Decision not to include Welsh breakfast news bulletins on BBC One criticised
The BBC has been criticised after announcing that breakfast news bulletins from BBC Wales would no longer be shown on BBC One.
Plaid Cymru leader Adam Price said the decision was “shocking” and needed to be “overturned immediately”.
BBC Wales Director Rhodri Talfan Davies, however, defended the decision, saying audience figures were higher in the afternoon and tough decisions needed to be made given depleted staff numbers.
The BBC also announced that they would be broadcasting the Welsh Government’s daily news conference live on BBC One Wales, from Monday 30 March.
The daily press conferences – between 12.30 and 1pm – are convened for the First Minister, Ministers and Public Health professionals to update on the current Coronavirus situation.
Health is a devolved issue in Wales meaning that the response to the coronavirus pandemic is being spearheaded by the Welsh Government.
‘Working hard’
“The announcement that breakfast news bulletins from Wales will no longer be included on BBC One Wales is shocking,” Adam Price said.
“The lack of coverage of our country by British broadcasters is already an issue without this during the COVID-19 crisis. The decision needs to be overturned immediately.”
BBC Wales Director Rhodri Talfan Davies, however, wrote on Twitter that they were being forced to cut back because of the coronavirus forcing staff into self-isolation.
“Hundreds of my colleagues are working incredibly hard to sustain programming round the clock in the most challenging conditions we’ve ever faced,” he said.
“Each day they deliver 14 hours of live news across radio and tv in two languages – and full online services. I’m proud of them all.
“Staffing levels at the BBC have been affected across the UK, and we have to make hard calls about priorities. The audiences at 1.30, 6.30 and 10.30 are significantly higher.”
The announcement comes as BBC Wales sees unprecedented demand for its news output. More than 700,000 viewers are tuning into BBC Wales Today each day with the Newyddion team on S4C also attracting their biggest audiences of the year., the corporation said.
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As very few decisions are announced before breakfast there is a logic to the BBC’s decision to focus on lunchtime and evening.
So too all intents and purposes Wales will cease to exist on BBC television until midday. You would be forgiven for thinking there are no tv license payers in Wales. Devolve broadcasting to Wales asap!
Why is it that those people who are complaining about this always ignore the fact that many hundreds of thousands of Welsh people choose not to watch Welsh television?
The question you should be asking yourself Gwyn is why the news from London matters more than what is happening in Wales? For clarity, the updates from Public Health Wales, NHS Wales and Dr Frank Atherton have been done in the morning sometimes and certainly before Westminster yet it gets buried by 5pm. It isn’t a case of people complaining but more a case of people tuning into news that is relevant to them. I picked up the Western Mail today and there’s some really good reporting on the spread of the virus yet would I get the same from… Read more »
Bloody hell Gwyn get a grip, first off you’re showing your prejudice against the language of this country but the article isn’t about that it’s about english language news coverage being reduce, yet at the same time us Welsh will continue to receive the same amount information on the state of affairs in england, which is of course not as important to people who live in Cymru/Wales.
Sort yourself out boy, I for one want to be kept up to date with information at all times which is pertinent to the country I live in
Information like UK missing out on the EU ventilator scheme “due to administrative errors”, when it was probably an ideological decision by the self isolating Brexiteer in chief. Take a bow, Bunter.
J. Please tell me what the EU Ventilator Scheme is, never heard of it????
Thanks.
Chas G
Why don’t you just do a search for “eu ventilator scheme.
This was nothing to do with the language. It is all about the fact that hundreds of thousands of viewers are not watching this country’s English-language television service.
Well done for completely misunderstanding the point… Health is fully devolved to Wales for pete’s sake…….Wales should have broadcasting devolved anyway
I don’t understand your point. So what if hundreds of thousands of people don’t watch a program. We should still have a program representing Wales for those of us who do care about the virus
That fsct is true,. But if you think that you are going to get corona virus updates re your locality, Wales or any Welsh news which will be relevant to you on BBC Bristol, Midlands, Heregord, think again. Or maybe you prefer to remain ignorant. BbC now need to provide comprehensive bulletins ng that tosh curently in the morning spot which is a watered down traversty
However we in Wales will still be kept fully updated on NHS England, the English police force and the English local authorities, all of which are irrelevant to us. I have long suspected that the”national” news meant the English nation and not the UK and now I have been proved right.
This could be interpreted, for those living in Wales as FAKE news.
There is a certain chateau on Anglesey where you got BBC London news which was really confusing.
Brexit gathers steam………………..
This once again shows the contempt for Wales .Scotland already has broadcasting devolved .what will mark drakeford and his puppets do ..once again nothing
bloody outrageous, the same thing is happening in Scotland especially as BBC/Radio Sot is broadcasting ‘Good Morning Scotland’ from an adjacent linked studio. What are they trying to hide? In Scotland it will be that Scottish Government is ahead of Wastemonster and they don’t want Scottish public know that Scottish Government is doing things better, I suspect the same goes for Wales.
Correct. It was stated today that they are going to start testing of front line staff in England today (or tomorrow). They then said this had been in place for ten days in Wales. Also in Scotland but not sure for how long there.
The bloody Tories have used the Welsh NHS as a political football in a negative, critical sense many times over the last ten years. It’s well worth pointing out when it’s doing a better job than the English NHS.
Are all the local news bulletins cancelled, in various regions…??