6 male BBC presenters take pay cuts after female editor resigns

— -- A half-dozen male BBC presenters have agreed to slash their salaries after the news organization's female China editor resigned in protest.

Jeremy Vine, John Humphrys, Huw Edwards, Nicky Campbell, Nick Robinson and Jon Sopel all said they'd accept lower pay after Carrie Gracie quit to draw attention to massive pay disparities, according to BBC News.

When the BBC revealed last July which on-air talent earned least 150,000 pounds (about $213,000) annually, two-thirds of those listed, including the top seven, were men.

"It seemed fair," Humphrys told BBC News. "The BBC used to have, in the good old days, an awful lot of money. It no longer has an awful lot of money. I was earning a lot of money and it seemed entirely proper to me that I should take a few pay cuts."

Humphrys was the second-highest paid (between 600,000 and 649,000 pounds), trailing only Vine (700,000 to 749,000 pounds). Edwards, Campbell, Robinson and Sopel each earned between 249,000 and 599,000 pounds.

The BBC declined to comment on new salaries for the six presenters.

Grace, who was making about 135,000 pounds, is returning to the BBC's London office and, according to the news organization, wants to be "paid equally."