Getting your player ready...
LONDON — Facing a 16 percent reduction in its budget, the BBC World Service said Wednesday that it would close five of its 32 language services and reduce its workforce by about a quarter, cutting about 650 jobs over the next three years.
The service is known for bringing uncensored news to places where there is no free press. It currently has a budget of $433 million a year, a staff of 2,400, and a listening and viewing audience of 180 million a week across television, radio and the Internet.
