Summary of complaint
We have received complaints about our plan to reformat Newsnight as part of changes to 麻豆社 News programming.
Our response
麻豆社 News has set out savings and reinvestment plans to boost its digital journalism around the clock; increase its streaming offer on 麻豆社 iPlayer and the 麻豆社 News app; and bring more in-depth, analytical, and high-impact reporting to its online audiences. We are also enhancing our ability to commission more investigations across all of output 鈥 precisely the kind of original journalism for which Newsnight is known.
It is worth observing that news consumption habits are changing, with linear TV audiences declining by 11% over the last five years, and the 麻豆社 needs to invest in online news to respond to this. With the flat Licence Fee settlement and the impact of inflation, this means the 麻豆社 also needs to make 拢500m of savings.
We have also listened to detailed audience feedback about Newsnight which clearly demonstrated that consumers valued high-quality, consequential, news-making interviews, discussion and debate the most. This research informed the changes we made, namely that Newsnight will remain as a nightly 麻豆社 Two TV programme from Mondays to Fridays, and will become a 30 minute interview, debate and discussion show which draws on the best of the 麻豆社鈥檚 talent and news-making interviews to make sense of the day鈥檚 news.
麻豆社 News and Current Affairs CEO Deborah Turness has said: 鈥淎udiences have told us how much they value Newsnight as an iconic 麻豆社 debate and discussion programme, and we鈥檝e listened to what they鈥檝e said 鈥 we鈥檝e made the decision to keep the programme on air five days a week, despite the financial challenges we face.
鈥淣ewsnight has also been a source of great investigative reporting and films but we know that people are consuming the news in different ways, and it can no longer make sense to keep a bespoke reporting team for a single television programme. We will offer more to audiences by investing to ensure the best investigative journalism and reporting is produced 鈥 and consumed 鈥 across the whole of 麻豆社 News.鈥
As part of this, a new 麻豆社 News Investigations Unit will bring together the best investigative talent across 麻豆社 News. New roles will be created in financial and political investigations, alongside specialist roles with OSINT (open source intelligence) and policy analysis expertise within an expanded 麻豆社 Verify, the specialist team with a range of investigative skills at its fingertips.
We can assure our audience that 麻豆社 News remains committed to providing high quality journalism.