Wednesday quiz

Q: What's all this ?

Jim Naughtie           £15 to £50
Jeremy Paxman       £15 to £50 (only 7 left at £35)
Lord Bragg              £11 to £25
Gavin Hewitt            £11 to £25
Alan Titchmarsh       £11 to £25
Ed Stourton             £11 to £25
Jim al-Khalili            £11 (sold out)
Peter Snow              £11 (26 left)
Kirsty Wark             £11
Count Arthur Strong £11

A: The various costs of tickets to have a broadcasting "sleb" flog your their latest book at the Oxford Literary Festival which starts this coming weekend. Tickets are available at all prices online, except where stated

Creative carpets

Life continues to mirror art at the BBC, as we await tonight's first episode of the comedy/documentary, W1A.

A member of staff has complained to staff organ Ariel about garish new carpets on the sixth and seventh floors of New Broadcasting House, replacing those just 18 months old, and the appearance of railings around a kitchen area.

A chief adviser to Danny Cohen (how many advisers does he have ?) replies that the changes are in response to staff feedback that the areas in question "did not feel like creative spaces, and lacked character".

"Once the work is completed in the next month, the sixth floor will have a 'Welcome to Television' theme and the seventh floor will have the feel of an outside street scape. The committee also made the decision to change the flooring to give these areas a unique sense of identity and the previous carpet is being re-used elsewhere in the building. The railings around the hot desking area on the seventh floor will be part of 'Albert Square' with the outside of the meeting room branded as the 'Queen Vic'. We want to make our space feel inspiring and creative - a home for BBC Television that reflects our ambitions as the very best broadcaster and producer in the world."

I remember workshops from more than five years ago when we sort of agreed that the BBC was too territorial and impermeable - staff moving between departments found hostility if they walked through "other people's space". All this set dressing is nonsense - especially trying to enshrine "tv" spaces when the future is, we are told, multi-platform.  I try not to be too rude here, but I suggest people will know that the sixth and seventh floors belong to television because they get busy late, finish early and close at weekends.

Correction costs

Apparently, the Daily Star has apologised in print to former BBC CFO Zarin Patel over allegations of encouraging tax dodging - but, given the whacky world of Express Newspapers online, I'm blowed if I can find it.

An FOI discloses that the BBC spent £6,520.00 (excluding VAT) supporting Ms Patel's legal action. She claimed a Daily Star leader back in July 2012 meant she "had devised or connived in the BBC's deplorable practice of ordering its star employees, under pain of dismissal, to dodge tax by creating personal service companies so as to allow the BBC to save millions of pounds".

BBC internal legal effort is not costed in the response; letters secured a print apology from the Daily Mail over a similar story with days - a rare thing to come so quickly out of Derry Street.

Where ?

Congratulations to Penny Marshall (St Helen's, Northwood and LSE), visiting professor at City University and formerly Social Affairs Editor at ITN, on her appointment as Education Editor BBC News; and to Hugh Pym (Marlborough and Christ Church Oxford), BBC's Chief Economics Correspondent, now appointed Health Editor.

The ads invited candidates for both roles to explore whether or not their work "could be wholly or partly based in either Birmingham or Salford". News staff and others threatened with moves from the capital will be interested to discover the outcome of those discussions.

Scales of justice

The politicial antennae of the BBC's Public Affairs team must have been pointing the other way, when backbench Tories, probably with a little light prodding from Justice ministers, cooked up the idea of de-criminalising non-payment of the tv licence fee. Now there's frantic defensive activity - today comes the enthralling suggestion of a DCMS/BBC/Min of Justice working group on the issue.

If this is a carrot, it's a poor spavined thing. The stick, wielded by James Purnell, is the idea that the BBC could lose £200m a year in income, threatening BBC4, CBBC and CBeebies. Sadly, all Tories can think of other ways the BBC could save £200m before cutting more channels - probably including Jim's department and its Public Affairs team. And they recognise de-criminalisation as an arm's length way of clipping the BBC's wings without taking much blame themselves for the consequences.

The BBC has generally done well out of running the licence fee since the move from Post Office collection. Sharper systems, tendering of the collection process, easy payments, and a growth in the number of households have all delivered more income to the BBC over the last 20 years. Now, the BBC seems to be left bleating for some sort of income support.

Meanwhile, the so-called horror stories of the magistrates' courts need debunking. Supposedly 10% of the courts' work, calls to attend are issued in batches of 50 (via Capita, not the Ministry of Justice)- very few turn up, most choosing to pay up in advance, and payments are also taken in corridors outside courtrooms if needed. Is that so horrible, and such a great burden on the Ministry ?  Perhaps there's another explanation - maybe most bailiffs are Tory voters.

SW13

Even the presence of Vinnie Jones couldn't boost BBC1's Musketeers last night - down a further 200,000 viewers to 4.3m in the overnights. Next week, a family in Barnes will probably improve things a little, with Alice Patten joining the cast as Sister Helene.

Student X

The BBC Executive has accepted the censure of the BBC Trust Editorial Standards Committee over Panorama's filming trip to North Korea last year. Reporter John Sweeney pretended to be an academic on an LSE trip, organised by his wife Tomiko, an LSE graduate employed by Panorama as a researcher/producer. In what might be an attempt at mitigation, the Executive notes that only 4 of 21 complaints were upheld - but you have to say that they were pretty serious. And I make it 5.

In respect of complaints made by Mr X on behalf of student X, the programme was found to have breached four guidelines:

6.1 "The BBC strives to be fair to all - fair to those our output is about, fair to contributors, and fair to our audiences. BBC content should be based on respect, openness and straight dealing. We also have an obligation under the Ofcom Broadcasting Code to “avoid unjust or unfair treatment of individuals or organisations in programmes”."

6.2.1 "We will be open, honest, straightforward and fair in our dealings with contributors and audiences unless there is a clear public interest in doing otherwise or a need to consider important issues such as legal matters, safety or confidentiality."

6.2.2 "Individuals should normally be appropriately informed about the planned nature and context of their contributions when they are asked to take part in BBC content and give their consent, unless there is an editorial justification for proceeding without consent."

6.4.1 ""We should treat our contributors honestly and with respect. Our commitment to fairness is normally achieved by ensuring that people provide ‘informed consent’ before they participate. ‘Informed consent’ means that contributors should be in possession of the knowledge that is necessary for a reasoned decision to take part in our content…the more significant their contribution, the more detail we should provide."

In respect of Tomiko Newson's role, The Trust found "her ability to make decisions solely in the best interests of the students had been compromised", thus breaching guideline....

15.2.3 "The BBC must be satisfied that individuals involved in the production of its content are free from inappropriate outside commitments and connections."

And, returning to student X, they ruled that the provision of information was insufficient and inadequate to enable her to give her informed consent to running the risks involved in the trip. "The Committee emphasised that securing informed consent should normally be the priority where a conflict arises between the need to minimise risk and the need to secure informed consent from people who put themselves at risk for the BBC.", and thus there was a breach of this guideline...

2.4.1 "The concept of editorial justification…is central to the application of our values and standards. It is a judgement on the particular circumstances of each case, balancing the editorial purposes of our output or actions with their impact on our audiences and people in our output (or, where relevant, those closest to them)."

Does it matter ? I think so. Panorama's been kicked by The Trust before, but this was the first kicking issued on Lord Hall's watch - and there was a direct appeal to the new DG to drop the programme in April last year.

Meanwhile John Sweeney, who might have known this ruling was coming, tweeted thus, a couple of days ago.

#NorthKorea Undercover: 5 stars: 'If you have read any of his books before you will love this one.' http://t.co/XbWuHv0lHG Don't tell Kim 3
— john sweeney (@johnsweeneyroar) March 15, 2014

The Singing Director

Oh my word. Peter Horrocks, the BBC's Director of Global News, on Ghanaian TV. Specifically with the self-styled King of Prime Time, Kwaku Sintim-Misa. It starts at around 5.50 on the clock. There is toe-curling "singing" at around 15.30. All over by 17.30.


    

From Bedlam to Newsnight

I've been skimming the web for info on Newsnight's new economics editor, Duncan Weldon, so you don't have to. He likes graphs, measuring the government's financial reputation through gilts, and Star Trek. I find much of what he has written as a prolific economics and politics blogger very difficult to understand.

As a student at Somerville College, Oxford University, he banked with Lloyds, and has made plain his annoyance with their overdraft charges.  Amongst his contemporaries studying PPE was Will Straw, now nursing Rossendale and Darwen for Labour, next to his dad's constituency in Blackburn. Both were officers of the Oxford University Student Union.

In March 2004, he was part of a rally at Oxford Town Hall in support of University lecturers, representing the Oxford University Labour Club : "It is important that academics and students stand together to oppose the privatisation of Higher Education".

Later in 2004, he was working at the Bank of England in the policy advisory unit.

In 2006 he joined Bedlam Asset Management (yes, named after the asylum) as an investment analyst. In 2008 he followed three Bedlam managers who set up Senhouse Capital LLP, where he was a partner until late 2009.

In December 2009 he was mentioned as a possible Labour candidate as MP for Wansbeck - he was born in Ashington, and went to Hirst High School. Nothing materialised. During 2009, he began writing for Will Straw's website Left Foot Foward.

In January 2010, he took a job as Research Officer with the Labour Party, spending five months working in the Policy and Research Division in Victoria Street in the run-up to the election. In May 2010 he stood for Labour in council elections in the Crouch End Ward of Haringey, picking up 1,300 votes, but still coming fifth, behind three (elected) Libdems, and Richard Messingham, for Labour.

From May to July 2010 he was an economics adviser to Harriet Harman, in her role as acting Labour leader.

In July 2010 he joined the International Transport Workers Union as a "strategic researcher" based in London.

In September 2010 Duncan voted for Ed Balls as his first choice as party leader, when Ed Miliband won through. He then backed fellow-Keynesian Balls as Shadow Chancellor.

In November 2010, he signed a Liberal Conspiracy letter of support to Harriet Harman about the expulsion of Phil Woolas, thus: "Duncan Weldon, Hornsey & Wood Green CLP".

In September 2011 he joined the TUC as Senior Policy Officer covering macroeconomics.

@yorksranter @maxrothbarth @dsquareddigest Crouch End & Holloway Left of Centre Economics Caucus Drinks soon?
— Duncan Weldon (@DuncanWeldon) September 21, 2011

In November 2011, he was mentioned by Lord (Maurice) Glasman, prime mover of 'Blue Labour', as one involved in discussions, along with James Purnell, now the BBC's Director of Strategy and Digital : "Just so people understand the context, there’s a number of people – Jon Cruddas, Marc Stears, Duncan Weldon (an economist at the TUC), James Purnell, and others – who are part of this conversation".

Here's a link to the BBC guidelines on conflict of interest and politics. I suspect he's been asked to leave his politics "at the door", and if James Purnell can get away with it, so can Duncan.

Charlie

The BBC expects attacks on alleged profligacy from commercial competitors. There's a new, and more dangerous one this morning, from the vastly experienced Lord (Charles) Allen, former boss of Granada, former chairman of ITV and EMI, now chairman of Global Radio, and worryingly, a Labour peer who's chairman of the Executive Board of the party, appointed by Ed Miliband.

Here's a quote from an interview in today's Independent.

"I bumped into Tony Hall [the BBC Director-General] yesterday and said ‘I want to get you in and have a look at how we work’. Do you know, BBC Radio 1, 2 and 3 have a combined content budget of £123.6m, and Capital, which is up against Radio 1, Heart, which is against Radio 2, and Classic, which takes on Radio 3, have a combined content budget of £19m. Look at Radio 4 in the morning. On LBC we will have a presenter like Nick Ferrari and a producer, and that’s about all – and we’re all the better for that.”

Experience does not always lead to understanding.