Patten forming

The assimilation process has begun.  An organisation with as many bureaucrats as the BBC can soon turn the head of the most fiercely-independent thinkers.   So Lord Patten officially begins his tenure as Chairman of the BBC Trust with the traditional pious email to all staff.

"I believe passionately in public service broadcasting. The case for it is as strong - maybe even more so – in the digital age as it was 90 years ago".

And, remembering we're in the digital age ? "I hope you can find the time to watch my question and answer session on the ringmain this afternoon where I will say more about all of this".

Ringmains, in the outside world, refer to electrical wiring, or sometimes water supply systems. Most people in the BBC will actually watch this via IPTV - though, inevitably, delivered through the copper wire beloved of BBC engineers.