The Northern Freelance Network was formed in May 1999 by a group of freelance broadcasters who live and work in the north of England.  All are experienced contributors to BBC Network Radio, in particular Radio 4, but also including Radio 5 Live, Radio 1 and Radio 2.  It was formed in response to the drastic reduction in feature-making outside London in recent years and especially since the change to the Radio 4 schedules in April 1998.

The Network has two main aims. One, to provide a forum for mutual support and exchange of information and ideas.  Two, to campaign for reversal of the trend towards London-centred production, and for a revival of the crafted feature in magazine programmes and full-length programmes.

The first aim was achieved at once -- there was a hunger for such a network, an eagerness to work together, and a willingness to share information. As time has passed this has strengthened, and members as far apart as north Wales and Newcastle are willing to travel to our twice-yearly meetings somewhere in between.

The second aim took a little longer. In the summer of 1999 we prepared a detailed document describing the loss of programme-making north of London in the previous 2 years. In the autumn we lobbied our MPs. Several MP's, sent it with their own covering letters, to the BBC Director-General. It was a good time as the new DG was taking over from the outgoing one. In Dec 1999 we got a letter from Greg Dyke with the following crucial sentences:

"On taking up her post as Director of Radio, Jenny Abramsky reviewed the situation and concluded that the loss of input from those producers had increased the risk of Radio 4 programmes sounding too metropolitan. She has now revised that decision, and allocated extra funding to restore the posts. One of the key functions of the post-holders will be to gain access to expertise in the North, whether from freelance reporters or contributors."

That was an exciting commitment, but nothing apparently happened for 18 months, and we were told off the record there were budgetary problems in funding it. In fact we were gearing up for another round of high-profile lobbying when we heard a rumour that Dyke would announce the creation of a whole new unit at the Radio Festival 2001. The speech when it came was better than we could have hoped for.

At the time of writing this update, January 2002, the situation looks very promising. The new Radio Unit is in place in what used to be "Network Radio" in BBC Manchester, but it's not just the past re-hashed. Time will tell.