Trade secrets out

Oh dear, the previously limited-circulation Dummies Guide to Being A BBC Controller is out of the bag.  This from Mark Damazer in a farewell to Radio 4 interview in the Radio Times.

In my BBC past, latterly as controller of Radio 4, I either presided over salami-slicing or was on the receiving end of the slicer. Salami slicing is a term of abuse in budget circles – but we muddled through and nothing terrible happened. At Radio 4 the programme-makers all wanted to find other solutions. So I repeated some good programmes that had previously only had one outing (The Archive Hour, Material World etc) and decommissioned others to make the figures add up. And lengthened some programmes, too.

Twas ever thus.  The only element missing is the "make more and longer live programmes, to pay for fewer built-programmes, drama and comedy".  So previous Controllers introduced the repeats of Start The Week, Midweek/Stop The Week/Loose Ends/In Our Time.  Previous Controllers doubled the length of You and Yours. Previous Controllers tried for more live with Rollercoaster and the Afternoon Shift.

Now Gwyneth Williams has to make savings - and the handbook's open to all !