Tinkering

A thin slice hurts just as much as a thick slice when you're making job cuts. It's a really difficult task for the band of managers who have to come up with the yearly plans for various bits of BBC News, but this year's package looks tactical rather than strategic.

Cutting the only "built" news programme from the schedules of Radio 5 Live - Morning Reports - seems to go against the mission for quality and distinctiveness. Now the news team, taken up to Salford to run in parallel with a newsroom in London (and to fulfil different strategy - Out of London numbers), will just write summaries and flashes. Are they that different from summaries on Radio 2 and 4 ?

Cutting and re-instating the Madrid correspondent is, roughly, performed on a five year Hokey-Cokey cycle. If they found someone with both Spanish and an interest in football, surely the activities of Real Madrid and Barcelona would provide rich pickings ?

The Rural Affairs correspondent is another role that now seems to be on crop rotation, and is currently on set aside.

The reporter role in Gaza/Ramallah has produced talented people in the past, now doing well elsewhere in BBC newsgathering - the very existence of the post makes BBC News different. Now it's to be replaced by a local hire - let's hope they pick well.

One thing we haven't heard about. Cuts to Newsnight or Today or Panorama. In the current climate, the rich get rich, and...