So, thoughts for 2012.....
Helen Boaden has the best chance to emerge as the next Director General of the BBC, with Peter Horrocks filling behind as Director of News. She'll need to do a little New Year tap-dancing to "recalibrate" the local radio cuts she proposed, but as long as the interviews come before the Olympics, the simmering staff revolt (over pay, conditions and everything) will come after she's secured the job.
This will be the most difficult year for BBC news and sport teams in Salford. Fatigue will hit commuting presenters on Five Live and Breakfast; the general quality of live contributors making it to MediaCityUK will fall. There'll be some edging back to Westminster - the political story will ramp up over the year along with the unemployment figures.
Meanwhile the moving house spotlight will fall on Broadcasting House, with the remainder of network news coming in from Television Centre and Bush House gradually over the year. Here, it seems the opportunity to integrate the expertise of the World Service news team has been missed - they arrive first in the new mega-newsroom, but to one side, rather than at the heart of things. They've clearly been judged untelegenic, but at least they'll be away from the ludicrous tv lights that are being installed in the cavernous space. In the 70s, viewers used to complain that the "real newsroom" backdrop for BBC bulletins looked like news from a betting shop. This venture will look like news from Walmart - all for the "opening shot".
Other things to watch in 2012. Newspapers: Ashley Highfield will have to DO something as CEO of Johnston Press. He's apparently now read an edition of each of the group's 280 titles - how many will there be in 2013 ? Plus, how thin can the Guardian get over the year ?
Football: Bill Kenwright of Everton and John W Henry of Liverpool need to make the financial case for a shared stadium in the city, and take it to fans. The common sense of the economics, matched by a decent architectural vision, should gain traction at the end of poor seasons for both clubs.
Commercial tv: Jay Hunt (C4) v Richard Desmond (C5) is going to be an amusing battle.
Commercial radio: More and more listeners will realise there are fewer and fewer records on daytime Radio 2. Smooth and Heart will benefit.
Beer: Alpine Lager will reappear in Sam Smith pubs, with a much reduced alcohol content.
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BBC staff certainly are simmering - they've got plenty to simmer about - but will they come to the boil? My guess is that they won't - but in order for that to happen, the next DG will have to be very careful, not to say devious, in the way he or she handles the issues.
ReplyDeleteLet's assume Helen Boaden gets the job, because contemplating her succession gives this listener a warmer feeling than any of the other likely contenders. I heard the BBC staff internal phone-in on Delivering Quality First; these things, I believe, are usually pretty dull affairs, with endless hedging, prevaricating and management-speak. And the hour-long 'programme' I heard certainly featured plenty of that - but none of it from Helen Boaden, who was admirably frank about the tough choices she'd already made, and who came across as knowledgeable and human, rare enough qualities in BBC management. This was a senior journalist talking to colleagues, many of whom she must know personally and has worked with. She was, in a word, impressive.
So - she wins through as the next DG and, shortly after her accession, let's say the revolting staff decide to threaten the Olympics coverage. Why shouldn't they? - in an industrial dispute, you use what muscle and leverage you can muster. Her best tactic will be to continue the policy - that's already begun - of linking the various issues together (the UPA issue has been postponed by being linked with the introduction of 'job families'), thereby obscuring them. The clearer the issues are, the more sharply the staff will be able to focus their discontent. But this approach will run counter to what I see as Helen Boaden's greatest asset: her straightforwardness. BBC staff are used to a hailstorm of nonsense from their managers. I sense that HB would like to ditch that and deal in realities, but the truth is, she would be best advised to shovel heaps of dense, difficult-to-understand, HR-type bureaucracy onto the smouldering fire of staff discontent. Once the actual job cuts are done, or at least known, the fire may go out, not least because most BBC staff want to enjoy the Olympics. Even if they don't get to go on 'jollies' - i.e. Outside Broadcasts, preferably foreign ones - most of the staff look forward to big, headline-grabbing broadcasting marathons. It's their chance to shine - and they're fun. A wise DG will surely look for the longest patch of grass into which to kick the knotty problems of staff reward.