“Doing More with Less is Unsustainable”: Former BBC Leader on Cuts and a “Chaotic” Media Landscape

As the BBC faces fresh job cuts and intensifying political scrutiny, former senior executive Rozina Breen argues the real risk is not institutional decline but the erosion of trusted journalism at a time when audiences need it most. Drawing on her experience leading major BBC news operations in the North and globally, writing exclusively for Prolific North, she makes the case for reform – not retreat – in the face of a rapidly shifting media landscape.
I was somewhat reluctant to write this piece about the latest BBC job cuts announcement. As a former BBC exec [Head of 5Live News, Head of North and launch Editor for the World Service’s Digital Hub], I’m bound to be biased about the corporation and its value. Plus, my perspective is also one from the North – it’s less about an institutional or even political argument, and more about an ever-vital need to serve the public right across the UK.
The BBC is a formidable, world-class public service institution. I was proud to be a senior leader for BBC News, BBC Nations, and the BBC World Service and remain inspired by all those still working for the world’s most trusted broadcaster. To champion the BBC’s mission – in this current charter period, that means specifically providing impartial news, supporting education, showcasing creative and distinctive content, serving all UK nations and regions, reflecting UK culture globally – is a no-brainer.
READ MORE: “A weakened BBC weakens the whole ecosystem”: ‘Savage’ cuts raise fresh fears for freelancers, indies, and UK media
I’ve just returned from the International Journalism Festival, Europe’s biggest annual media event, where the great and the good come together to discuss world challenges in our sector – from misinformation to generative AI, journalism safety, and legal harassment. Last year there were over 200 sessions and almost 600 speakers, to give you a sense of scale. I mention this because news of the prospective job losses at BBC are devastating in this global context.
To say that today’s information ecosystem is compromised is an understatement; we are in a messy and chaotic media environment in every which way from platform challenges to deepfakes and newsroom sustainability. You only need to look at what’s happened in certain parts of the world to understand the impact of the strangulation of independent news.
The BBC savings are going to harm those it is there to serve the most – UK audiences. Budget reduction will invariably impact on News and the provision of it. Fewer staff working on reduced output or stretching those who remain to breaking point are not viable options if the corporation is to meet its mission and public purposes.
As the BBC’s former Head of North and having led the UK’s largest network newsroom outside of London [from the north of England in Salford at BBC 5 Live], I understand how important independent journalism is to everyone in and around the country and why geographic representation matters. We all deserve transparency, accountability, and truth – journalism is the bedrock of a functioning democracy.
My worry is also for the impact on local journalism. In 2024, The BBC said it intended to cut around 115 editorial and production roles in the Nations and Regions, as part of overall plans to save £500m by March 2026. How will the BBC continue to ensure universality [a complex proposition in itself] if it serves local audiences even less locally with even less money?
Local, national, and international journalism all matters. In today’s chaotic information world, trusted and impartial news has never been more vital.
The future of the BBC feels both party political, and not. Party political, because the BBC is an easy target, especially in these days of febrile debate. Defund or defend is a pretty binary and unsophisticated approach in my view. And – successive UK governments, regardless of where they sit on the left-centre-right spectrum – have not adapted fast enough their approach to public service provision. If you want to see examples of who is doing it well, check out the Nordic countries.
The BBC belongs to everyone and of course it’s right that the public has a view. But it also feels as if our national broadcaster is being weaponized.
The current situation is an impossible one for the BBC. Do more, with less money in real terms: serve everyone, everywhere, all of the time is not a strategy that is sustainable.
Accountability matters, of course it does. But this gotcha culture we’re in is destructive. Surely, with the state of the world as it is, the conversation should focus on intelligent thinking, solutions, and pluralism.
As a final point, news of the BBC cuts came on day one of the International Journalism Conference. Ironically, one of the first events of the week was a screening of BBC Eye’s The Darkest Web which tells the story of U.S. agent Greg Squire and an extraordinary global team of undercover officers taking on the almost impossible, infiltrating the darkest corners of the internet to rescue children.
The documentary, made by the BBC World Service’s investigative unit, BBC Eye, was commissioned for Storyville and is accompanied by a six-part World of Secrets podcast. The film and post-screening panel, led by Liz Gibbons, Controller of Global Journalism, BBC World Service, and director Sam Piranty, was utterly compelling. The film took seven years in the making, requiring trust, patience, and forensic work across multiple geographies around the globe. At its core was filmmaking in the public interest.
This is exactly the type of journalism that makes the BBC world-class and the kind of storytelling that audiences in the UK, and indeed around the world, deserve to hear.
There is no question that the BBC needs to adapt, and faster than it currently is. It will need to be bold in its approach. It will have to work more collaboratively with external partners – locally, nationally, and internationally. Diversity of thinking, approach, and partnerships will be key to not only maintaining and reaching new audiences but in ensuring representation, relevance, and most crucially trust.
The corporation will also need a strong and progressive conclusion to Charter renewal and a regulatory framework fit enough to meet today’s challenges as well as opportunities.
The BBC needs future-proofing, not dismantling, for the sake of audiences today and in the decades to come.
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