MUMBAI: BBC's Head of Television News in the UK, Peter Horrocks, has announced a number of changes to BBC News' television operation.
The changes are the result after series of dialogue between Horrocks and the staff since he took on his new role in September 2005. They are designed to reflect the increasing importance of News 24 in the BBC's overall strategy and to create a streamlined, flexible and dynamic news operation around all of the news services, including the One O'Clock, Six O'Clock and Ten O'Clock bulletins.
Horrocks said, "BBC television news has been performing very strongly, across all of its services. We have access to the finest news content in the world. We need to be original, fast and right. We need to put continuous news at the heart of our operations and we need to be in good shape to embrace new technologies and new audience needs in terms of watching and accessing news.I am confident that these changes will enable our news teams to continue to deliver the world-class, trusted news that the audience expects of us."
The changes include key appointments. BBC News deputy head,Rachel Attwell will take on wider editorial responsibilities, deputising for Horrocks across all output. Attwell will line manage senior operational managers and head a new Operations Board.A new post of Controller of News 24 will be created. The Controller will have editorial, managerial and financial control over the channel. This role will report directly to the Head of TV News.
This post will be advertised externally, as will the existing post of Head of World News, currently held on an acting basis by Richard Porter. The Head of BBC Four News will report in to the new Head of World News. A new post of Editor, Daytime News, will replace the individual editorship of the One O'Clock News and the Six O'Clock News.
Additionally, staff will work on a single rota across the One, Six and Ten O'Clock bulletins with some dedicated effort for each programme being retained. Posts saved in the newsroom will be re-allocated to strengthen the editorial process around News 24 and to create a shared pool between television news and newsgathering.
The new systems also include more co-commissioning, greater consistency of branding and a wider sharing of edited material to ensure that stories get to air with the greatest possible speed. In terms of the ongoing value for money proposals, there is no further net increase in staff job losses as a result of the new plans, although one additional senior post will be lost by merging the editorship of the One O'Clock and Six O'Clock bulletins.
