Radio presenter for many years. Watching the destruction of BBC Local Radio from the inside
Joined April 2023
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“There are many joined up models for audio and online which could have been thriving by now in capable hands”. David is, as ever, rigorously thorough and insightful. Misguided BBC leadership, Ofcom missing in action, and where are DCMS/govt?
As BBC local radio proposes yet more change despite ample budget in decent hands - is the game all over? How has it come to this? Who's responsible? I've tried to pull it together
davidlloydradio.com/post/why…
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Memo to the government: this is happening on your watch. There’s no clarity on funding the BBC from 2028, and it’s getting too late for radical change at that point.
A longer read on BBC cuts:
-BBC not halfway to £500m goal
-More radical savings required
-BBC Sounds under threat?
-Bosses mulled axing CBBC
-1,200 of 2k layoffs confirmed
-Industrial action threat lingers
-Concern at charter talks urgency
deadline.com/2026/10/inside-…
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Please also ask the DG why the BBC repeatedly refuses to run a single promo campaign for Local Radio.
It should be a jewel in the crown of public service broadcasting.
We don't need to be told about Sara Cox (again).
The Archers was born in Birmingham and is a key part of our broadcasting heritage. I’m very disappointed by news that the BBC plans to move its production out of the city.
The BBC has made clear commitments to growing its presence in the West Midlands - especially with the move to the Tea Factory. So, moving one of its most established programmes out of the region sends the wrong message.
We have the talent and the facilities here. There is no good reason why we should lose a programme that has called Birmingham home for decades.
I’m meeting the BBC’s Director-General, Matt Brittin, this week. I want to understand the reasons behind this decision and discuss every available option to keep The Archers here.
The BBC promised to invest and support our regions, this is entirely the opposite of that. And it can’t be allowed to happen.
birminghammail.co.uk/whats-o…
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I am genuinely sad about what’s happening at the BBC. I worked there (in chunks) for nearly a decade and left three and a half years ago. It’s not the same place I left and the challenges are really nuanced (I know nuance is tough on X but it’s important)🧵
BBC to cut raft of Radio 4 programmes including You and Yours bbc.in/473sVLE
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I pointed out at the time the Consultation was flawed and not in keeping with Ofcom’s guidelines. The BBC was not ‘wanting to do more local programming’ it was doing less. And it did not consolidate any extras into the Licence - so needn’t do them. And it hasn’t. I’ve written to Ofcom about this - and Ofcom’s failure to decide whether to investigate my complaint about the BBC’s failure to reach its required local hours in 24/25. It should have decided whether to investigate in 15 days - it has taken 7 months to date.
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Even though I record a podcast about TV, I’m going to be talking about the decimation / vandalism of BBC Local Radio when we record today. It’s absolutely scandalous.
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Nobody was available. Wow. Chris Burns? Jason Horton? Nobody from BBC Local? Too busy? Come on, come forward and defend your strategy so I can understand the rationale. The importance of BBC Local/Regional is a hill I would die on. Even after what happened to me and others.
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The local media section is very weak, unsurprising as MPs didn't invite anyone from the sector as a witness
UK local/community media & esp. news is close to collapse - the BBC can and should reinvigorate it. Instead, the report ho-hums about the impossible tightrope act of LDRS
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This is bad news and I think it’s the wrong thing for the BBC to do. Local broadcasting and reporting on local democracy, organisations & events is arguably more vital now than ever. Fewer outlets do but it is true public service to do so. Much original journalism starts locally.
BBC to cut local radio and regional TV news with 90 jobs at risk. Latest changes are part of £500m annual cost savings to be found in next three years. pressgazette.co.uk/news/bbc-…
Nail…head. THIS
Precisely. The BBC has spent years chasing audience metrics while progressively cutting many of the things that made it distinctive. By scrapping services others won’t provide in order to compete for clicks on the things everyone else already does, it risks rendering itself obsolete.
Local radio is a good example. Done well, it helps hold communities together. That matters when communities are fragmenting, and if government is serious about national resilience, it will need to step in and save the BBC from itself.
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Politicians have starved the BBC of funds, but it's successive waves of BBC managers who have taken an axe to unique public services, which will be almost impossible to rebuild once we realise what a catastrophic mistake this has been.
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What’s not clear is whether “sustainable” future funding in any way reverses the cuts being made now. They are so damaging to BBC News and the nations and regions that we seem at risk of losing some high-quality content for ever.
“Income is falling and that means the cuts have to bite somewhere.”
@katierazz asks Lisa Nandy MP whether she is surprised by the “scale” of cuts at the BBC, with the Culture Secretary adding “through the Charter we are determined to put the BBC on a sustainable footing.”
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Want to show your support for workers and the BBC?
Sign our joint petition⬇️
megaphone.org.uk/petitions/b…
@bectu @EquityUK @WeAreTheMU @TheWritersGuild @Unite @The_TUC
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Laura Davison, NUJ general secretary, said:
"Our members deserve better. Audiences deserves better. The BBC is at risk of entering an inescapable doom spiral if it continues in this direction.
"The union is writing to the Chancellor calling for urgent intervention in the Autumn budget to protect jobs."
nuj.org.uk/resource/bbc-head…
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Exactly this. The BBC is a PSB. It's meant to be ensuring the things that aren't covered commercially get covered too and you can't do that if you're chasing clicks.
I believe in & value the ethos of the BBC but it's being run by maniacs presently who are doing it intense harm.
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Yet again it seems the biggest threat to the BBC's future is its senior management. A deep ongoing flaw in editorial judgement in news and fresh deep cuts which look like removing even more of what it does that's unique or better than its rivals.
New: The BBC is expected to announce the closure of TV and radio services early next week. Speculation is rife that BBC Three is at risk of being unplugged for a second time in a decade. Nothing is confirmed at this stage. deadline.com/2026/09/bbc-ann…
This is the huge flaw at the heart of the whole BBC strategy, initiated by Tim Davie et al
Whoever would’ve thought? Er… maybe “linear” isn’t a dirty word after all…
Radio’s human presenters and curated playlists are attracting younger listeners seeking new music, according to research from MIDiA. radiotoday.co.uk/2026/09/you…
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Sitting in my local barbers listening to GK Barry on BBC Radio 1.
I’m sure she’s great at what she does and this isn’t a dig at her personally but when will radio bosses stop confusing a huge social media following with the ability to do great radio?
Being an influencer doesn’t automatically make you a broadcaster.
Radio is a craft.