Gong-ery

Charles and Camilla will have agreed over Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman; Camilla may have pushed for Elaine Paige.  Charles probably liked Martha Kearney, and may have acknowledged the work of outgoing Proms Director David Pickard. But beyond that, it's a poor haul for Beeb-related gongs in the Birthday Honours list... 

Allies

The U.S. House of Representatives on Thursday narrowly passed President Donald Trump's request to slash $9.4 billion in spending on foreign aid and public broadcasting, sending the package for consideration by the Senate.

The measure was backed 214 to 212.

Now for foreign aid and the World Service in Starmer's UK.

Milestone ?

Interesting to see BBC executives chasing clicks in the United States are using 'statistics' from market intelligence firm Similarweb, rather than producing direct measurement figures.....

Justified ?

The scale of tragedy can't be questioned in the Air India crash; but last night's BBC News special promised to 'report on the wider implications' and 'look into what may have led to this air disaster'.

Not really. It majored on grief, opening with sombre stills converted to black and white, and more grief. And whilst BBC News, like others, might be able to list the possibilities of what caused this crash, nobody really knows yet. Of course, they can't bring themselves to say that, otherwise they might not fill the hour.

I, and perhaps others, disagree with this BBC Editorial Guideline:

In the immediate aftermath of an event involving death, suffering or distress, the use of more graphic material is normally justified to provide a reasonable account of the full horror. However, as the story unfolds it may become more difficult to justify the continued use of such material

Kelsey-Rae

The BBC has a new Head of Diversity, Inclusion & Belonging, Kelsey-Rae Williams. 

Williams was born in London but was raised in an all-white neighbourhood in Canada. She moved back to London in 2013, after completing a first degree in Political Science and International Development Studies at McGill University, Montreal. Her parents are from Trinidad and Grenada, and her grandparents are part of the Windrush generation.  Father Ray is recently retired from banking in Toronto, but still Chair of the Black Opportunity Fund in the city. 

Kelsey-Rae took a law degree at City St George's, London University, and worked her way through jobs in the Civil Service to Kew Gardens and Burberry. 

Here's something for Kelsey-Rae to get her teeth into... 

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A post shared by Nihal Arthanayake (@therealnihal)

Phone for ETs

BBC News management has a poor record in spotting tricky redundancy cases. The case of four Mature Lady News Presenters was settled after a three-year battle, with the MLNPs back at work. Now it seems we have four or five Crusty News Hounds, Discontent about Compulsory Redundancy from News Content. 

The CNHs have lodged a grievance, the formal internal route, about the selection process which appeared to weight 'digital' box-ticking as more important than years of experience of managing the delivery of News Content from home and abroad. They believe younger staff have been favoured in this 'selection for retention', and expect to take their case to employment tribunals. 

Emily worried

The Chair of the Commons Foreign Affairs Select Committee, Dame Emily Thornberry MP, is fearful for the BBC World Service

"The Spending Review provided no clarity or concrete commitment to fund the British Council and the BBC World Service, both of which rely heavily on FCDO funding and do a huge amount of heavy lifting when it comes to our soft power offering. If we aren’t proactive in maintaining our global influence, we can expect our standing to diminish, and for autocratic states to fill the vacuum we leave"

Follow that, Kamal

Where will well-connected Kamal Ahmed land next ? Dapper Kamal, 57 (Drayton Manor and Leeds), a man who according to Rod Liddle resembles “a pencil that has been sharpened to slightly beyond its optimum length”, is no longer running audio services at the Daily Telegraph, though his X-handle has yet to be updated. 

So proud to have been part of this. Thank you @Telegraph @DailyTPodcast and all the team, particularly my presenter oppo @CamillaTominey What a star she is. https://t.co/HJ0p2Hxocz

— Kamal Ahmed (@kamalahmednews) June 11, 2025

Kamal was brought to the BBC by James Harding, fumbled his chances to replace him, and was rescued by former Telegraph colleague Will Lewis, with the Qatari-funded News Movement.  Its most recent accounts show debts of £4.5m. He's been with The Telegraph just over a year.

Alan off

It's an odd time for the BBC to start looking for a new Chief Finance Officer, but it seems Alan Dickson is moving on after less than three years in post. 

Alan (BA Scottish History, Glasgow University and graduate of the Deloitte - Next Generation FTSE 250 CFO Programme) joined Tim Davie's board from BBC News; and previously held finance posts in BBC Scotland, after training in accountancy with NHS Scotland. 

World outlook

Things look bleak for the World Service; no direct mention in the main Spending Review, and the Foreign Office, their ODA budget and the DCMS are net losers over the years ahead, with 'efficiencies' outstripping 'investment'. 

In the supporting document on departmental efficiencies for the FCO, we get: BBC World Service is not captured, given any future efficiencies will be heavily influenced by decisions on the transition of the ODA budget to 0.3% of Gross National Income by 2027. BBC World Service will announce any plans for future efficiencies in line with its operational independence.