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BBC planning to share staff with local newspapers as part of reform

The BBC's director general is to lay out plans for the future of the corporation today, including a multi-million pound proposal to share staff and resources with local newspapers.

In a speech, Tony Hall will announce the "Open BBC" plan, which will include a network of 100 "public service reporters" shared with local news providers.

The BBC is also expected to announce an expansion of the World Service, including its first broadcasts into North Korea, as part of plans for its future.

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Lord Hall: Tough choices ahead for the BBC

Credit: PA

Lord Hall said that Chancellor George Osborne's July Budget had left the BBC facing "some very difficult choices ahead" and that some services would have to be closed or reduced.

In a settlement reached ahead of the Budget, the corporation agreed to help finance spending cuts by shouldering the cost of free television licences for people aged over 75.

It will cost the BBC an estimated £750 million by 2020, almost a fifth of the corporation's current annual income.

Lord Hall said that it meant the BBC would have to save 20% of its income over the next five years at a time when its share of TV revenues was likely to fall.

The BBC faces a very tough financial challenge. So we will have to manage our resources ever more carefully and prioritise what we believe the BBC should offer.

We will inevitably have to either close or reduce some services.

– Lord Hall, BBC Director General

Lord Hall: 'Open BBC' will be UK's creative partner

ohn Grant performing with the BBC Philharmonic at Media City, Salford Credit: PA

New plans for an "Open BBC" will turn the broadcaster into Britain's "creative partner" and become a "platform for catalyst for the country's incredible talent", Director General Lord Hall has said.

Speaking from the Science Museum, Tony Hall said:

In the internet age our mission is simple: great British programmes and a trusted guide for every one of us.

We want to take all the opportunities the internet creates to inform, educate and entertain in new ways.

And to that traditional mission we would add a fourth imperative - to enable others to do that too.

We want to open the BBC to be Britain's creative partner, to become a platform - a catalyst for this country's incredible talent.

We intend to put our technology and digital capabilities at the service of our partners and the wider industry - bringing us closer together for the good of the country - to deliver the very best to audiences.

– Lord Hall, BBC Director General

His speech at the Science Museum in London comes after Culture Secretary John Whittingdale announced consultations on the future of licence fee funding for the BBC, questioning whether the corporation should be "all things to all people" or have a more "precisely targeted" mission.

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Lord Hall promises 'open BBC' that works for rivals and public

The BBC Director General has promised an "Open BBC" that will collaborate with media rivals and the public and serves as a "catalyst for this country's incredible talent".

In his first of a four-part response to the government's review of the Royal Charter in 2016, Lord Hall said:

For the next 10 years, we will need to ride two horses - serving those who have adopted the internet and mobile media, while at the same time making sure that those who want to carry on watching and listening to traditional channels continue to be properly served too.

This is where the idea of an open BBC for the internet age comes from."

The director general said that the internet had made it easier to find information but harder to know whether to trust it.

In the internet age our mission is simple: great British programmes and a trusted guide for every one of us.

We want to take all the opportunities the internet creates to inform, educate and entertain in new ways.

And to that traditional mission we would add a fourth imperative - to enable others to do that too.

– Lord Hall, BBC Director General

BBC planning to share staff with local newspapers

Tony Hall will outline plans for an 'Open BBC'. Credit: Dominic Lipinski/PA Archive

The BBC's director general is to lay out plans for the future of the corporation today, including a multi-million pound proposal to share staff and resources with local newspapers.

In a speech, Tony Hall will announce the "Open BBC" plan, which will include a network of 100 "public service reporters" shared with local news providers.

The programme would also see the creation of a local News Bank, allowing news content to be syndicated by local and regional outlets.

A BBC source described the move - funded by the licence fee - as an attempt to reverse the fortunes of local media outlets that have struggled amid the growth of online news.

The growth of online news has had a big impact on the local news industry. While the BBC is not the cause of that, we do believe local news is essential for a strong democracy and we want to be part of the solution.

This is an unprecedented offer that would put millions into a genuinely exciting local journalism partnership.

– BBC source
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