‘Deep unease’ at BBC Radio Scotland as majority of axed presenters are women | BBC

There has been “deep discomfort” among BBC Radio Scotland staff after a number of respected arts presenters, more than half of whom were women, were axed from the programme.

The changes have raised questions about broadcast diversity amid a marked shift towards “more commercial sensitivity” for the public broadcaster.

The Guardian spoke to a wide range of staff at the station, who also raised questions about the treatment of one of its best-known presenters, Kaye Adams, who was sacked from her role presenting the Mornings program earlier this year following internal complaints about her behaviour.

One employee said: “Staff are concerned that we are losing popular female presenters and also making an apparent move towards a more commercial sensibility.”

The changes are part of a sweeping reshuffle by BBC Scotland’s new head of audio and events, Victoria Easton Riley. This Friday, three women hosting the station’s afternoon culture broadcast – singer Michelle McManus, poet Len Pennie and Nicola Meighan, one of Scotland’s best-connected music journalists – will step down, even though Rajar’s latest figures suggest their programs are performing better than ever.

They will be replaced by Arlene Stuart on-air male presenter Grant Stott, who continues to work on Bauer Radio’s Forth 1 from Mondays to Thursdays and Fridays.

This comes after specialist late-night music shows hosted by Iain Anderson, Roddy Hart, Billy Sloan and Natasha Raskin Sharp were canceled at the start of the year and replaced by Up Late, a more mainstream pop show also hosted by Lynne Hoggan. Hoggan is also currently based at Bauer, where Easton Riley was previously content director for Scotland and Northern Ireland.

Last week, BBC Radio Scotland also confirmed the appointment of two senior editors from the commercial station.

The Guardian spoke to a number of BBC employees who echoed the results of a recent staff survey, which found a 33% drop in trust in the BBC’s top executive team. BBC Scotland director Hayley Valentine acknowledged to staff that “change on the scale we are facing can be unsettling”.

Complaints against Adams were investigated as part of the Call It Out scheme, which was launched to instill confidence in staff following the Huw Edwards and Gregg Wallace scandals.

But some colleagues who worked with Adams, including two people involved in the complaint investigation, questioned why this led to repeated leaks. One said staff now had “zero confidence” in the new programme.

coworkers he also described the show as a “toxic environment” where Adam’s unproduced, inexperienced young staff were thrown in without any training or support, an “accident waiting to happen”.

In a statement in March, Adams wrote that allegations that she berated an intern and used a misogynistic slur were “completely false.”

A former colleague who worked with Adams as a junior researcher said: “Newsrooms are pressured environments but outspokenness is not the same as bullying. I have only ever seen him be professional and fair, but he has had to deal with stupid mistakes, such as a 20-something influencer being invited to comment on menopause.”

Internal concerns were revealed as artists and musicians raised their own questions about BBC Radio Scotland’s priorities, with more than 300 signatures signed to an open letter organized by the Scottish Music Industry Association. The move led former culture minister Angus Robertson to request a meeting with the station to clarify its commitment to emerging Scottish talent.

A. data project Founded by Stephen McCall of folk band Constant Follower, the event calculated that from January to May this year there were 23% fewer plays by Scottish independent artists and 55% fewer plays by new Scottish artists who are female or female-led, compared to the same period last year.

A BBC Scotland spokesman said its own analysis had found the number of songs by Scottish artists before and after late-night programming changes was “broadly the same”, adding: “Our commitment to showcasing the best of Scotland’s music industry, including unsigned bands, remains unmatched.”

“We constantly adapt and change our program to meet audience demand, and our decisions are supported by solid data and expert analysis.”

The spokesperson also said they were “proud to add three new female presenters as part of our recent program changes”; Hoggan, Stuart and Connie McLaughlin, who replaced Adams as host of Mornings and had previously presented on the station.

In response to concerns raised about the Adams investigation, they said: “We do not comment on individual cases. We take any reports that our values ​​are not being protected extremely seriously and have robust processes in place to investigate where necessary.”