Public meeting in Derry told 'we need Radio Foyle'

The meeting was organised by the Derry and North West branch of the National Union of Journalists (NUJ) to provide public representatives, trade unionists, community groups and listeners from across the North West with an opportunity to voice their opposition to the plan to axe Radio Foyle’s Breakfast News and some news bulletins.

Séamus Dooley, Assistant General Secretary of the NUJ chaired the event. He said: “Tonight, we call for a re-think of BBC Foyle’s future and a genuine engagement with the NUJ and with the community. Public service broadcasting is not just a matter for the NUJ or for politicians. We greatly appreciate the united strength we have received right across the political divide.”

Dean McLaughlin is the Father of the Chapel (FOC) in the North West Branch of the NUJ and a reporter in the Radio Foyle news team. He said: “We are absolutely devastated at these proposals. You only have to walk in the front door of Radio Foyle and see the cabinet of awards, including gold awards, for our newsroom. That’s the blood, sweat and tears that goes into our journalism every day.

"There’s never been a more important time to have serious and proper journalism and we are at the heart of the northwest. It feels like our heart has been completely ripped out. The support we have received from everyone both inside and outside the BBC has been fantastic but this is by no means over. This is a battle and we are ready to go to the battlefield.”

Secretary of ICTU Gerry Murphy said: “This is not a failing station. This is a successful, vibrant, beating heart at the centre of this city. So, the question then becomes ‘what do you do?’ Well, this is Derry. You know what to do.”

Bishop Donal McKeown said: “This is not just about the jobs and the journalists. This is about the whole identity of this community. This is an existential problem for this whole area west of the Sperrins. Radio Foyle has contributed to a community that’s proud of itself, that’s uniquely cross-border. We deserve to be able to reflect on who we are as a community and how we can help our young people face the future with confidence because we’re losing too many of our young people. We need Radio Foyle.”

Mayor Duffy said the proposed cuts are causing huge worry and anxiety for the workers who learned that they will lose their jobs just weeks out from Christmas and during a cost-of-living crisis.

She said: “It will also have a hugely detrimental impact on the people of Derry who rely on this institution for local news and coverage. People in Derry and the North West are licence fee payers like everyone else and they are entitled to fair coverage for their money. The Breakfast Show is a flagship programme that has acted as an institution for the people of Derry and surrounding areas for many years. The announcement by the BBC has cast huge doubt on the future of BBC Radio Foyle, and I am asking for urgent reassurance that the station will be protected.”

Davy McAuley, who organised the first protest after the cuts were proposed, said that was the first time in recent history that all political parties came together. He said: “When you’re trying to leave Derry, you want to go on a bus and you can’t go anywhere. You want to go on a train, you can’t go anywhere. The roads don’t go anywhere. You can’t get a university education.

"Derry is continually done down and we can’t allow it to continue.”

Thomas Connelly is a farmer from Park and a contributor on Radio Foyle. He said that the service has been a lifeline for people in rural communities who are isolated and lonely.

"People are dependant on Radio Foyle to tell them what’s happening in Derry. Those people would be totally lost. This battle will be won if every single person writes a letter to the BBC. If there’s a few hundred thousand letters from real people, telling real stories, that carries real weight.”

In a statement delivered by the BBC at the time of the announcement, Adam Smyth, Interim Director at BBC NI, said: “These are challenging times and we face some difficult choices, none of which are easy. We have to find monies to maintain and develop our local presence on BBC iPlayer and to absorb cost pressures across different aspects of our work. Our concern in all of this will be to safeguard audience value and benefit and to remain mindful of the impact that this announcement will have on BBC staff in Northern Ireland.”

A petition has been set up to allow people to voice their opinion on the proposed cuts. It is available at: https://www.megaphone.org.uk/petitions/save-bbc-radio-foyle-oppose-cuts-to-jobs-and-programmes?share=d23feaf6-bc89-45a9-ba01-3b64fd7115a2.

The petition is available for signing at the Guildhall and template letters to be sent to the BBC Director General are available at https://www.nuj.org.uk/.