Put back the Calendar
IN JANUARY 2006 journalists and viewers alike were pleased when the Yorkshire TV’s award-winning half-hour news programme Calendar was split into two shows, covering the north and south of the Yorkshire and Humberside region.
Then in September last year Yorkshire TV announced it was going back to one programme as part of Michael Grade’s cuts.
“People were stunned, demoralised and confused,” says NUJ rep Martin Fisher. “Even managers were surprised — the decision came from the network centre in London, not from Leeds. People are leaving. Half a dozen have left and not been replaced, many to the BBC or into PR. The attitude is ‘get out while the going’s good’.”
On top of this, in July managers announced new job descriptions, with no fixed hours, under which all reporters will be liable to carry cameras.
“It’s part of the scheme to cut the number of staff,” says Martin Fisher, “and staff are angry. There have been heated exchanges between managers and the reporters, who are saying, ‘you are killing regional news’.”
After pressure from the union, managers revised the plan for Calendar — but the “opt-out” segment would be pre-recorded, which is unacceptable to journalists. Martin Fisher says: “I work in the Lincoln office. There’s now one reporter and one cameraman. Six years ago there would have been six or seven. In Sheffield now there are two journalists. When I worked there six years ago there were five.
“Our staff are very dedicated, work very hard, harder than ever, and still produce a product that can compete with the BBC, with nothing like their resources.”
The union campaign to retain the programme has strong personal support from MP Austin Mitchell, who is chair of the NUJ’s Parliamentary group, an outspoken backbench critic of ITV’s plans — and a former presenter of Calendar himself.
Austin Mitchell wrote to Michael Grade saying: “We have serious concerns about the implications for local news provision. We are particularly concerned about reports that ITV seems to be going ahead with plans to make the cuts prior to a decision by Ofcom.
“We accept that a comprehensive re-assessment of broadcasting is urgently needed, but there must be a commitment to high quality public service broadcasting.”