TV & VIDEO - April 25, 1989

Some 18,000 British Broadcasting Corp. workers went on strike Monday for higher pay, leaving viewers to watch the “Flintstones” cartoon characters, a film about Evel Knievel and other fill-in morning programs, while radio listeners were greeted with silence. The 24-hour walkout, which began at midnight, forced nearly all live programs on the corporation’s two television channels and four national radio networks to be canceled or shortened. Journalists joined technicians on picket lines in London and demonstrations were planned for Glasgow, Belfast, Manchester, Birmingham and other major cities. Striking workers are demanding a 16% pay increase that would bring salaries in line with those in commercial broadcasting. The BBC, which employs about 25,000 people, has offered an average 7% increase.