Letter: Fears for BBC World

Letter: Fears for BBC World

Sir: BBC World Television, the corporation's international satellite news channel, seen in 145 million homes around the world, is facing reductions in its news coverage because of the commercial losses it continues to sustain. Since it began in 1991 as the BBC's only commercial broadcaster, World TV has had to operate on a minimal budget derived from advertising revenues, not the licence fee.

As correspondents, we can testify to the respect and authority which BBC World TV has established in almost every continent. From Burma to Belgrade, from Kigali to Kosovo, it has proved over the last decade to be a vital source of impartial and accurate news in the best traditions of British broadcasting.

Those of us who have reported from Kosovo in particular, in recent weeks, have been struck by the impact of the channel on ordinary viewers. Time after time, BBC correspondents have been recognised, stopped in the street and thanked for BBC World's coverage. One of us likened it to the impact of the BBC's radio broadcasts to occupied Europe during the Second World War. In Belgrade, too, BBC World has been watched avidly.

The management of BBC Worldwide has given assurances that closure of BBC World is not imminent, but journalists on the channel are expecting reductions in both staff and output. We believe that any such steps would threaten the BBC's voice and standing in the world and undermine the corporation's own mission statement, issued to its staff earlier this year, which was "to be the world's most creative and trusted broadcaster and programme maker".

KATE ADIE

BEN BROWN

BRIAN HANRAHAN

MARK LAITY

JAMES ROBBINS

and 22 others

BBC Television Centre

London W12