30% pay cut is bad news for BBC men
Director general’s bid to bridge gender wage gap
THE BBC have launched a pay crackdown on top male news presenters – slashing up to 30 per cent off their salaries.
As director general Tony Hall addresses the gender pay gap, journalists including John Humphrys, Huw Edwards, John Sopel and Nick Robinson are all understood to be in talks regarding new contracts.
A senior BBC source said: “John Humphrys and Huw Edwards are in discussions about substantial pay cuts and a number of other presenters are discussing their salaries.
“Savings are being made across the news and current affairs department when it comes to male household names. Some staff have offered to take cuts and others have been asked to take a reduction in pay.
“Tony Hall and the other executives know the market has changed and some contracts must be reduced to balance the books.
“The level of cuts people have taken depends on their current situation, but it is tens of thousands of pounds for some – and even more than that for a few of the highest earners.”
Last summer, when BBC pay figures were disclosed, Humphrys was being paid between £600,000 and £649,000 for presenting Radio 4’s Today and BBC2’s Mastermind.
He is understood to have taken pay cuts already in the past 12 months but with the additional reduction, he will now earn £250,000 for his news work and his total salary will be around £400,000 to £450,000.
Edwards also faces a big cut in his salary, which was £550,000 to £599,000 last year. He will now earn less than £500,000.
Today host Nick Robinson and North America editor Jon Sopel – who was caught in an embarrassing off-air chat with Humphrys about the gender pay gap – face salary cuts on a smaller scale as their earnings have not soared in recent years.