BBC World Service gutted...drinks are on the UK Foreign Office

The BBC World Service is facing massive cuts and the shutting down of several language services, as part of budget cuts by the British government. In order to keep its foreign and commonwealth office budget intact (soirees and all)... as well as to EXPAND its international aid budget (really, does India need British aid??).... the government has taken the easy way out: cut the world's most unique, impartial and truly global news service.

If you value listening to the BBC World Service, please please take a moment to sign this petition.

Here is what the cuts mean for millions of listeners around the world:

• BBC Hindi service goes online - even though most of its tens of millions of listeners don't have electricity, never mind internet.

• BBC Russian service is being axed.

• The closure of five language services; Albanian, Macedonian, Portuguese for Africa and Serbian, as well as the English for the Caribbean regional service.

• The end of radio programmes in seven languages, focusing those services on online and new media content and distribution. These include: Azeri, Mandarin Chinese (note that Cantonese radio programming continues), Russian (some programmes will be distributed online only), Spanish for Cuba, Turkish, Vietnamese, and Ukrainian.

• Reduction of most short-wave and medium-wave distribution.

• In World Service English, the schedule will become simpler and some programmes, Europe Today and Politics UK will be decommissioned. There are other changes to the schedule.

Here's the SOS BBC World Service's Facebook public page. Please join!

Comments

[coolblogger]

If BBC is facing financial problems, it is upto them rite?
Instead of asking BBC to cut their services, why not the other countries invest in Closedcaptioning in their language or subtitling in their native language. This way, they can give employment for people who still study those languages rite and make sure not everyone is forced to learn english and disrespect their native language.

[anu anand]

Hi Coolblogger... I can't tell from your comment if you listen to the BBC World Service or not? And I can't tell if you understand at all what I wrote, or how the BBC is funded.