If she gets that, I'm worth more

Steve Hewlett in The Guardian provides a simple and clear analysis of why the BBC pays so many senior managers such high rates.

What one really sees here is much more to do with internal comparisons than external competition. Greg Dyke took the pay brakes off when he was director general - he wanted people to feel good about working at the BBC - and through the routine workings of the corporate HR department, the process of levelling up to new, higher benchmarks began, at least among the more senior management. But in 2009, in the midst of a bitter recession, senior BBC salaries look generous, to say the least, with arguments about market rates and compensation in lieu of more lucrative opportunities in the commercial marketplace left threadbare.