A different world

BBC-agent-of-change Peter Horrocks has grasped some of the prickliest thorns in international broadcasting, and has announced a smaller, integrated management team to run World Service, BBC World, and the "international-facing" element of the BBC website.

Trumping the 20% target set by the BBC Trust, he's cutting senior posts by 25% - letting some internal big names fight it out for two new plum jobs, one running all output in English across all media, the other in charge of languages. The concern for staff at lower levels will be the consequences for how they're organised - and more than a hint that there'll be more post closures to come.

The first big thorn has always been how do you keep the Foreign Office (and competing international broadcasters) assured that Government funding, the grant-in-aid, and the value they get from it, can be tracked - and show that it's not being used as a cross-subsidy for commercial operations like BBC World, or indeed licence-fee funded international news coverage. Presumably, Peter has got a green light from the mandarins. The second big thorn is the historic "identity" of The World Service - with no specific single person with the title Director or Controller in charge, will its old-school supporters, inside and outside the organisation, see this as a step too far ?