be done any differently with a 'five live' base in Salford ?
I am all for expanding coverage outside the M25 and forming a less metropolitan London-centric view of the world, but given that 91Èȱ¬ Wales is also on the receiving end of some fairly major cuts, I am wondering how much of this 'move to the provinces' is just a load of spin, without any substance to back it up.
Be on notice that you are on probation with these changes, and if you don't deliver the goods we will be complaining and asking for you to be replaced with someone competent.
I have just read that the move to Salford is costing FIVE HUNDRED MILLION POUNDS !! This cannot be correct ? You may be able to let me have the correct figure. How on earth was this allowed to happen, and be 'top-sliced' from the licence fee ? Why did you not just stand up to the Government and tell them no ?
What would they have done ? Privatised you ? Little chance of that by Labour.
Yes, Matt, the logic IS inescapable. This move will lead to duplication. Which costs more money. And so the music starts all over again...
In response to Clifford's post: The news summaries on 5live have to reflect the radio station of which they are such a vital part. It's very difficult to provide an integrated news service if the people writing the headlines and summaries are 200 miles away from the programme teams. It's logical that the news writers and programme makers are side by side. We won't duplicate the work of the radio newsroom because we will still rely on the hourly snapshot provided by the Radio Newsroom for Radio Two. We'll take that basis and tailor it for 5live's purposes. For example, if a newsmaker appears on the Drive programme, we'll reflect that in the next 5live summary. That task, and the task of actually compiling the 5live summaries, is the work we're taking out of the Radio Newsroom.
Thanks for the response but I don't accept the premise that news summaries 'have' to reflect the radio station. It is an option but it is not essential. I'm not helped in this by your example. Why on earth would the 'appearance of a newsmaker on the Drive programme' be considered news?
I too can't see the logic to this. We live in a virtual world now where people have video conferences, e-mail, netmeetings, etc etc and correspondents have regularly filed stories to the news team from all over the world for years.
Indeed, isn't blogging itself here and now an example of this?
I am all for the move to Salford and very much hope it will ensure a far more balanced view of the UK, but I can't see why this move means one 91Èȱ¬ radio station can head off and deal with things outside of the 91Èȱ¬ Radio Newsroom.
How awful for the 5Live employees!
Also, there seems little justification for a move to Manchester, a city that is not exactly the most depressed in Britain. If the 91Èȱ¬ really wanted to move to "the regions" there would be much greater justification to relocate to a city that is needier of employment and media attention - Middlesborough perhaps?
Or is this one of those corporate moves that is down to the personal preference of the senior exec making the decision?