Forum for former BBC staff

Forum for former BBC staff
http://www.ex-bbc.net/cgi-bin/yabb/YaBB.pl >> News and Comment >> 5 month contract for presenters? - new squeeze? http://www.ex-bbc.net/cgi-bin/yabb/YaBB.pl?num=1333105637 Message started by Dickie Mint on Mar 30^th, 2012, 11:08am

Title: 5 month contract for presenters? - new squeeze?
Post by Dickie Mint on Mar 30^th, 2012, 11:08am

One of Midlands Today most popular presenters, Suzanne Virdee has abruptly left. It seems she was offered only a 5 month contract at renewal time :
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-17546555

Is this a new way the bbc mandarins have found to get rid of the expensive talent, so as to save money? I'd suggest a better saving would be to get rid of the manager who comes up with such stupid ideas!

MT, for me, works well as one of the best regional programmes due to the dual presenting of Nick Owen and Suzanne. I suspect a fall in viewers is now likely.

Richard

Title: Re: 5 month contract for presenters? - new squeeze?
Post by Roundabout on Mar 30^th, 2012, 8:26pm

What genius of Management came up with FIVE month contracts, why five? ....why not four and a half or 8? What reasoning into this fairyland calendar gets normal business routines based on divisions of a year suddenly eliminated.
what next, programme durations of 22 and a half minutes or a minute news summary done in 43 seconds? where on earth is the BBC going?

Title: Re: 5 month contract for presenters? - new squeeze?
Post by Peter_Neill on Mar 31^st, 2012, 7:59am

Of course, we don't know the ins and outs of this, but could it be to do with the fact that double-headed presentation of regional news programmes is under review for DQF?

It seems that it is on the way out on News 24.

Title: Re: 5 month contract for presenters? - new squeeze?
Post by Roundabout on Apr 1^st, 2012, 7:00am

There's still a right and a wrong way of doing these things.

Title: Re: 5 month contract for presenters? - new squeeze?
Post by Peter_Neill on Apr 1^st, 2012, 4:45pm

Roundabout wrote on Apr 1^st, 2012, 7:00am:

There's still a right and a wrong way of doing these things.

Agreed - but we've still only heard one side of the story.

Title: Re: 5 month contract for presenters? - new squeeze?
Post by Roundabout on Apr 1^st, 2012, 7:28pm

Yes, I quite agree.