THE INDEPENDENT: The empire building – both within and without the corporation – needs to come to an abrupt end. Yesterday's strategy document, for all its talk of "setting new boundaries", indicates that the BBC's leadership has yet to fully grasp the need for more modest horizons.
THE GUARDIAN: There are bits of the review that make sense, such as pruning the BBC's website, which is as overgrown and in some corners as difficult to penetrate as any rain forest. The cost of setting up a new website is so low that the BBC is justified in clearing a space for commercial rivals to enter the market. But this is a rare moment of good sense in a document that smacks of tactical manoeuvring – of the kind that may cause the corporation strategic harm. If Mr Thompson sacrifices Asian Network, he may be asked next time for 1Xtra – or even Radio 1. The only way to prevent that is by laying out a strong, reasoned case for sustaining Britain's premier cultural institution. That was not to be found in yesterday's review, which merely offered the thin end of a very large wedge of cuts.
THE TIMES - hasn't so far added to its editorial of February 26, when it had an accurate leak of most of the review - "Big, bloated and cunning:Proposals for ostensible reform of the BBC are nothing but a smokescreen. The corporation must stop empire-building and get back to doing what it does best"
THE TELEGRAPH: Instead of fixing what is wrong, the review illustrates perfectly the corporation's failings. Political and cynical in equal measure, this is a smoke-and-mirrors operation designed to give the impression of radical reform, while actually amounting to little more than a rearrangement of the deckchairs. The proposal to axe two radio stations – the Asian Network and 6 Music – appears calculated to create a suitable amount of controversy (as indeed it has), and give the impression that what is being imposed are truly painful cuts. They are nothing of the kind: most licence-fee payers have never heard of these services, let alone listened to them. Similarly, the decision to thin the forest of BBC websites will hardly transform the corporation's role.
THE SUN: The Beeb was cleverly having its cake and eating it yesterday. On the one hand it was trumpeting that it was making big cuts - and on the other, packing its airwaves with cronies and luvvies saying the world would end if the changes went ahead. In truth, this is window dressing because the BBC fear that if the Tories win the election they will put a stop to outrageous salaries and the use of public money to crush independent rivals like local newspapers out of business. Even if these cuts happen, the BBC will still be too big, too expensive and too unaccountable. Crucially, it has no plans to hand back anything to licence payers who will still be fleeced. If Beeb boss Mark Thompson really wants to make savings, why not start by halving his own obscene £816,000 salary?
THE MIRROR - hasn't so far added to its editorial of February 26 - BBC 6 Music should not be sacrificed before overpaid corporate suits. Bosses must not throw the baby out with the bathwater. The Corporation needs to live within its means, even one guaranteed upwards of £3billion from the licence fee. And a publicly funded broadcaster has a responsibility not to abuse its position by stamping on the toes of competitors. But nor must BBC executives' overspending slash services enjoyed by viewers and listeners. If economies need to be made, the BBC should start by ditching over-paid and under-worked corporate suits.
THE DAILY MAIL: Yesterday’s package of measures looks like the minimum that the BBC thinks it can get away with to fend off a rising tide of criticism. If the Corporation was serious about putting its house in order, it could perhaps start by contemplating the sale of Radio 1 and its local radio stations, two areas where the commercial sector would instantly fill the gap. The BBC is a great national asset, but it could be so much better if it concentrated on those areas of public service broadcasting where it can deliver real excellence and stopped trying to be everything to everyone.
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