Admittedly that’s a fairly large and far off ‘if’ at the moment – with the Mediacity move still a hop, skip and jump over the horizon away – but according to a sprinkling of How-Do sources within the Beeb the broadcaster is now contemplating the fact that not everyone may be keen on upping sticks to Salford.

With this in mind it's been suggested that execs within the BBC are now talking to exisiting Northern-based staff (journos mostly it's believed) to see if some of them would like to take up positions within some of the relocating departments (Five Live was specifically mentioned) if the existing staff decide to stay put.

As our source noted, there’s nothing overtly dramatic about the BBC trying to ensure that all the positions are filled and the transition is as seamless as possible, but it has taken some by surprise as “the assumption is that they don’t expect a great take up for the relocation from down south.”

An observation that doesn’t exactly jar with this story that appeared on the site yesterday.

Not attractive to some?

In a separate development the corporation’s chief operating officer Caroline Thomson was at Manchester Business School this week and acknowledged that some staff may have issues with the move.

She noted: "Staff in London fall into two groups - some are still anxious about the move, while others are embracing it."

"At the moment, we don't know how many existing jobs will be relocating here across the different sectors and how many new jobs will become available.

"But certainly some bright young people are positioning themselves here in Greater Manchester so that they are ripe for promotion."

A good time to be in Manchester then, it would seem.

The BBC has since contacted How-Do with the following statement:

Journalists have not yet been asked to decide on whether they want to move to Salford. Staff will be required to make decisions about where they are working in the next couple of years.

Following that process we will have a better idea about what opportunities will arise to work at Media City in the run up 2011 when the new site becomes operational.
 

Did you enjoy this article? Please share it!

Comments (7)