© Rex Features
BBC One's Breakfast programme was taken off air today, replaced by a simulcast of the BBC News channel, while Radio 5 Live Breakfast hosts Nicky Campbell and Rachel Burden were replaced by Ian Payne and Julia Bradbury.
Radio 4's flagship Today programme gave way to a repeated documentary about the Russian Communist revolution up to 7am, after which regular presenters Sarah Montague and Justin Webb came back on air.
Last month, the National Union of Journalists confirmed that its BBC members had voted in favour of strike action following reports of major job cuts at the corporation's news teams.
Editorial staff working in BBC Monitoring, BBC Scotland and the World Service are facing compulsory redundancy, while reports have indicated that hundreds of jobs could go at BBC News offices across the UK and overseas, with the majority thought to be in reporting roles.
NUJ general secretary Michelle Stanistreet, who joined the picket line at BBC Television Centre in West London at midnight as journalists started their industrial action, said that the union has "tried hard to resolve this serious dispute through negotiation".
"We have even agreed to use the ACAS conciliation service to try to find a way forward. But BBC senior management has shown no real interest in negotiations," she said.
"It is hard to avoid the conclusion that BBC management wants thousands of its journalists to go on strike, rather than settle the dispute. If that is the case it confirms our members' worst fears about the management strategy of introducing compulsory redundancy at the BBC.
"The massive vote for strike action by journalists across the BBC reflected their fear for the future as well as their solidarity with colleagues already being targeted and singled out for the sack. Management indifference to settling our dispute suggests that our members' concern that many more redundancies are planned is fully justified."
Street said that the job cuts are the result of the decision to freeze the licence fee for six years, cutting the BBC's income in real terms by 16%, in a "shabby deal" agreed with the government last October. She said that the union has offered to meet the BBC at ACAS today, but claims that BBC management have refused the invitation.
"By the deliberate BBC decision to provoke this strike action, journalists will lose a day's pay and audiences will suffer for a dispute that is so easily avoidable," she said.
"The BBC stance looks stubborn and provocative. It seems common sense has been replaced by obstinacy."
In a statement, the BBC said: "We are disappointed that the NUJ has gone ahead with today's strike and apologise to our audience for any disruption to services.
"Industrial action does not alter the fact that the BBC is faced with a number of potential compulsory redundancies following significant cuts to the central government grants that support the World Service and BBC Monitoring.
"We will continue with our efforts to reduce the need for compulsory redundancies, however, the number of posts that we are having to close means that unfortunately it is likely to be impossible for us to avoid some compulsory redundancies."
A further 24-hour strike over the job cuts is planned by the NUJ to take place on July 29.
