The BBC has defended putting local radio presenters through a “Hunger Games”-style interview process in order to keep their jobs.
Every presenter working at a BBC local radio station has been placed at risk of redundancy under proposals which will cut local programming as more content is shared between regional stations.
Leading presenters are among those undergoing interviews for the remaining roles, with around 50 jobs in radio set to go at the corporation.
The interviews are being conducted in a brutal fashion, according to Nicky Horne, the veteran former BBC radio broadcaster, who said he has been contacted by several candidates.
In a tweet with the hashtag “BBCHungerGames”, Horne wrote that a “highly experienced presenter at BBC local radio was asked by a senior manager at interview to save his job – ‘You have 60 seconds to summarise why you should be saved. Think of this like a gameshow’.”
In The Hunger Games films, based on Suzanne Collins’ dystopian novels, children are selected by lottery to participate in a compulsory televised battle royale death match.
The “horror stories” from the interviews included a “senior manager” who “said to one old hand ‘We’ll let you know after Easter if you still have a job, so you have a week to find Jesus’ and then laughed”.
Melita Dennett, a music presenter at BBC Radio Surrey and Radio Sussex, said she had also undergone a one-minute interview test. “I was told my 60 seconds was ‘like speed dating’,” she replied to Horne.
“I was asked who my favourite presenter was (who cares?) then one of the panel proceeded to argue with me about why *they thought they weren’t a good presenter.”
Horne, who now presents for Radio 2 rival Boom Radio, said Dennett’s experience “echoes so many other stories of management’s callousness and total lack of empathy for their staff. This lack of empathy towards the audience as well, is 1reason it’s haemorrhaging”.
Those being required to undergo interviews include high-profile breakfast show personalities, long-serving night-time hosts and weekend presenters.
A BBC spokesperson said: “We have followed our usual recruitment policies for interviewing candidates for the new presenter/producer roles across local radio.
“We appreciate processes like this can be really tough for those involved, but we would hope if a member of staff had any concerns they would be raised internally.”
However, the interview process has fuelled anger among BBC local radio staff in England who have called a second day of strike action in protest at the cuts.
The walkout is due to take place on Friday May 5 to coincide with local election results. Strike action on Budget Day last month, supported by around 1,000 journalists, took off air the BBC’s local and regional news programming across TV and radio.
The BBC plan means more local radio shows will be networked across several stations after 2pm on weekdays and weekends.
The NUJ said that the cuts amounted to slashing half the local output in large parts of England.
The BBC said its proposals would “modernise local services across England – including more news journalists and a stronger local online service – which will see no overall reduction in staffing levels or local funding”.
Local radio programming from 6am-2pm and weekend sports programming will be preserved under the changes.
Last week, eight BBC local radio journalists were honoured at the Broadcasting Press Guild awards for putting Liz Truss on the spot during a morning round of challenging interviews with the former prime minister.