It’s thought that as many as four jobs are at risk at the station.
Weekend output will also suffer with plans to scrap the hour long ‘Saturday Sports’ programme and ‘Saturday Club’, presented by Eamon Friel.

The ‘Journal’ has learned that some of the station’s presenters were told of the plans after being summoned to a city centre coffee shop.
The National Union of Journalists (NUJ) fears the proposals will spell the end for Radio Foyle.

Under the current plans – which follow a two month review of the BBC’s operations in the North – Radio Foyle will still have two-and-a-half hours of broadcasting in the morning but it’s unclear what format those programmes will take.

There are also plans for a new hour long evening programme at 6 p.m. – traditionally a time when most people are watching the early evening news on television.

One source said: “This is the end of Radio Foyle as we know it. It’s devastating for the station, its staff and, more importantly, the listeners. The ethos and identity will be lost. People are in shock.”
NUJ general secretary Jeremy Dear says the union will not accept the BBC plans.

“These proposals are still the subject of negotiations. The NUJ is opposed to any cuts to jobs or to the service provided to the licence fee payers of Derry.”

A BBC Northern Ireland spokesman said discussions were ongoing in relation to Radio Foyle.

“We’re currently talking to staff and unions about the details and potential impact of these latest proposals,” he said.

“Until we have arrived at an agreed plan we are unable to release any further information.”

http://www.derryjournal.com/journal/Axe-hangs-over-BBC-Radio.5781799.jp

It is understood much of Foyle’s output – including the flagship “News at One” slot and the popular Sean Coyle and Mark Patterson programmes – will be replaced by existing shows on Radio Ulster.

Representatives from across the political spectrum have voiced grave concern over the impact of the BBC’s plans.

Foyle MP Mark Durkan called for clarity from the corporation.

“It is important that we have a strong Derry-based station which reflects local community life in its coverage,” he said.

Sinn Fein MLA Raymond McCartney said the proposals would “undermine the fabric of the north west.”

The DUP’s Willie Hay said any downgrading of the Derry station would be “a disaster.”

There are also plans for a new hour long evening programme at 6 p.m. – traditionally a time when most people are watching the early evening news on television.

http://www.derryjournal.com/journal/Union-chiefs-meet-in-bid.5787760.jp

Here is the reason. Five Radio Foyle programmes look set to be scrapped under new BBC savings plans. They are Mark Patterson’s 3-5Live, Sean Coyle and the News at One on weekdays, and Saturday Sport and Eamon Friel’s Saturday Club at the weekend. The weekday afternoon programmes are likely to be replaced by Radio Ulster shows.

All this amounts to a serious dilution of locally-made programming by the BBC. Yet thousands of listeners appreciate Radio Foyle’s coverage of news, current affairs, community issues, music and arts specifically for the north west. As licence fee payers they are entitled to see this area reflected in a truly local, well-rooted, informative BBC service.

The plans would mean a huge reduction in BBC Radio Foyle’s output. Four hours out of the daily six-and-a-half hours of programmes are to go, although the BBC envisages a new one-hour programme at 6pm. This is TV news time and not a viable slot. The proposals are, therefore, alarming news and to many people they spell the beginning of the end for the station. A strange way to celebrate its 30th anniversary.

Politicians, community activists, members of the clergy, trade unionists and, of course, listeners from near and far are appalled by these proposed cuts. Many have already privately and publicly voiced their concern. A petition opposing the cuts is now circulating in hundreds of voluntary and community groups. It is hoped that it will reach thousands of (tens of thousands of?) people in every part of the north west.

Much more will have to be done, though, to convince the BBC to drop these plans. This is a forum for anyone interested in doing so.

Click onto the online petition, share the link and do print out hard copies to gather signatures ahead of the 31 November deadline. Write a letter to the Controller, BBC Northern Ireland, Ormeau Avenue, Belfast. Organise public statements or open letters from whichever organisation you belong to. Think of other ways to build the campaign.

The links on this blog will take you to the resources you may need, and hopefully the blog itself will prove to be fertile ground for campaign-related discussion, debate, and ideas.

Stop the cuts at Radio Foyle. Protect public sector broadcasting in the north west.

To contact the campaign email saveradiofoyle@gmail.com