The British Broadcasting Collective

I hope Lord Patten's seen this.  The BBC Trust Workplan for 2011/12.  Normally associated with collective farms, Soviet Union strategies for major industries, etc, workplans are now a feature of the modern BBC bureaucracy.

And the first new tick-box for the year ?  Every BBC programme (or piece of online content) should have a distinctive BBC quality, displaying at least one of the following: high editorial standards; creative and editorial ambition; range and depth; and UK focused content and indigenous talent. 


And proof, if proof were needed that the BBC Trust doesn't trust the BBC Executive. This year we will ask our own advisers to scrutinise the BBC’s proposals for future efficiencies. And how much will this exercise cost ?

And while the BBC looks to cut, the Trust is not short of things to spend more on, eg a coherent UK-wide strategy on the rollout of High Definition to the nations, and regional ‘opt out’ programming.