LOCAL radio journalists are going on a 24-hour strike over budget cuts.
BBC journalists in England will take action from midnight May 5 to coincide with the coverage of local election results.
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The National Union of Journalists claims the broadcaster’s plans to share programming over the network will “kill local radio”.
Paul Siegert, the NUJ’s national broadcaster, said, “It is unacceptable to go from more than 100 hours a week of local programming on each station to 40 hours.”
The BBC said there would be no overall reduction in staffing or funding.
A BBC spokesperson said: “We are disappointed that the union action is taking place.
“We have a plan to modernize local services across England – including more news journalists and a stronger local online service – which will not see an overall reduction in headcount or local funding.