Good Morning Scotland, which is dropping radio host Gary Robertson, said to be favouring 'Better Together' campaign

This article is more than 6 years old

This article is more than 6 years old

The BBC's reporting of the Scottish independence referendum has come under scrutiny following accusations of pro-union bias and falling ratings for its new Scotland news show on BBC2.

Criticism of the BBC's news coverage in Scotland was fuelled further after it was revealed longstanding Good Morning Scotland radio host Gary Robertson was being dropped.

Robertson's exit, believed to be part of cost-cutting measures at the corporation, comes after Today presenter Jim Naughtie joined the Good Morning Scotland team in the runup to the independence vote on 18 September.

The National Union of Journalists was due to raise Robertson's departure as part of a scheduled meeting with BBC Scotland management on Monday.

The union was also expected to raise the BBC's membership of the Confederation of British Industry after the CBI applied to register as an official backer for a "no" vote. The BBC has said it would transfer its membership to its commercial arm, BBC Worldwide.

Protesters staged a lunchtime rally outside the BBC's Glasgow headquarters at Pacific Quay on Sunday over alleged imbalance in its reporting of the independence issue.

A report by Professor John Robertson, of the school of creative and cultural industries at the University of West Scotland, claimed there was a pro-union bias on Good Morning Scotland.

Robertson, who favours independence, said a study of the programme throughout April 2014 suggested it was "balanced in crude numerical terms but, in every other respect, unfair to the 'yes' campaign and favouring the 'Better Together' campaign.

"Broadcasts began too often with bad news for 'yes' and, too often, featured heavy repetition of such messages over several hours."

A BBC spokesman said: "We reject claims of bias in our reporting of the referendum in our output. Our coverage of this major story continues to be covered according to our editorial guidelines on fairness and balance."

Ratings for BBC2's new current affairs show, Scotland 2014, sank as low as 22,000 for its third edition last week, according to Scottish media reports.

Presented by former Channel 4 News presenter and correspondent Sarah Smith, it replaced the Scottish opt-out of Newsnight and began with an audience of 89,000 at the beginning of last week.

The BBC said it was "delighted with the first week of Scotland 2014, which is a significant addition to an already wide range of new content from BBC Scotland in this historic year.

"We are committed to making Scotland 2014's mix of news, investigations and analysis a key part of our coverage ahead of the referendum.

"The initial audience figures indicate the programme performing above the genre average for that slot on BBC2 although it is not unusual for audience figures to fluctuate.

"As with all of our content, we monitor consolidated viewing figures and audience reaction over a sustained period."

Good Morning Scotland's Robertson, who has presented the show since 2006, will leave later this year after he was told his contract would not be renewed, according to reports.

The BBC said: "We don't comment on contract negotiations with freelances. The meeting with the union is a general one and we've had no indication that possible industrial action would discussed."

• To contact the MediaGuardian news desk email media@theguardian.com or phone 020 3353 3857. For all other inquiries please call the main Guardian switchboard on 020 3353 2000. If you are writing a comment for publication, please mark clearly "for publication".

• To get the latest media news to your desktop or mobile, follow MediaGuardian on Twitter and Facebook.