The shared news agenda

The plan to share regional news facilities and some content by the BBC and ITV in various centres still feels wrong. A friend suggested a new sign-0ff for a 6 o'clock show: "..and if you want to see those items again, slightly re-cut, with slightly different intros and classier graphics, you can switch to..."

Charlie Beckett at Polis is grumpier. I am sure BSkyB will feel very cynical about all these crippled public service broadcasters propping each other up with taxpayer’s money. As Murdoch’s men have pointed out, the licence fee is, in effect, being used to bail out commercial rivals who have run into trouble. What is it that ITV produces that gives it more public service value than say, Sky News and Sky Arts?

Well, one answer might be regional news, which is why that is the service that will get the helping hand from the BBC. But beyond this is a much bigger picture. Does this mean that the former fortress of the BBC is going to become an open house for other public service media organisations? Is the BBC the PSP in disguise ?

Meanwhile, the Guardian says the eight main centres are Birmingham, Bristol, Manchester, Newcastle, Southampton, Leeds, Norwich and Cardiff. I have a feeling Cardiff is wrong, because there's already sharing of some resources in Welsh - the eighth might be Plymouth.