Beeb Bites Back
Staff at BBC Oxford added their voices to the nationwide protest in support of the BBC's independence last Thursday.
Around 50 members of staff, including Executive Editor Phil Ashworth, took part in a two-hour rally, organised by the National Union of Journalists (NUJ), outside the Summertown-based station.
Speaking to The OxStu, Anna Wagstaff, Secretary of the NUJ's Oxford branch, stressed this was no internally divisive dispute but rather a potent demonstration of the "universally strong feeling" that has united staff in the aftermath of the Hutton report.
The depth of public feeling surrounding recent developments at the BBC was also made resoundingly clear and, according to BBC Oxford's NUJ representative Rachel Bulkeley, provided a "real morale booster" for those taking part.
Listeners to the Bill Heine show, which was broadcast live from the rally, phoned in with messages of support and even braved the rain to contribute in person while passing traffic, including a police car, sounded their horns in support. Although this was the first rally of its kind at BBC Oxford, the BBC's impending charter renewal will ensure that the thorny issue of its editorial independence is unlikely to be resolved overnight. Amidst all the current uncertainty over the future of the BBC, Wagstaff's prediction seems inevitable: "this battle is by no means over."
12th Feb 2004