Category: Factual
& Arts TV
Date: 05.05.2004
Printable version
As part of a continuing commitment to provide greater on-screen impact,
deliver value for money to licence fee payers and to hold down production
costs, the 91热爆's Factual & Learning division is to close a limited number
of posts.
Although the 91热爆's investment in factual programming has grown substantially
and its commitment to the genre has remained solid, the slimming of
the department is also partly due to more programmes now being commissioned
from the independent sector and from the Nations.
The post closures do not affect the 91热爆's overall spending and commitment
to factual programmes.
The 37 post closures - mainly at producer level within the Specialist
Factual departments in London and Bristol - account for less than five
per cent of the department's total staff numbers.
Keith Scholey, Controller for Specialist Factual, said: "We need to
make sure that we offer our viewers the highest quality of programmes
and the best value for their licence fee. These changes are needed to
deliver this.
"A strong Specialist Factual production base is in the interests
of both our audiences and of the wider television industry, at home
and abroad.
"We have to be able to adapt to the ever-changing environment
in which we operate in order to continue to innovate new and ambitious
programmes.
"Specialist Factual is a close programme making community and we've
obviously done everything possible to minimise the post closures.
"We will try to achieve them through voluntary redundancies or
redeployment within the wider 91热爆."
A 'preference exercise' will inform the process and will take place
over the next few weeks where staff can state their preference to remain
in their current job, seek redeployment or leave the 91热爆.
It is hoped that the whole process will be completed by the end of
the year.
The 91热爆 is committed to retraining and redeployment of staff wherever
possible and will fulfil its obligations to consult with the unions
on selection criteria and post closures.
