Aberdeenshire North and Moray East MP Seamus Logan has paid a visit to BBC Aberdeen at their Beechgrove studios.
As an office bearer on the All-Party Parliamentary Group for the BBC at Westminster, Mr Logan was invited by Luke McCullough, Corporate Affairs Director, to meet with staff members and learn more about their work, producing shows such as Landward, Out of Doors, Travelling Folk and Take the Floor as well as local and national news and sports output.
Discussions during the visit focused on ensuring a continuing presence for the BBC in the North-east of Scotland, the forthcoming BBC Charter Review and the associated UK Government White Paper. The BBC are in the process of finding significant savings of which £10 million is earmarked from the BBC Scotland budget and this could see the loss of around 60 jobs through voluntary early retirement and voluntary redundancy.
Commenting on the visit, Seamus Logan MP said:
“I really enjoyed meeting the reporters and producers behind the shows produced and broadcast from the BBC in Aberdeen including Rachel Bell, their Senior Journalist Reporter for BBC Scotland’s news team, Laura Mitchell, Series Producer on Landward and Helen Needham, Senior Content Producer for Radio Scotland in Aberdeen.
“Shows such as Take the Floor are well loved around Scotland and there is great pride that shows like this are being made here in the North-east as well as local news focused on the stories that matter to our local communities. It’s this kind of first-class journalism that reflects local concerns and is committed to representing the region that’s so important to protect in a time of economic uncertainty. It’s important that every step is taken to protect our local broadcast content and to avoid compulsory redundancies.
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“I was also interested to see the capacity to record live music in the studios at Beechgrove as well as at festivals and locations across the North-east and of course, discuss the legacy of Robbie Shepherd; gone but most definitely not forgotten. Given the output and range of programmes being produced here in Aberdeen, I was not surprised to learn that there are many listeners across the world who regularly tune into these music and rural shows and not just the Scottish diaspora as you would expect.
“This is a difficult time for the BBC as it faces enormous financial challenges and changes during its Charter Review, with discussions focused on solutions to funding and its licensing model. As a public service broadcaster, it’s important that Parliament gets the opportunity to scrutinise proposals and that the public have their say in this process. With the media landscape evolving at such a fast rate and the growing rise of misinformation online, ensuring that the BBC is fit for the future must be a national conversation.”
