EADT/GLOSSY PICTURE ANDY ABBOTT 17.1.11 BBC Radio Suffolk presenter Lesley Dolphin back in Suffolk after her epic climb of Mount Kilimanjaro for the EACH Treehouse Appeal

Suffolk: BBC radio presenters face axe in cutbacks

By Jonathan Barnes Friday, October 7, 2011
6:00 AM

POPULAR presenters on BBC Radio Suffolk are facing the axe as part of the corporation’s plans to save 20% of its budget.

Lesley Dolphin, Sue Marchant and Wally Webb could lose their shows in the shake-up, which will see more airtime shared regionally and nationally. But the BBC pledged to protect peak-time programmes, such as breakfast, mid-morning and drivetime shows, while news and sport coverage will be unaffected.

Local BBC television services will suffer some cutbacks, with more programmes being shared.

Staff were briefed about the cutbacks yesterday, with BBC director general Mark Thompson announcing 2,000 jobs would go across the UK by 2017 and changes to services being made as part of a Delivering Quality First initiative.

At the same time, the BBC Trust launched a nationwide review of local radio to run separately, with people asked to give their thoughts over the next eight weeks. It will report back in the spring.

Under the proposals, Wally Webb’s regional early morning show on Radio Suffolk will be axed, with stations switching to a national service over the night-time hours, leading up to the start of the breakfast show at 6am.

The afternoon show, presented by Lesley Dolphin between 12.30pm and 4pm, will merge with Radio Norfolk, where a similar time slot is held by Stephen Bumfrey’s entertainment show. It has not yet been decided who will front the show or where it will be broadcast from.

There are plans to create a new evening show, between 7pm and 10pm, for the whole of England. Sue Marchant currently hosts the show for the eastern counties. Nick Risby’s regional late evening show will survive, as will Keith Skues’ two-hour show on Sunday night.

The BBC said it would continue to focus on “faith” on Sunday mornings, when the county’s radio shows will be unaffected, but programmes would be shared across the region on Sunday afternoons and evenings.

All the changes are expected to be completed by April 2013 and have to be approved by the BBC Trust.

The main local BBC TV bulletins will be retained under the proposals, although the 3pm summary and the Saturday lunchtime bulletins will end. The Inside Out current affairs programme will also continue, but will be shared over a larger area.

Peter Cook, Radio Suffolk editor, said: “Making any kind of cuts is never easy on a local radio station but it’s only right and proper that we share the cuts that have to be made by the BBC.

“However, our peak-time programmes will be unaffected and we hope any new programmes will still be relevant to our audience.”

A BBC spokesman said: “These proposals protect BBC Local Radio peak-time programmes when the audience is highest and the output is the most distinctive. That is breakfast, mid-morning and drive-time programmes, plus sport and faith on Sunday mornings.”

Anyone wanting to give their opinions in the service review of local radio should visit www.bbc.co.uk/bbctrust/consult/local_radio.shtml

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7 comments

The daytime offering at Radio Suffolk is weak and offers very little that is new, an insistence that the audience fill the output with their memories and thoughts at times sounds like pleading for people to call in. Endless pugs for a new book and a variety of music that is odd help fill a station that has little to do with real life here in Suffolk. I welcome the BBC offering a regional programme,I hope the BBC hire a presenter with more to offer than last week's offering "does your job title start with the letter J - call us now" Large parts of their output are lacking imagination , maybe this budget cut shock will awaken some new ideas for radio that matters and leave to more people choosing it.

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Richard

Saturday, October 8, 2011
The over 80s in Suffolk will be disappointed ,no one else tunes in!!

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this is what we pay tax for

Friday, October 7, 2011
i thought is was now called BBC RADIO MURPHY AFTER THE TWO PRESENTERS, iam sick of hearing the name

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pandy

Friday, October 7, 2011
Interesting to hear BBC devoting two days to this story - lead story yesterday and specials on both Breakfast and Mid Morning today - all over a potential of 4 jobs being lost at BBC Suffolk. When hospital jobs, county council jobs, AXA jobs, EDF Energy jobs, E.ON jobs, Archant jobs all been cut in much higher numbers they barely register on the BBC news. Why not do the whole lot regionally? - works for Look East

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swatts

Friday, October 7, 2011
Keep local radio LOCAL , we are not interested in what's going on in Norwich , we have that well covered on local TV thanks ! BBC should make the cuts at the top , not at the local roots

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hadleighblue

Friday, October 7, 2011
wheres the story then, i suppose its not news worthy.lol

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swivel68

Friday, October 7, 2011
If you move programs from one station to another, why keep the building if you want to save money. BBC suffolk must be closed to protect the national services on tv and radio. Please no more bbc local radio we have 2 private stations why do we need a bbc as well. Andy

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a west

Friday, October 7, 2011

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