Claiming dates

Time to firm up a bit on something I first ruminated about on Christmas Day last year - Mark Thompson's date for leaving the BBC.

The Corporate Calendar won't mention it for a while, but I'm hearing, faintly, the consideration of specific dates  - 6th September 2012, and 12th September 2012.  The latter seems more likely - as it's after the closing ceremony of the Paralympics on the 9th.  A spread bet on the first two weeks of September is tempting.

Counting backwards, that means the recruitment process for a replacement could start as early as March, if an outsider has to be untangled from current employment, and anointed by Lord Patten before his summer holidays.

He may privately take a view that it's more likely to be an insider, who has some handle on Delivering Quality First, which will need serious follow-through. DG Thommo doesn't want any confrontations during his last nine months and the Olympics themselves, and is putting rather a lot of files in the tray marked "Too Difficult".

So the living audition for a successor continues. Caroline Thomson, Helen Boaden, Peter Salmon and even George Entwistle must think they're in with a chance - and are thus now incentivised to find more DQF cuts in order to "save" local radio.  Who'll blink first ?