Former BBC World Service employee Diana Zileri
By Sophie Monks Kaufman
The abolition of radio broadcasts from the Latin American service came “sooner than was expected”, according to an ex-employee of the BBC World Service.
Diana Zileri, who left the World Service in 2008, produced programmes on the expansion of the European Union and the 10th anniversary of the Rwandan genocide during her nine years working for the service known as BBC Mundo.
She said: “For me, working at the BBC was a good experience, I met interesting people and I learned a lot. I enjoyed it most when we worked with the radio. I was always surprised and amazed when people in Latin America told me that they had heard me on the radio while they were in the middle of the traffic in México City, driving along the Panamerican Highway in Peru or while they were crossing the desert in Chile.”
Ms Zileri, who graduated from City’s International Journalism course in 1996, added: “It is very sad to know there would not be any more transmissions. I was not surprised but it came sooner than was expected.”
BBC Mundo had its last radio broadcast on Friday 25 February. It continues to exist online.
Kofi Annan once spoke of the BBC’s gift to the world. Severe cuts and bad management have now totally destroyed this “gift”. It’s essence, what made it so special is now gone, even if they started injecting money today, it may never recover.
Herewith is a petition to Save the BBC WORLD SERVICE:
http://www.petitionbuzz.com/petitions/savews/0/2