Strike action coverage

by BMA

The 72-hours of action from junior doctors in England saw extensive and unprecedented coverage for the BMA and its representatives up and down the country.
Location: UK
Published: Thursday 23 March 2023
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Our reach during junior doctor strike action

On the first day of strike action, Monday 13 March, we received more than 3,500 mentions from all channels across regional, national and international media.

On the second day of strike action, Tuesday 14 March, we received 1,525 mentions and on Wednesday 15 March, we received 2,153 mentions.

During this period, and in the build-up to the strikes, we organised more than 100 broadcast interviews for BMA spokespeople, as well as arranging multiple media personal and camera crews to be present at picket lines across the country. Our interviews were re-used or mentioned more than 2,200 times.

 

Main coverage

Key broadcast coverage

We organised interviews with junior doctor case studies which featured heavily in coverage that led bulletins, including:

National broadcast coverage/interviews
  • BMA Council chair Phil Banfield (BBC Radio 4 Today Programme)
  • Junior Doctor Committee co-chairs Vivek Trivedi and Rob Laurenson (BBC News Online)
  • Vivek Trivedi and Rob Laurenson (Daily Mirror)
  • Vivek Trivedi (Good Morning Britain)
  • Vivek Trivedi (BBC Radio 5 Live)
  • Rob Laurenson (Times Radio)
  • Rob Laurenson (Sky News)
  • BMA Council deputy chair Emma Runswick (BBC Breakfast)
  • Emma Runswick (LBC Radio)
  • Emma Runswick (BBC Radio 2, Jeremy Vine)
  • Joseph Kendall (i News)
  • Stephen McAleer (GB News)
  • Emma Coombe (BBC Radio 5 Live)
  • Shiv Sharma (ITV News)
  • Kiara Vincent (BBC News)
  • Melissa Sue Ryan (BBC News Channel)
  • Vassili Crispi (BBC Breakfast)
  • Matthew Bilton (BBC Breakfast)
  • Arjan Singh (GB News)
  • Daniel Zahedi (Reuters)
  • Poh Wang (Reuters)
  • Annie Bown (LBC Radio)
North East
  • Martin Whyte (ITV North East)
  • Martin Whyte (Global North East)
  • Martin Whyte (Newcastle Chronicle)
North West
  • Mike Greenhalgh (BBC Cumbria)
  • Emma Runswick (BBC North West Tonight)
  • Annie Bown (BBC Merseyside)
  • Jo Sutton-Klien (BBC Manchester)
  • Jo Sutton-Klien (BBC Breakfast)
Yorkshire
  • Vassili Crispi (BBC Breakfast)
  • Vassili Crispi (Greatest Hits Yorkshire)
  • Vassili Crispi (BBC Radio Leeds)
  • Chris Morris (BBC Look North)
  • Dan Chivers (BBC Radio Sheffield)
  • Stephen McAleer (BBC Radio York) x2
West Midlands
  • Shiv Sharma (BBC West Midlands)
  • Shiv Sharma (Free Radio Birmingham)
  • Ayesha Safaq Chaudary (BBC Hereford and Worcester)
  • Ayesha Safaq Chaudary  (BBC West Midlands)
  • Ayesha Safaq Chaudary (BBC Newsbeat)

 

East Midlands
  • Tal Ellenbogen (BBC East Midlands)
  • Tal Ellenbogen (BBC Radio Nottingham)
  • Melissa Sue Ryan (BBC East Midlands)
  • Kiara Vincent (BBC Northampton)
  • Kiara Vincent (ITV Anglia)
East of England
  • Roshan Rupra (BBC Look East)
  • Roshan Rupra (BBC Norfolk)
  • Roshan Rupra (ITV Anglia)
  • Roshan Rupra (News movement)
London
  • Arjan Singh (GB News)
  • Arjan Singh (BBC Radio London)
  • Arjan Singh (Al Jazeera)
  • Mavi Capanna (BBC Online)
  • Malinga Ratwatte (GP Online)
  • Rob Laurenson (ITV London)
  • Sumi Manirajan (BBC Radio London)
  • Sumi Manirajan (South London Press)
  • Ada Zembrzycka (Al Jazeera)
  • (Sky News)
  • Daniel Zahedi (Greatest Hits Radio)
South Central
  • Josh Morton (Wave 105)
  • Matt Bilton (BBC Breakfast)
  • Matt Bilton (BBC Radio Oxford)
  • Matt Bilton (BBC Berkshire)
  • Ollie Townsend (BBC Solent)
  • Ollie Townsend (ITV News)
South East
  • Joe Kendall (BBC South East)
  • Joe Kendall (BBC Radio Kent)
  • Joseph Kendall (BBC Radio Kent)
  • James Collins (BBC Sussex)
  • Fizah Muratib (BBC Radio Essex) 
South West
  • Emma Coombe (ITV West Country)
  • Emma Coombe (BBC South West)
  • Samuel Taylor-Smith (BBC Radio Somerset)

Monday 13 March - Wednesday 15 March

The strikes were covered by all major print outlets across the three days, with extensive coverage across regional print and almost 100 other regional newspapers. These include:

In addition to the broadcast coverage, there were more than 4,000 online articles nationally and from across the globe during the three-day period, including:

 

Post strike coverage

  • Vivek Trivedi (BBC Radio 4, Today Programme)
  • Vivek Trivedi (BBC News Channel)
  • Vivek Trivedi (Sky News)
  • On Friday 17 March JDC co-chair Dr Vivek Trivedi appeared on Times Radio to discuss the latest in the junior doctors’ pay restoration campaign, industrial action and potential talks with Government. 
  • There was widespread coverage on Saturday 18 March on the junior doctors’ pay dispute, after an exchange of letters between the BMA and the Health Secretary, discussing potential pay talks, and figures released by NHS England suggesting that 175,000 appointments were postponed during the three days of action this week (read our response to the figures).

 

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