Strike action brews over plan to close BBC News channel

theguardian.com:

The BBC’s centenary celebrations season could be hit by strike action from corporation journalists concerned about plans to close the BBC News channel.

Scrutiny has intensified over the proposal announced earlier this year to merge the UK rolling news TV channel and its global commercial stablemate BBC World News into a new, combined service called BBC News.

The Guardian has learned that the leader of the Trades Union Congress has written to BBC director general Tim Davie to express concerns that closing the existing BBC News channel “would substantially reduce newsgathering and airtime for domestic stories” and affect UK democracy.

It echoes fears of some BBC union members who have taken part in a consultative ballot that resulted in a vote in favour of industrial action.

According to sources there was a strong turnout for the vote, which could now lead to a full ballot – a potential threat to the BBC’s coverage of its 100th anniversary in October.

The proposed BBC channel closures and subsequent loss of 70 jobs form part of a £500m cost-cutting and redistribution mission by Davie to create a “digital-first” organisation and help achieve cuts of £285m a year necessitated by the government freezing the licence fee for two years.

Davie is due to visit news channel staff on Friday but corporation insiders are concerned the director general does not realise the on-screen impact of the proposals.

The new BBC News will show news for international and British audiences, with adverts only shown abroad and a UK “opt out” stream to cover big domestic stories, using reporters and a breaking news team, that will simulcast BBC Breakfast, BBC One bulletins, Newsnight and a visual version of Radio 5 live presenter Nicky Campbell’s show.

A BBC