Jonathan Munro, BBC News’ deputy CEO and director of journalism, emailed colleagues on Wednesday to warn that significant funding has already been committed to elections, wars, and major sports events.The news bonanza, coupled with the BBC’s need to find an additional £90M in savings on top of ongoing content cuts, means that BBC News will have to be judicious in its spending.Munro said: “Undoubtedly more of our cash is earmarked up front than in any year in recent times … We are going to need some patience. We won’t be able to back every idea or service every request. The bar for discretionary spending will have to rise, at least for the next 12 months.”In the message, seen by Deadline, he added: “Every pound, dollar or rupee we spend has got to contribute to the heavy lifting which is needed throughout the year. Let’s not get disheartened by that – it’s simple housekeeping.”One insider summed up the email like this: “I think this means BBC News is skint.”BBC News is in the process of making its latest round of content cuts under a £7.5M savings plan. Newsnight has been hit hard by the cuts, with plans to strip the flagship current affairs show of its original reporting and shorten its episodes.Insiders feel ground down by the cuts and there is a feeling that BBC News is in perpetual contraction. “It never ends,” said one source. “You get through it [a round of cuts] and then [it] starts all over again.”Munro remained upbeat, saying that the 2024 news cycle will “play to our strengths.” He pointed to the BBC’s emphasis on verification at a time when potentially overlapping elections in the UK and U.S. could flood social media feeds with misinformation and disinformation.
© 2024 Deadline Hollywood.