Platform ticket

 The second wave of John Birt's BBC revolution was the rush to digital; the first wave - 'production modernisation' had seen nearly 10,000 jobs shed, and producting support 'professionalised'.  Before that, the technology side of the BBC had an 'army' feel to it. Engineers were climbing transmitters for maintenance, floors were full of copper wiring, and concrete was the favoured building-material. 

At the start of the second wave, Birt visited the West Coast, saw the light, and started holding evening parties for digital 'movers and shakers' in the Council Chamber, where sushi and pizza was ordered and delivered in real time !   It seemed obvious from that point that the BBC should acquire some American talent to help drive through these changes.  Birt tried wooing Craig Fields, a founding director of Perot Systems and Network Solutions, an internet technology company - he turned down Director of Technology, agreed to come as a two-day-a-week adviser, but did not stay long. 

Towards the end of Birt's tenure, Mark Frost, with AOL in his cv, came over to kick start the wider BBC online operation. By that time, BBC News Online had quietly roared ahead without US influence, and, when Greg Dyke arrived, was given custody of BBC Sport Online as a reward. Frost left after a year. 

Under DG Mark Thompson, the BBC imported Erik Huggers from Microsoft (though he turned out to be Dutch). Among those who claim to be the key driver of iPlayer, Erik probably has a good case.  Then followed Ralph Rivera, with a pedigree in games at AOL. 

Now we have the man from Google arriving. Does he have a platforms strategy already in place ? And who will help him deliver it ? 

US domestic

 Whoever emerges as custodian of the BBC's news values, I'd like them to explain how 1,200 of directly comissioned words entitled "The Bachelorette's messy break-up with its unlikely star Taylor Frankie Paul" fits with any of the Public Purposes. It appeared this weekend; American news sites posed the question "Why is Taylor Frankie Paul trending ?", and pointed to an unedifying viral video of a domestic fracas. Is today's BBC so competitive for US clicks that we have to join in ?

Raring to go

Matt Brittin is already getting plenty of advice on what to do with the 3-D chess pieces of the existing BBC management structure, ahead of his formal arrival at Broadcasting House. Indulging in a Premier League analogy, does he come from Google like Nuno Espirito Santo, demanding jobs for at least five others on his coaching team, or does he travel light, like Jose Mourinho ?

The BBC conversations will have started a long time ago, and Brittin clearly made good use of the BAFTA coffee area and members' bar before shaping his presentation for the big interview.  A relieved Samir Shah and Caroline Thomson will have already debriefed him on the bits they did and didn't like.

There is little doubt that he should appoint a Deputy Director General, as a lightning conductor to absorb the thunderbolts of error and omission of news and programme-making before they end up as existential challenges to his own tenure. He also has a vacancy at the top of News.  At least one of these should go to a woman.

He might take time to consider the general state of 'transformation' much bruited at BH, where expensive consultants and deep HR thinkers have recently brought those working in broadcasting software and hardware back together again, to save money.  He will certainly want to build a better top table. 

There's a clear impression he wants to get going, and Interim DG Rhodri Talfan Davies may be left to one side, to shepherd the Annual Report to publication, while Matt gets his teeth into the good stuff.... 

99 and out

The CBS Radio news service started in 1927, a precursor to the whole network. The C came from late investor Columbia Records, giving a full title of  the Columbia Phonographic Broadcasting System. A year later the record company pulled out, and William S Paley bought it - it became the Columbia Broadcasting System. It was 'home' to Edward R. Murrow's rooftop reports during the Nazi bombing of London during World War II. 

These days, CBS News Radio provides material to an estimated 700 stations across the USA and is known best for its top-of-the-hour news roundups. The service will end on May 22, the network said on Friday.

Matt landing

It looks like it only the vetting hurdle to clear for Matt Brittin ahead of his announcement as next Director General of the BBC. 

Will it be a formal interview with a security team ?  Will it be harder than Mandelson's ?   Will they ask his last year's full salary at Google - he previously couldn't remember a figure in front of MPs ? Will they check his A Levels - did Geography or Rowing get him into Robinson College, Cambridge, to study Land Economy ?  Should they run the rule over his Facebook friends - Alan Rusbridger, Krishnan Guru-Murthy, balanced by Kamal Ahmed and Beverly Turner ?

Should he be forgiven for losing three Boat Races in a row ?  Particularly at a time when I liked to place a £1 double with that day's Everton result at the Ladbrokes on Highbury Corner ?

Easy to say

 I'm no Rubik's Cube expert, but have found 'solving' one side first doesn't help with the remaining five sides. 

Thus, Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy on her plans for the BBC. "If the NHS is essential to the health of our people the BBC is essential to the health of our democracy.

"So while the terms, the structures and the funding for the BBC will continue to be negotiated every several years, we should seek to end the bizarre situation where if the Charter isn’t agreed in time, the BBC ceases to exist."

There's no clarity on how she'll achieve this. Perhaps burying A Grand Statement of Permanent Existence somewhere Mr and Mrs Tice can't sniff it out.  Even if they can't find it, the phrase 'to be negotiated every several years' isn't really the escape from a permanent argument about renewal that the BBC side had hoped for.... 

On the move ?

Copied from Linkedin, a photo of BBC Chief People Officer Uzair Qadeer and headhunters Korn Ferry CEO Kevin Cashman, catching up at Soho House last month.   Kevin to Uzair: "Someday I hope to be secure enough to wear glasses like you man!!"

Dismiss ?

The BBC's US lawyer in the matter of Trump v BBC, Charles D Tobin, has gone in hard ball with a raft of documents for the consideration of Florida judge Roy K Altman, saying "Because the Court lacks personal jurisdiction over Defendants – and the Complaint fails to plead valid claims – the Court should dismiss this case with prejudice".  "With prejudice" means no second go at claiming the same alleged defamation. 

The lack of personal jurisdiction, first.  Trump's lawyers aimed at multiple defendants - the British Broadcasting Corporation a.k.a BBC; BBC Studios Distribution Ltd; and BBC Studios Production Ltd. A statement from Martin Freeman COO of BBC Studios Production Ltd makes it clear they had nothing to do with the creation of the offending Panorama; a statement from Director of Digital Distribution Richard Cooper says there was no BBC channel offering access to the programme in  Florida. For the public service component, Director of News Content Richard Burgess explains that BBC offices in Coral Gables are not involved, being home largely to around 25 employees of a separate company, BBC News USA, running BBC Mundo, the Latin American language 'bit' of the World Service. 

The Trump charge claims the BBC filmed part of the Panorama documentary at Mar-A-Lago.  Executive Producer Leo Telling says those clips were licenced from other news organisations or picked up on the web. Mr Telling looks like being a key witness if it ever gets to trial... 

So now Trump's lawyers will have to produce evidence that a number of people in Florida actually saw the Panorama AND they were so influenced that it made them cut donations to The Donald and/or voted for someone else as a consequence.   Trump won Florida in 2024 with 6,110,125 votes, up from 5,668,731 in 2020. 

Cast list

BBC News, apparently short of money, deployed a small army to cover the Oscars in Los Angeles. 

I've seen or heard or read Culture Editor Katie Razzall, Entertainment Correspondent Colin Paterson, California-based reporter David Willis, LA Breaking News reporter Nardine Saad, Culture reporters Helen Bushby and Emma Saunders, US reporter Sakshi Venkatraman, Senior LA journalist Christal Hayes, Washington-based field reporter Cai Pigliucci, Washington 'Digital Fellow' Alex Foster, US reporters Ana Faguy and Laura Blasey, BBC Culture fashion critic Scarlett Harris, and LA reporter Regan Morris.  

Peak GB ?

All Perspectives, owners of GB News, reached 3,606,000 viewers across four screens in February, as measured by BARB. That's down from 3,878,000 in January,  3,963,000 in December,  4,138,000 in November, and 4,149,000 in October. A loss of half a million viewers over 5 months....