BBC pay war at Radio 4
ONLY last week, the BBC’s flagship radio news show looked set to be ripped apart by a gender pay gap row.
But now it is simply a pay gap row.
Today presenter Justin Webb yesterday bemoaned the fact that he earns £100,000 a year less than Nick Robinson for ‘essentially doing the same job’.
He earns between £150,000 and £199,999 at the Radio 4 programme, while his colleague is paid between £ 250,000 to £299,999. Webb, 56, said the BBC had known about the disparities for ‘some time’ and did ‘nothing about it’.
He told the Cheltenham Literature Festival: ‘There’s no doubt at all that this isn’t something that just gets fobbed off with a review. It is much, much more serious than that – and the consequences for the BBC if it fails to deal with it will be pretty grave.
‘Nick [Robinson] is paid £100,000 more than me for what is essentially the same job. That shouldn’t detract from what the women are saying – they have a genuine grievance. But there is a wider problem.’
As Robinson, 54, looked on, Webb said the BBC had to act on the scandal. He added: ‘ The BBC has said that it is going to address it and going to address it quickly. Women, who are particularly affected, are waiting impa- tiently to discover how that is going to happen and when.
‘It is a really, really serious subject. It’s a thing the BBC knows, and knew for some time, was happening and did nothing about.’
Robinson said: ‘This is not just about money or about pay, it’s about respect, about status and worth. That’s why it’s so serious.’
Defending his salary, he said: ‘There are other factors, largely because I was recruited from ITV where I was on a much higher salary than my BBC colleagues.’
The presenters’ comments came a day after the editor of the Today programme, Sarah Sands, criticised the BBC’s obsession with ‘talent’ and ‘racking up salaries’.
Miss Sands told the Financial Times: ‘News bosses at the BBC have seen “talent” creep from entertainment into journalism and are now saddled with rackedup salaries and voracious agents.’
Last week it emerged the Today programme, which celebrates its 60th anniversary later this month, was facing a funding crisis caused by impending pay rises for its female presenters.
‘It is a really, really serious subject’