Journos strike at BBC

LONDON -- BBC news and public affairs shows were disrupted Monday in the second strike by journalists in recent weeks. The 24-hour strike, in protest at compulsory redundancies, hit shows across TV and radio. TV show "BBC Breakfast" was unable to air as normal, while flagship Radio 4 public affairs skein "Today" bowed an hour late at 7 a.m. Also hit were Radio 4 programs "PM," "The World at One" and "You and Yours." The National Union of Journalists claimed the strike was "solidly supported" by its 3,000 NUJ members at the corp. The NUJ is furious that four people were made compulsorily redundant from the World Service as part of plans to nix 387 posts from the World Service and BBC Monitoring following funding cuts announced by the U.K. government last October. The BBC said in a statement: "We are disappointed that the NUJ has gone ahead with today's strike and apologize to our audience for any disruption to services. Industrial action does not alter the fact that the BBC is faced with a number of potential compulsory redundancies following significant cuts to the central government grants that support the World Service and BBC Monitoring. We will continue with our efforts to reduce the need for compulsory redundancies. However, the number of posts that we are having to close means that unfortunately it is likely to be impossible for us to avoid some compulsory redundancies." The NUJ said: "Throughout negotiations with the BBC, the corporation's management has refused to take the necessary steps to avoid compulsory redundancies despite the NUJ offering a range of practical and alternative solutions in an attempt to stop journalists being forced into unemployment. All the journalists currently affected are willing to accept redeployment and they face an uncertain future through no fault of their own. The BBC is wasting thousands of pounds making skilled and experienced people compulsorily redundant instead of redeploying staff. This is money that should be used to make better programs and to ensure the future of quality journalism at the corporation." The last walkout took place July 15. Contact the Variety newsroom at news@variety.com