BBC Scotland bosses have agreed to consult with staff over plans for a new Scottish Six early evening news programme.
In a bid to head off possible industrial action aimed at blocking the project, senior figures will discuss the proposals with journalists and technical staff today.
However, members of National Union of Journalists at the corporation warned they may still declare a dispute - a formal procedure that would effectively put the plans on hold - if the talks were not a "proper consultation".
Plans for a Scottish Six, an hour-long news bulletin to replace the existing UK-wide Six O'Clock News and Reporting Scotland, have plunged BBC Scotland into turmoil.
Staff have voiced anger at an "insulting" internal document which, they claim, implies the present Glasgow-based news team is not up to the job.
They are also furious at having learned of the plans in a newspaper report on Tuesday, and over demands to produce a series of complex pilot shows at short notice.
An insider said: "It depends entirely on whether the meetings we have been promised are proper consultation.
"Things could move forward or we could go into dispute."
A BBC Scotland spokesman said: "We had meetings with unions today which were planned anyway.
"We have had a reasonable dialogue and will continue to talk over the next week."
The Herald has obtained a copy of the internal document, which gives detailed running orders for three possible future formats.
The format believed to be favoured by bosses - referred to as "Option Two" - has been described as "crazy" by some staff as it would be anchored jointly from Glasgow and London.
"Option One" would be similar in content but produced and presented entirely from Glasgow.
Both would require 70 new staff and cost an extra £4.5million to £5million.
A third option, described as "enhanced Reporting Scotland" would add more in-depth coverage and investigations to the existing 6.30pm bulletin.
It would cost an extra £3.5million.
Three sample running orders, for bulletins that could have aired on February 2, were detailed in the document.
The day was dominated by David Cameron's deal on EU renegotiations and Scottish Labour's
pledge to put an extra 1p on income tax if it won the election.
Others stories in the news included the US election and the death of a Scots tourist gored by an elephant in Thailand.
The UK-wide Six O'Clock News also carried stories on sculptures in Yorkshire and murders in Leeds that day.
Reporting Scotland looked at flood defences and A&E waiting times.
The document shows viewers would see almost all the same stories with each of the proposed new formats.
The memo revealed the public support for a Scottish Six was "muted" and viewers interviewed in focus groups expressed "a strong interest in a UK perspective on UK and international stories".
However, BBC Scotland's Audience Council raised concerns the Six O'Clock News was not always relevant to Scots viewers.
Bosses also interviewed more than 60 Scottish politicians, finding "very strong" support for a Scottish Six among SNP MPs and MSPs, but a mixed reaction from other parties, according to the memo.
Scottish Labour's culture spokeswoman Claire Baker said:
"Any change must strike a balance between Scottish news coverage and the continuing demand for quality international and relevant UK wide reporting.
"A Scottish Six must be fully consulted with staff and more importantly the general public, with focus groups showing a clear desire for a UK perspective on UK and international stories.
"Any changes to BBC news coverage must be made for the right reasons and quality must always be maintained."
/////
An hour-long Scottish Six with presenters in Glasgow and London is believed to be BBC Scotland's preferred option.
Here is how the programme would have looked on February 2, according to the corporation's detailed plans:
* 6pm: headlines.
Jackie Bird introduces three top headlines from Glasgow: David Cameron's EU deal, the row over Scottish Labour's tax plan and a special BBC Scotland investigation.
Reeta Chakrabarti introduces three more headlines from studio in London: the US election, murders in Leeds and sculpture.
* Main news:
Jackie Bird then presents items on the two main stories, covered by correspondents Sarah Smith, Douglas Fraser, Katia Adler and Glenn Campbell.
She also interviews Kezia Dugdale on the tax story.
* 6.20pm: UK and international round-up presented by Reeta Chakrabarti in London
Eight more stories, headed by a report on Donald Trump and live comment by Washington correspondent John Sopel. Includes UK sports story.
* 18.30. Jackie Bird re-caps the headlines from Glasgow. Brief weather report.
BBC political editor Laura Kuenssberg comments live on the Europe story.
Introduces two more stories, on the oil industry and flooding, covered by BBC Scotland correspondents David Henderson and Andrew Anderson.
* 18.40. Scottish round-up
Five more stories, including report on Scot trampled to death by elephant.
* 18.45 Investigation.
By the 'BBC Scotland Investigates' team, or adapted from Newsnight or Panorama.
* 18.50: Scottish sports round-up.
* 18.55: End item.
BBC arts editor Will Gompertz looks at the Yorkshire sculpture park.
* 18.59: Closing headline and weather.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel