Exit strategies

I've never been to more BBC leaving "do"s in any previous run-up to the end of the financial year. This year, the rules on taking an early BBC pension change, so a whole cohort of people in their late forties and early fifties looked at the sums and went. This was increased by those certain they don't want to go to Salford getting out into the London media market before the rush.

And there were some last day big name surprises. Sian Kevill, Director of BBC World, decided not to go into battle for a job on Peter Horrocks' smaller Global News structure. Nic Newman, Controller of Future Media for Journalism, was a casualty of Erik Huggers' shake-up. And Tony Lennon, President of BECTU for so long that some people didn't realise he had a BBC job, has also been saying farewells.

There's a body of experience and expertise now leaving the organisation, on a scale only before seen in the John Birt culls in News in the late 80's. Let's hope sufficient wise heads remain to deal with the testing year ahead.