This article is from the source 'guardian' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.theguardian.com/media/2018/jan/26/four-male-bbc-presenters-agree-to-take-pay-cut-report

The article has changed 9 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 4 Version 5
BBC in talks with male presenters over pay cut after equal salaries row BBC confirms some of its best-paid male stars have agreed salary cuts
(about 2 hours later)
John Humphrys, Huw Edwards, Nicky Campbell and Jeremy Vine are among those in discussions John Humphrys among those to agree to pay reduction, saying he is ‘not exactly on the breadline’
Nadia Khomami and
Graham RuddickGraham Ruddick
Fri 26 Jan 2018 12.52 GMTFri 26 Jan 2018 12.52 GMT
First published on Fri 26 Jan 2018 06.42 GMTFirst published on Fri 26 Jan 2018 06.42 GMT
Share on FacebookShare on Facebook
Share on TwitterShare on Twitter
Share via EmailShare via Email
View more sharing optionsView more sharing options
Share on LinkedInShare on LinkedIn
Share on PinterestShare on Pinterest
Share on Google+Share on Google+
Share on WhatsAppShare on WhatsApp
Share on MessengerShare on Messenger
CloseClose
The BBC is in talks with some of its best-paid male news presenters about taking a salary cut after the row about equal pay at the broadcaster. The BBC has confirmed that some of its best-paid male presenters have agreed to take salary cuts after the row about equal pay at the broadcaster.
John Humphrys, Jeremy Vine, Huw Edwards and Nicky Campbell are among the men in discussions with the BBC. John Humphrys, Jeremy Vine, Huw Edwards and Nicky Campbell were among the senior male figures in discussions, with the BBC confirming that Nick Robinson and Jon Sopel have also agreed to lower salaries.
Humphrys, who received between £600,000 and £649,999 last year for presenting Radio 4’s Today programme and Mastermind, has said he has offered to take a pay cut and a BBC source said he was “not alone in either offering or being cooperative”.
A BBC spokesperson said: “The BBC has agreed pay cuts with a number of leading BBC News presenters and others have agreed in principle.”
The equal pay row at the BBC took a further bizarre twist on Friday morning when the broadcaster made multiple changes to an online story about potential pay cuts for male presenters. Humphrys, who received between £600,000 and £649,999 last year for presenting Radio 4’s Today programme and Mastermind, said it was his decision to take a pay cut, adding: “I’m not exactly on the breadline.” The veteran broadcaster’s pay has been reduced to about £250,000-£300,000.
The BBC ran a story on its website and in radio news bulletins that Humphrys, Vine, Edwards and the North America editor, Jon Sopel, had agreed to take pay cuts. The story was followed up by a range of media organisations, including the Press Association. His comments after the BBC made multiple changes to an online story reporting the names of the presenters.
However, at about 9am, the BBC removed the four men’s names from the article and changed the headline to “Some BBC male presenters agree pay cut”. The broadcaster initially ran a story on its website and in radio news bulletins that Humphrys, Vine, Edwards and the BBC’s North America editor, Jon Sopel, had agreed to take pay cuts. The story was followed up by a range of media organisations, including the Press Association.
The story was then updated again to reintroduce their names, but with significant caveats. It said Vine, Humphrys and Edwards had agreed to reductions “either formally or in principle” and attributed this statement to Amol Rajan, the BBC’s media editor. However, at about 9am, the BBC removed the four men’s names from the article and changed the headline to “Some BBC male presenters agree pay cut”. The story was then updated again to reintroduce their names, but with significant caveats. It said Vine, Humphrys and Edwards had agreed to reductions “either formally or in principle” and attributed this statement to Amol Rajan, the BBC’s media editor.
The changes are understood to have taken place after concerns were raised at the BBC’s morning news meeting.The changes are understood to have taken place after concerns were raised at the BBC’s morning news meeting.
Campbell confirmed in his Radio 5 Live Breakfast show that he was one of the men in talks about a pay cut. He earned between £400,000 and £449,999 last year. Humphrys, 74, said on Friday: “It was my decision and it’s the third [time] and they have been volunteered in each case.
Vine also told reporters he had agreed to a reduction on his way to present his Radio 2 show on Friday. “The BBC is in a very, very different position from what it was all those years ago when I was, like many other people in the BBC, having money pretty much thrust upon us, because there was loads of money in the BBC ...
“I think it needs to be sorted out and I support my female colleagues who have rightly said they should be paid the same when they’re doing the same job. It’s just a no-brainer, so it wasn’t a problem for me to accept one,” he said. “There was no shortage of cash. There is a shortage of cash. And it seems to me – and I thought this before the salary disclosures last year but the salary disclosures reinforced the idea – that some of us were earning much more than others.”
The discussions are thought to focus on men working in the BBC’s news division because the corporation believes the market for journalists has changed substantially in the past decade, and some of the pay packages it offered to staff have not stood the test of time. He said his Today salary had been “exaggerated” when it was made public because of earnings from Mastermind “but it was clearly larger by a margin than anybody else’s on the programme. That’s really the reason for wanting to reduce it.”
The publication of the BBC’s pay list last year showed two-thirds of the best-paid, on-air presenters are men and some male staff may be receiving more than women for in effect the same job. Humphrys said: “I’ve been at the BBC for an awfully long time and I’ve been paid very well and I’m not exactly on the breadline.”
The pay row was dragged back into the open earlier this month when Carrie Gracie resigned as China editor and accused the broadcaster of a “secretive and illegal” pay culture. Asked if it would make a difference to his day-to-day life, he said: “I don’t think I’ll be selling matches in the street ... I’m being facetious. I’ve been very well paid for a very long time.”
Humphrys said he did not think the controversy over the gender pay gap at the corporation, which led to the BBC’s China editor, Carrie Gracie, resigning in protest, would leave lasting wounds to the reputation of the broadcaster.
“I think it will blow over. These things always do,” he said. “There will be a bit of pain and some anguish. But in the end – we are seeing it already – other people are negotiating.”
The BBC confirmed that Humphrys’ Today programme colleague, Nick Robinson, had also taken a salary cut.
“We are very grateful to Huw Edwards, Nicky Campbell, John Humphrys, Jon Sopel, Nick Robinson, and Jeremy Vine, who have agreed that their pay will now be reduced,” it said.
“These are great journalists and presenters, who have a real connection with the audience. We are proud to have them working at the BBC. The final details of some of these changes are still being discussed, and there are further conversations that the BBC will have with others in due course.”
The BBC Radio 2 host Vine, who was one of the highest-paid stars, earning £700,000-£749,999, told BBC News he had no difficulty accepting the pay cut.
“I think it all needs to be sorted out and I support my female colleagues who have rightly said that they should be paid the same when they are doing the same job,” he said. “It is just a no-brainer, so it wasn’t a problem for me to accept one.”
Campbell, BBC 5 Live’s Breakfast host, who earned between £400,000 and £449,999 last year, confirmed on air that he was taking a reduction. “It’s all very civilised and collegiate,” he said.
The publication of the BBC’s pay list last year showed two-thirds of the best-paid, on-air presenters were men and some male staff may be receiving more than women for in effect the same job.
The Guardian revealed on Thursday that the sports minister, Tracey Crouch, refused to be interviewed on Today after Humphrys made light of Gracie’s fight for equal pay.The Guardian revealed on Thursday that the sports minister, Tracey Crouch, refused to be interviewed on Today after Humphrys made light of Gracie’s fight for equal pay.
The reason the BBC was told to publish the list of top earners was to demonstrate whether it is delivering value for money - in other words, whether it pays in line with the market. Given that no other broadcaster publishes the pay of its stars this is difficult to prove, but Tony Hall, the director general, insists the BBC aims to pay people at a discount to the market while Gary Lineker, one of the top earners, insists he has been offered more lucrative deals to leave. One publicly available pay deal is for Paul Dacre, the editor of the Daily Mail, who gets £1.5m a year - which would put him second on the BBC’s list behind Chris Evans. The reason the BBC was told to publish the list of top earners was to demonstrate whether it is delivering value for money - in other words, whether it pays in line with the market. Given that no other broadcaster publishes the pay of its stars this is difficult to prove, but Tony Hall, the director general, insists the BBC aims to pay people at a discount to the market while Gary Lineker, one of the top earners, insists he has been offered more lucrative deals to leave. One publicly available pay deal is for Paul Dacre, the editor of the Daily Mail, who gets £1.5m a year - which would put him second on the BBC’s list behind Chris Evans. 
In a leaked on-air recording, Humphrys joked about Gracie’s warnings over the gender pay gap at the BBC, telling Sopel: “Oh dear God. She’s actually suggested that you should lose money – you know that don’t you?”In a leaked on-air recording, Humphrys joked about Gracie’s warnings over the gender pay gap at the BBC, telling Sopel: “Oh dear God. She’s actually suggested that you should lose money – you know that don’t you?”
A spokesman for Theresa May, asked about the pay cuts, said: “It’s rightly a matter for the BBC to set their own pay. What the prime minister is determined to ensure is that people are paid equally for the work they do. Any moves for the BBC to continue to take that seriously would be welcomed.”A spokesman for Theresa May, asked about the pay cuts, said: “It’s rightly a matter for the BBC to set their own pay. What the prime minister is determined to ensure is that people are paid equally for the work they do. Any moves for the BBC to continue to take that seriously would be welcomed.”
Asked about the Guardian report that Crouch had declined to be interviewed on Today in protest over Humphrys’ remarks on the issue, the spokesman said: “I think her department has put out a statement to make clear that she wasn’t boycotting the programme and she spoke to a number of journalists, including the BBC.” The corporation is due to publish a report by the accountancy company PricewaterhouseCoopers about the pay structure for its on-air stars.
There are scheduled to be major developments in the BBC pay row next week. The corporation is expected to publish a report by the accountancy company PricewaterhouseCoopers about the pay structure for its on-air stars, including whether there are unjustified discrepancies.
Gracie and Tony Hall, the BBC director general, are to give evidence before the digital, culture, media and sport select committee on Wednesday.Gracie and Tony Hall, the BBC director general, are to give evidence before the digital, culture, media and sport select committee on Wednesday.
On Friday, the chairman of the committee, Damian Collins, said that “while it is admirable”that the presenters want to show solidarity for their female colleagues by taking a pay cut, “it doesn’t address the fundamental issues of pay inequality that Carrie Gracie and others have raised”.
BBCBBC
Equal payEqual pay
John HumphrysJohn Humphrys
Jeremy VineJeremy Vine
Nicky CampbellNicky Campbell
Gender
newsnews
Share on FacebookShare on Facebook
Share on TwitterShare on Twitter
Share via EmailShare via Email
Share on LinkedInShare on LinkedIn
Share on PinterestShare on Pinterest
Share on Google+Share on Google+
Share on WhatsAppShare on WhatsApp
Share on MessengerShare on Messenger
Reuse this contentReuse this content