In recognition of their conversations with former Prime Minister Liz Truss last year, eight BBC local radio hosts will split a broadcasting award.
The hosts interrogated the former prime minister days after her mini-budget triggered economic chaos.
The Broadcasting Press Guild stated that their interviews “changed the game for Liz Truss and her doomed administration” and will present them with the jury prize.
This comes as BBC local radio stations in England face programming cuts. In September, Ms. Truss was subjected to challenging questions during a series of local radio appearances.
The chairman of the Broadcasting Press Guild, Grant Tucker, stated,
“As a journalistic organization, the BPG is always the first to recognize the value of superb interviewing, and these BBC radio interviews were a game-changer for Liz Truss and her doomed administration.”
“There is no doubt that the Prime Minister’s feet were held to the fire in these eight radio sessions, which stood out among the summer’s British political drama.”
Chris Burns, the BBC’s controller of local audio commissioning, stated,
“That was a historic moment for local radio and for how we work digitally since the interviews were later compiled into the most popular Newscast episode in the history of BBC Sounds.”
As they usually do, our speakers asked such questions on behalf of the communities they represent as well as the entire nation. This exemplifies the beauty of local audio.
We are quite proud of what BBC local radio does, and it’s wonderful to see the effort recognized with this award.
The BPG ceremony will take place in London in the coming days, a week after BBC staff on regional TV bulletins, local radio, and online output in England staged a 24-hour strike over the corporation’s plan for its 39 local radio stations in England to broadcast more merged shows in the afternoons, evenings, and weekends.
The National Union of Journalists (NUJ) has stated that it will “undermine already depleted local radio programming in England.”
However, the BBC has stated that its proposal will “modernize local services across England, including more news journalists and a stronger local web service, with no overall drop in local budget or employment levels.”
Also Read: M. Shadows Married His Wife After A 6th-Grade Romance
