Growth in the job

Old hands have been mapping out old BBC News salaries. One who held the title Peking Correspondent in 1985 was on a basic salary of £19,760 - equivalent to £56k today. Another, when Middle East Correspondent in 1992, was on £40k - which, taking inflation into account, would be around £76k now.

So how did Jon Sopel rise above £200k as North America Editor ?  One suspects he did quite well presenting the The Politics Show from 2005 to 2011, where he replaced Jeremy Vine. Then he joined the News Channel, and most recently was the regular presenter of Global with Jon Sopel on BBC World, from 2012 to 2014. In those days, retaining talent was the name of the BBC management approach, fuelled by the idea that pay should be related to performance, rather than standardised across a big public service operation.

Carrie Gracie was assured she swould be on level pegging with the North America Editor back in 2013, when she agreed to become China Editor; and Mark Mardell may well have been on £135k. The problem stems from whoever set Jon's salary deal in April 2014. Step forward Jonathan Munro, Head of Newsgathering, probably aided by James Harding's batman, Keith Blackmore.

Meanwhile, the BBC loves rulings. Yesterday morning, according to Press Gazette, “Fran Unsworth has ruled that anyone who has tweeted or indicated a position on BBC pay – not just Carrie Gracie – cannot present an item about BBC pay in future.”

Woman’s Hour presenter Jane Garvey stepped aside from interviewing Gracie, with former Guardian media editor Jane Martinson stepping in. Garvey told Press Gazette the decision for her not to speak to Gracie was made by her editor but that she thought it was the right move, saying a BBC presenter interviewing another BBC presenter felt “somewhat farcical”.

She said: “I have not been made to feel that I couldn’t speak up. I would not carry on working if they were putting me under some kind of pressure – and they haven’t.”

But, she added: “The BBC are going to really struggle to find a BBC female journalist who does not believe in equal pay. I mean where is that woman and why is she working for the BBC? This is just ridiculous and they know it is really.”

The BBC doesn't have long to work out a position on all this; they can't avoid the microphone themselves forever - but Fran and Lord Hall need a solution, not a problem that dribbles on through HR procedures. In the same way as the BBC Money Tree has been shaken for Re-invention, Local Radio, The Arts, Talking to Boxes in the Corner of Rooms and more, cash has to be set aside to sort credible equality above £100k in News - and to sort out back pay over time.