Leverage

BBC recruitment blah-blah is matched this morning by some impenetrable purple prose from their new payroll partner, Tata Consultancy Services, taking over from IBM Business Services for at least the next six years. Take a deep breath, hold your nose and read on.... 

"Under the multi-year partnership, TCS will leverage its contextual knowledge, proprietary platforms, partner ecosystem and future-ready talent pool to power the broadcaster’s media business model reimagination and drive growth. The partnership will entail managing individual processes across strategic as well as transactional finance operations, embedding digital technologies in them to improve efficiency, process velocity and process outcomes. Advanced analytics will provide insights that enable better and faster decision-making.

TCS will leverage TCS Cognix™, an AI-driven human-machine collaboration suite that provides pre-built, cloud-based modules leveraging AI, machine learning and intelligent automation, and which integrates well with point solutions from multiple partners. TCS will also provide application management and change delivery services for the broadcaster’s application estate supporting the finance, procurement and HR functions.

TCS will implement its unified operations model that integrates the business process and application layers and enables more holistic problem diagnosis and issue resolution, as well as seamless change management. Additionally, TCS will help deploy a new partner payroll platform and services with an integrated analytics layer, to streamline the broadcaster’s payroll function."

Meanwhile, the BBC has an estimated £450k on offer for "a single supplier to provide expert skills and experience across its grievance procedures for both equal and fair pay (first and second stage) and bullying & harassment cases (second stage - appeal)."

Flooding

Confidently expecting a continuing range of 'policy reviews' to come from Levido Towers over the summer, on whether it's time to bring back coal fires, let children take holidays anytime their parents want, a plan for mini-nuclear plants in every town and village, the possibility of vouchers for private dental care, political codes for teachers and much more. 

Vorders

One suspects Rhodri will have a busier morning than most today. The Mail has decided that 'something must be done' about Carol Vorderman's tweets. Carol, perhaps currently most famous for wearing tighter clothes than most 62-year-olds, has a weekly show on BBC Radio Wales. "Hi, Vorders here" is co-hosted with former Hollyoaks actor Nathan Sussex, and features interviews, dedications and challenging music like Bananarama, Thin Lizzy and Duran Duran. 

The Mail shared the views of South Thanet MP Craig McKinlay "Whichever way you look at it, she is she has flagrantly crossed any boundary of impartiality, fundamental to the BBCs charter, and is indulging in in very anti-Conservative rhetoric. She's using her not insubstantial Twitter following, which will only go up on the back of her BBC programme, to actually promote a political viewpoint. Gary Lineker crossed some boundaries, but they seem almost mild compared to the the new space that Carol Vorderman is occupying and it's time the BBC reminded her of their own guidelines."

The paper was unable to elicit a BBC response, but Director of Nations Rhodri Talfan Davies will be asking his old team in Wales to find a line and quick. 

Simon says

Oliver Shah in The Sunday Times provides some rich detail about the dinner where the Nigel Farage bank account story took off. 

It was a charity event for BBC Media Action, at the Langham Hotel, called the Correspondents Dinner. Each table gets two BBC correspondents or presenters, and bigwigs part with money in quizzes and auctions, with Wimbledon tickets and trips to Dancing With The Stars on offer this year.  The host was Jeremy Vine. 

Last year, Simon Jack played host; this year he was next to Alison Rose, CEO of Natwest, with, deliciously, Tim Davie, Editor in Chief, on her other side. 

It's hard to see what the BBC felt it had to apologise for. The Times had previously reported that Mr Farage's bank account had been closed (source: Farage); it was public knowledge he had an account with Coutts. Alison Rose thought the story was 'out there', and confirmed, and then reconfirmed it to Jack. There couldn't have been a better source than the banking group's CEO; if she had been less than clear that there was some underlying reputational reason for dropping Farage, then that's hardly the BBC's fault.  

Early starter

 At least one new regional offering on BBC Local Radio in England starts as early as Monday 7th August. 

Listeners across Devon & Cornwall will share the delights of David White from 2pm to 6pm. Across the week, David features cast interviews with the touring version of 42nd St, landing at the Theatre Royal, Plymouth, Devon - but very close to the Cornish border. 

Chris wins

Poor old Chris (Christina Burns). In the good old days of May last year, before the imposition of a Do Not Resuscitate sign on local radio, she was bullish, as Head of Audio and Digital, BBC England, about the future - and nice Rhodri Talfan-Davies asked her to help with a pension matter. 

The BBC has to continually support a generous/burdensome pension scheme, and thought it might be a cute idea if it could chisel something off the amount it contributes to the Old Benefits scheme, which delivers bigger pensions than the later Defined Benefit Schemes, on the grounds that this was unfair. Fronting the case to staff for this wheeze were Rhodri Talfan-Davies, Director of Nations, and Gautam Rangarajan, Group Director of Strategy and Performance.  They needed an upstanding member of the Pension Scheme to be party a High Court action to test the law, and, crikey,  invited Chris to act as  Representative Beneficiary. 

Yesterday it was announced that the High Court had decided that BBC's preferred tinkering route is not ok. A 'victory' then, for Chris - though perhaps it had more to do with her legal team from Stephenson Harwood LLP (chosen by the BBC) and two specialist pensions barristers, all paid for by the BBC. 

Art as news

I understand the planners of News Content have commissioned a piece of interpretative dance from John Simpson about the rise and fall and rise of the Taliban; an action painting from Faisal Islam which provides context to the UK's particular problems with inflation; and Katya Adler will be wrapping part of the BBC's offices in Brussels in Bacofoil as a statement about not getting on air as much as the others....

More shopping

The BBC continues to promote its purchases of imported programmes. 

It's bought all five seasons of The Bold Type, following three New York women working on a top women's magazine, made by Universal TV for Freeform, part of Disney. It started in 2107, and finished in 2021 - and has previously been available in the UK to download from Amazon Video, Apple TV, and Google Play Movies. 

A second acquisition is four-part Australian drama Bad Behaviour, produced for streaming service Stan in February this year.  It was made by Matchbox Pictures, part of NBC. 

 
BBC Head of Programme Acquisition, Sue Deeks says: “We are delighted that these two series are joining our BBC Three and iPlayer line-up – they are very different in tone, but both feature characters that viewers will empathise and engage with as they deal with the complexities of life.”

Becky and Jo

The future of BBC Less-Local-Than-It-Was Radio is emerging. 

Late night presenters across England are to be JoAnne Good, 68, still Tweeting as @middleagedminx, and Becky Want, 59.  Becky gets Monday to Thursday, from Salford, Jo gets Friday and Saturday, from London.  There's no word yet on the content of their shows, but they are planned to start 8th October. More details at Radio Today. 

JoAnne is a graduate and fellow of the Rose Bruford College, and as an actress, she is best known for her role as Carol Sands in the ITV soap Crossroads from 1981 to 1984.  She's now something of a fashion influencer, which Rhodri and Jason may like to review.... 

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Jo Good - Middleagedminx (@middleagedminx)

Yalda yields

Sky News seem to have poached BBC News presenter Yalda Hakim. Presumably they saw her recently-made-public salary, at £178k +, and decided to move in.  Or perhaps Yalda's not enjoying life as much at Auntie as she did when joining in 2012. 

It was in February this year that Yalda, 40 (Macarthur Girls High and Macquarie University) was announced as one of the five chief presenters for the about-to-be-merged BBC News Channel. Her salary matches that of fellow CP Matthew Amroliwala, but is behind the £190k afforded to lanky Hard Talk host Stephen Sackur. 

Interim channel runner Paul Royall says another of the Famous Five, Maryam Moshiri, will move to host the Daily Global, but that presumably still leaves a vacancy for a new CP.... 

Bravery

Leaders like Rhodri and Jason love a stretch target, which is shared with their All New BBC Local management superstructure. As in the previous post - "However and wherever audiences consume us, live or on demand, we want to be there for them with the objective that we reach 50% of audiences across the UK every single week". 

Hang on - what's this in the latest Annual Report ?

50% of adults in England [are] consuming BBC England content on average per week.

Source Compass by Ipsos UK 16+

When it all gets a bit too much

Rhodri and Jason's All New BBC Local requires a new management superstructure, natch, featuring "Senior Heads of Content Production". There's a vacancy for one to run services across the megalopolis that is the English West and East Midlands. Don't read on with an empty stomach...

BBC Local is the BBC for millions of people up and down England and you won’t find another part of this organisation that is closer to the audiences it serves every single day. 
 
We are in the middle of a massive overhaul of our services to make them fit for the future. However and wherever audiences consume us, live or on demand, we want to be there for them with the objective that we reach 50% of audiences across the UK every single week, To do that we are investing in our digital services across all four BBC Apps whilst at the same time ensuring that our live Local Radio and Television services continue to be the envy of every other broadcaster.
 
We provide a rich mix of content across TV, radio and mobile platforms for audiences across England.  There has never been a stronger appetite for local programmes and content. Audiences want us to make sense of the world where they live, but they also want us to champion their communities, celebrate when life is good and put an arm round them when it all gets a bit too much. 
 
Our aim is to reflect those communities back to themselves. Providing impartial news and current affairs and showcasing local stories, talent and creativity - and companionship are as important today as at any time in our history.
 
The post holder will steer the production of all BBC Local news, audio and digital content across the East and West Midlands. 
 
They will inspire and develop teams to deliver outstanding, creative and engaging content, maximising the impact and distinctiveness of BBC services with local audiences across all of our platforms, both live and on demand. You will direct a major programme of creative and organisational change to ensure we operate as a full multi-media service, offering content when and where audiences expect to receive it.
 
You will also play a principle [principal ?] role in moving our teams from the Mailbox to the Tea Factory in Birmingham in the years to come and you will need to develop and nurture key stakeholder relationships both inside and outside of the BBC.

Big sell

Sometimes even the BBC Press Office doesn't put a gloss on things. 

Actor James Buckley, famous for the Inbetweeners (last series 2010) is one of this year's 'celebrities' in Celebrity Masterchef, and the Press Office has a ready-made interview... 

What made you want to do Celebrity MasterChef?

I’ve got to do something haven’t I? I haven’t been in a TV show for about five years, and it's nice for the missus, get me out of the house for a little while.

Sense check

Put a little return toe in the water with Times Radio this morning, and heard Matt Chorley frame a question with a big fat 'Give us a sense...' (1115am). This is still, of course, in the copyright of Huw Edwards. 

Hi, Chris

The BBC has bought in 36 years of PWC accountancy experience to look after audit and risk. New non-executive board member Chris Jones, 67, started with PWC in 1977, after a degree from Swansea. His non-exec career started in 2015 with Santander, and includes the Wellcome Trust and Legal & General. He's also an investment trustee with The Charity for Civil Servants, formerly known as The Civil Service Benevolent Fund. 

Left: Linkedin, Right: BBC

Set beams to deflect

BBC response to complaints about excessive coverage of Huw Edwards: 

We believe our coverage of this story was proportionate, reflecting the significance of the issues raised. However, we realise not everyone will agree with the stories we cover and the prominence we give them.

BBC response to complaints about excessive coverage of Philip Schofield:

We believe our reporting of this story has been proportionate, reflecting the gravity of the issues at hand.  However, we realise not everyone will agree with the stories we decide to cover or the prominence we give them.

BBC response to complaints about excessive coverage of Gary Lineker's tweet. 

We believe our coverage of this story has been proportionate, fair and duly impartial.

BBC response to complaints about excessive coverage of Harry and Megan's Netflix series

While this may not be a story of interest to everyone, we believe our coverage has been
proportionate and duly impartial, reflecting public interest.

 

US imports

As well as the BBC's traditional 'summer of sport', our schedules (and the iPlayer) are being bolstered by a number of bought-in programmes. "Reframed: Marilyn Monroe" is a four part series coming to BBC2 that will be familiar to viewers of CNN, who made it in January 2022. "Home Sweet Rome" is a 13 part series starting on CBBC today, made by HBO 'in partnership with Europe's top broadcasters'.  Series 6 of "Snowfall" is from Fox Networks, heading straight to iPlayer, as does series 3 of "Couples Therapy" made for Showtime.   

Moving

Quietly, though mentioned here previously, the BBC's own measure of its weekly reach abroad has fallen. It's down to 447m, from 2021/22's figure of 492m - drifting further away from Lord Hall's target of 500m. 

Have another go ?  No, change the target. The management line now: "Our strategy is to increase valued reach with greater impact for audiences."   No, I've no idea what 'valued reach' is, or how you measure it.  

Blog post (post in blog)

There's a special sort of language the BBC brings out for quasi-legal reviews. I wonder if any readers from Deloitte recognise a house style in the use of brackets.... (I must get out more).  

The objective of the review is to assess the effectiveness of the current BBC policies and processes regarding non-editorial complaints and allegations (complaints) which come into the BBC..... 

The review will comprise the following steps:
i. Identify all the routes into the BBC where different types of non-editorial complaints may be made (the routes) and the relevant BBC policies and processes (processes) that are applied in handling these complaints.
ii. Assess the identified routes and processes. This will cover the processing and handling of different types of complaints including: receipt and triage, escalation, evidence gathering, co-ordination between business units, roles and responsibilities, governance and oversight.
iii. Gather specific learnings on the processes deployed in the recent presenter case.
iv. Identify areas of weakness relating to the complaints routes and processes. Develop prioritised actions for improvement.
v. Set out the findings of the review and management’s key remedial action plan to be implemented.

Thinking time

Many organisations use July and August to think of new strategies for a fresh start in September. Expect the merged BBC News channel to do the same.  It's turned into a lumpy porridge, with the UK version topped with bulletins and programmes you can already get elsewhere, sustained by the over-planned rotation of un-reformed BBC World output. Giving 'programmes' daft titles like 'News Now', 'The Daily Global' and 'Verified Live' makes the bland content more obviously bland. 

There is a continuing reliance on poor insight from 'think-tanks' and academics to pad things out (and to give the now highly-paid presenters something to do).  What seemed once like the dynamic use of Zoom is now a tired sign to switch to something richer (and, please, no more two or three contributor discussions, all sliced vertically.) These are now the cheap tools of TalkTV and GB News. BBC News, however financially challenged, must do obviously better. The engine of a 24 hour news service is surely a vital component of a 'digital' future, deserving much more prominence on iPlayer; 'live blogging' is, like silent movies, a thing of its time, but not the future. 

Michael on board

Michael Smyth CBE, KC (Hon) is to be the BBC non-exec for Northern Ireland, for at least the next four years. 

Michael (Royal Belfast Academical Institution and Clare College, Cambridge) was a solicitor with Clifford Chance for most of his working life. He's the author of "Business and the Human Rights Act", and has been a visiting Professor at Queen Mary's London and Essex. 

But there's a funkier side. Mrs Joyce Smyth (they met studying law at Clare, where Joyce ran the Folk Club) has been managing the Rolling Stones since 2011, and her company, Glastry has some £28m in the bank. Michael and two Smyth children seem to make up the board. Michael popped over to see the Stones in Lyon last year.   What I can't find is where Michael is based; presumably he's across the output ?

Scotland news

Ofcom's latest figures on 'news consumption' in Scotland make grim reading for the suits and sporrans at Pacific Quay. 

Their dedicated tv channel stands at No 11 in the chart of Top 20 News Sources used in Scotland - just behind Whatsapp and ahead of Channel 4. Reach for news on the channel has fallen from 24% in 2020 to 14% in 2023. 

When looking for news 'about Scotland', 33% put STV as their top source, followed by 26% for BBC1, 22% Facebook, and 10% BBC Scotland.  Scotland tops the UK Nations and Regions chart for those who say they're 'very interested' in news about their patch, at 51%, more than double the England figure of 25%.  

Direction

 Streams, channels and schedules - it's all a bit unpredictable on BBC News right now. 

The UK version of the BBC News channel gets a by-election special, with Jo Coburn, from 0005 to 0400. The North America version of the BBC News channel stays with News and Asia Business report, vital stuff for Yanks, from Singapore. 

On the billings for the News and Sport service of Radio 5Live, no mention of the by-elections, and no change to the schedules on Radio 4.  On BBC2, sometimes home to news-y things, they're filling until 3.20am, when Nigeria play Canada in the Women's World Cup. To keep you in that sporting mood, they're showing the 2019 'bad-nanny' thriller, Lullaby.  The rationale is odd, when BBC2 and BBC News find it ok to take the Campbell phone-in from Radio 5Live for two hours every weekday morning. 

The World Service offers 'Barbie in space' after a five minute bulletin at midnight. Politics might creep into The Newsroom at 0200.   Will there be a 'live page' for the results on BBC News Online ?  Who knows ? How can you tell ?

Meanwhile,  BBC Local Radio, which, you'd think, might be interested in the results at least on Radio Somerset, Radio York and BBC London, will have to rely on management, freelances and non-union staff to keep listeners in touch - the NUJ is staging a 24-strike from 11am today. 

Tripping fuses

The revelation that BBC News CEO Deborah Turness and Director of Journalism Jonathan Munro had recused themselves from making editorial decisions about coverage of the Huw Edwards story spreads concern about the quality of thinking at the top of the division. 

It suggests they were making editorial decisions during the Philip Schofield Overload; and it suggests that their stand-ins, Director of News Programmes John McAndrew and Director of News Content Richard Burgess sanctioned the Huw Edwards Overload. 

Compliance

After recent entanglements with the taxman in India, BBC Global News is looking to appoint a company secretary in Mumbai to "ensure compliance with all relevant statutory and regulatory requirements" and to "provide ad hoc support to the regional Finance Team on compliance reporting, for example Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) declarations and RBI compliances."

Candidates must be members of the Institute of Company Secretaries of India. 

Blockbuster

Is the budget for a BBC podcast drama bigger than the budget for a BBC radio drama ?

Wunderkind Radio 5Live and BBC Sounds Commissioner Dylan Haskins is just one of myriad names in the credits for "People Who Knew Me", a thirteen part offering based on Kim Hooper's 2021 novel about a mother from New York starting what she hopes is a new life in California, in the aftermath of 9/11. Very 5Live. 

There are three other BBC names credited in the delivery of this show.  Here's a full list... 

Written and Directed by Daniella Isaacs

Adapted from the original novel and Consulting Produced by Kim Hooper
Produced by Joshua Buckingham
Executive Producers for Merman: Sharon Horgan, Faye Dorn, Clelia Mountford, Kira Carstensen, Seicha Turnbull and Brenna Rae Eckerson
Executive Producer for eOne: Jacqueline Sacerio, Co-Executive Producer: Carey Burch Nelson
Commissioning Editor: Dylan Haskins
Assistant Commissioner for the BBC: Lorraine Okuefuna
Additional Commissioning support for the BBC Natasha Johansson and Harry Robinson
Production Executive: Gareth Coulam Evans
Production Manager: Sarah Lawson
Casting Director: Lauren Evans
Audio Production & Post-Production by SoundNode
Supervising Dialogue Recordist & Editor: Daniel Jaramillo
Supervising Sound Editor, Sound Design & Mix: Martin Schulz
Music composed by Max Perryment
Additional Dialogue Recording: David Crane, Martin Jilek
Assistant Dialogue Recordists: Jack Cook, Giancarlo Granata
Additional Dialogue Editing: Marco Toca
Head of Production: Rebecca Kerley
Production Accountant: Lianna Meering
Finance Director: Jackie Sidey
Legal and Business Affairs: Mark Rogers at Media Wizards
Dialect Coach for Rosamund Pike: Carla Meyer
Read in: Hannah Moorish
Stills Photographer: May Robson
Artwork: Mirjami Qin
Artwork Photographer: Sibel Ameti
Additional thanks to: Emily Peska, Caitlin Stegemoller, Sam Woolf, Charly Clive, Ellie White, Ellen Robertson, Kate Phillips, Ed Davis, Ciarán Owens, Jonathan Schey, Daniel Raggett, Jason Phipps and Charlotte Ritchie
A Merman / Mermade production for BBC Radio 5 Live & BBC Sounds

Unsurprising

Serious news, or an easy hit from the Levido playbook ? Many column inches this morning are devoted to the likelihood of 'a review of BBC funding', delivered by an unnamed ministerial source.  Are there, perchance, by-elections this week ?

The Charter runs out in 2027, and it is unthinkable that any Government wouldn't want a review well before then. Proper 'news' might take the form of fleshing out the review - independently-led ? to identify scope as well as revenue methods ? a panel, seeking wider consultation ? a timetable ?

John Whittingdale has plenty of 'previous' on this front...

Metallic

Amol Rajan starts as presenter of University Challenge on BBC2 tonight. Gone are Paxman's cards for questions; a tablet, presumably managed by someone in the gallery, encased in something that might have previously held large loose screws in an ironmonger's shop, carries the questions. Other ironmongery on prominent display; his gold Citizen kettle.  

Minder ?

As the BBC reflects on what happened to Huw Edwards, there are a number of question marks over safeguarding and care. 

Even before Huw went public with depression issues, there were many who knew he had 'black dog' episodes. In the management team, he had confidantes, who would listen and try to restore his fragile confidence. Normally, talent at that level has a News executive as a semi-nominated minder, to have regular coffees, lunches, to talk about future plans etc. Huw was clearly deeply concerned about 'what happens next'  on an almost daily basis throughout his career. The churn in BBC News management may have disrupted that tradition - but surely someone would have been delegated to keep an eye and ear on an expensive talent who'd told the world that sometimes he'd been so miserable he couldn't get out of bed ?

The rebirth of Huw as a 'silver fox' with a love of expensive sharp suits and leisure wear on Instagram (it was almost as if he had a personal photographer), a man not previously trendy, but now at home exchanging quips with the world on Twitter, may not have been cause for alarm bells to ring, but maybe a management minder might have picked up issues. 

Scarlet

The Sun told us on Thursday that it 'has no plans to publish further allegations' in the case of Huw Edwards. Meanwhile it's been reported that another wing of News UK has recorded interviews with the estranged parents of a man who's believed to have sold pictures to Mr Edwards.  A fee seems to be involved; presumably BBC News online will 'live page' the transmission, given their current form.

So far the reporter who started the story, Scarlet Howes, Senior Reporter with News UK, hasn't spoken in public on the matter, withdrawing from a promised interview with Times Radio.  Yesterday, she told her story of the interview with the parents. 

In 2015, she made a series of 'red carpet' interviews for YouTube and contributed a dozen film reviews to Upcoming. She left Lambeth College in 2016 with a 'gold' NCTJ qualification, acquired while working for the Hampstead and Highgate Express. 2017 was a freelance year, working for the Mirror, and reporting on hair salons ("I was left with the best blowdry I have ever had. But I was disappointed colour wise" and Cyprus Holidays ("I also had an amazing signature treatment by a therapist designed to de-stress me") for the London Economic.  The Mirror gave her harder fodder:"'Disturbed' teen carved his name on schoolgirl's arm before raping and stabbing her in horrifying graveyard sex attack". 

She was at the Mail on Sunday before joining News UK, and remains chums with their showbiz editor Katie Hind. 

Reunion of the bickering sisters @katiehind 😉 @MarkHookham pic.twitter.com/fsgW3sqSSs

— Scarlet Howes (@ScarletHowes) January 2, 2023

Despite her 'emo youth', she now favours Fleetwood Mac, The Rolling Stones and The Smiths, prefers duck to turkey at Christmas, and occasionally uses Twitter to complain, in a clearly non-bullying sort of way.

@DeliverooHelp I’m so angry order says delivered it’s not

— Scarlet Howes (@ScarletHowes) November 11, 2020

@UberEats what's your number? Disgraceful service

— Scarlet Howes (@ScarletHowes) November 7, 2020

@BarclaysUKHelp I am disgusted with the service . I have an urgent issue due to yourselves and have been trying to contact you since 9pm last night . This is outrageous .

— Scarlet Howes (@ScarletHowes) October 25, 2020

@virginmedia Hi - Why am I unable to speak to a member of the team in customer services ? I have an urgent issue. Thanks

— Scarlet Howes (@ScarletHowes) August 24, 2020

@Uber I was in a crash this morning as a passenger - which was the fault of the driver - could someone please contact me I have emailed the press office

— Scarlet Howes (@ScarletHowes) March 3, 2020

@love_prezzo I’m absolutely disgusted at how bad your food is in Spalding. Microwaved slop. Reheated pasta that is inedible.

— Scarlet Howes (@ScarletHowes) August 23, 2019

Al's about

Yes, Mr Alan Yentob was invited to take the BBC's position in a four-way debate on Newsnight about the Huw Edwards affair. Mr Adam Boulton, occasionally to be heard now on Times Radio, thought The Sun had a reasonable story; Sun columnist Rod Liddle, committed as ever to superlatives, thought The Sun had behaved impeccably throughout; Alan Yentob blithered, and a woman from Hacked Off plaintively asked why The Sun hadn't carried the original online photography salesman's claim that nothing bad had happened.  

No hiding place

Huw Edwards, in his series of mini-YouTube lessons on journalism for School Report, never got as far as 'jigsaw identification'.  It was getting easier everyday. First, agent Jonathan Shalit said the presenter didn't work in 'entertainment or sport'.  Then it was noted that Huw was dropped from the line-up of Thursday's One Show. His Instagram account was closed down, but on Twitter on Monday, Huw's account 'liked' supportive tweets from Jon Sopel and Adam Bienkov. Tim Davie was the first to mention 'employee' and 'member of staff'.  Huw famously among BBC high earners, has kept staff status throughout (despite his availability to present the Annual Concrete Building awards, etc). The BBC News team brought records of social media 'chats' between the presenter and one young man, which ended with indirect references to the Festival of Remembrance, presented by Huw in November 2018.  Two days ago Jon Sopel, a friendly rival for Huw at the BBC over the years, told us the still unnamed presenter was 'angry'. 

One hopes reputation lawyers Harbottle & Lewis didn't give Huw any real promises that this could end without the world knowing his name.  

Headless

Meanwhile... 

Albertine's, the wine bar that sustained more than its share of off-site shenanigans in the days when Television Centre was a television centre, has a new look. After 44 years, somebody has decided that the bottom of Wood Lane, W12, needs more flame-grilled chicken... 

Specialists ?

"BBC Local" has started to post jobs for "Core Journalists" that will deliver Rhodri and Jason's desired online eyeballs.  Some stations are still in the middle of the chaos caused by the duo's insistence on shedding existing staff they deemed incapable of re-training. 

When you look at the 'skills' required to be one of this new breed, it's hard to see how it wouldn't have been cheaper, nicer, and quicker to spend the redundancy fund on a few courses... 

Knowledge, Skills, Training & Experience
The ideal candidate will meet the following criteria;  
Have sound editorial judgement, making decisions on matters of editorial sensitivity under pressure.
You should be curious in your approach to delivering original journalism. 
Able to write clean, accurate and concise copy with quick turnaround times, for publication on the BBC website. 
Be familiar with social media in a news context and know how to make the most of various platforms to reach a range of audiences 
Understanding of SEO within a news context to help our stories reach the people most interested in and impacted by them. 
Comfortable with creating video content for social platforms, particularly aimed at younger and female audiences 
A keen eye for strong imagery to make stories standout online and be able do basic photo editing.

Decline

The Times has been doing some digging on BBC Scotland’s viewing figures, beyond the Annual Report. The channel reached 13% each week, down by 5 percentage points year-on-year, down from 21% the year before. 

The Times says the flagship news programme, the Nine averaged 12,000 viewers on Monday, compared with STV's News at Six with 21,000 viewers.  

Agenda

A collective sigh of relief from parts of the BBC newsroom could be heard, as an anodyne report on our banks ability to cope with stress knocked 'the presenter' off the lead story at 8am on Radio 4. 

The coverage of a clearly distressed and befuddled staffer's struggle to hang on to a career may well be proportionate to that given  to Philip Schofield, but that, in turn, was a misjudgement. 13 minutes filled the start of the BBC's 10 O'Clock News last night. 

Two alternative views... 

Famous person uses dating app. Links up with an adult. Nothing comes of it, they never meet. The adult threatens to write about it online. Famous person is very angry - lead item on @BBCNews

— alan rusbridger (@arusbridger) July 11, 2023

At 1900 BST I turn to a @bbcnews TV programme called the Daily Global for, well, global news, and get 20 minutes about …the @BBC…a tabloid story about one of its presenters. Future of NATO, Ukraine & Sweden only appears briefly after abt 23 minutes. News values?? Pathetic. A…

— Timothy Garton Ash (@fromTGA) July 10, 2023

More bits

The BBC missed an Ofcom-agreed target of 175 hours of new music and arts tv programmes, short by 44 hours. 

League table of cost per listener/viewer hour:
CBBC 39p
BBC Three 34p
BBC Alba 31p (up from 25p)
BBC Nan Gaidheal 28p (up from 23p)
BBC Scotland 19p 
BBC Cymru 17p (up from 12p)

Tom Fussell, CEO of BBC Studios, added a tasty £388k bonus to his £450k basic pay. 

New HR boss Uzair Qadeer got a £22k relocation package. 

Top-paid bosses not on the Executive Committee: Legal counsel Sarah Jones on £315k, and Chief Product Officer Storm Fagan, on £310k. 

Pro rata

Looking at 'daily rates' it seems to me that Fiona Bruce is the Queen Bee of News. 25 days newscasting and 40 Question Times averages at just over £6,000 a day, whereas Huw Edwards does 180 days, plus, say, 5 on specials, working out at £2,350 a pop. And whilst Huw's figures won't include stuff for S4C, Fiona's got the Antiques Roadshow as a generous side hustle. 

Reading the Annual Report so you don't have to....

For all the 'cuts', the number of people (full-time equivalent) employed across the BBC went up by 350 over the year, to 21,631. 

Spend on 'on-air' roles went up by by 7.6% in the year, to £139,759,000. 

The number of 'senior leaders' in the public service side went up from 234 to 242. 

The number of employees paid more than £150k from the licence fee went up from 179 to 220.

Restructuring costs (usually code for pay-off money) went up from £13m to £61m. 

The souped-up BBC Studios helped commercial income grow by 23%, to £1,115m. But the amount passed on to the public service broadcasting side of the business increased by just 3.3%, to £368m.

Spending on 'content distribution and support' went up by £74m, to £469m. 

Quietly the BBC's weekly reach around the world has gone down by 9%, to 447m from 492m, missing Tony Hall's target of 500m by 2022, set back in 2013.  

Topping the league table of trails carried in 2022/23 - Radio Wales, with 8,922 minutes - just over six days' worth.  Meanwhile Radio Cymru carried the most trails for itself - at 5,977 minutes, and the most trails for BBC Sounds and other stations, at 2,855 minutes.

The BBC has decided to write down the value of its 50.1% share in BBC America by £20m. 

Caversham, previously classified as an asset held for sale (£6 million), should finally be off the books in September. Other properties held for sale at 31 March 2023 include Elstree (£26 million) and Maida Vale (£2 million). [Has Mr Zimmer really paid £10m ?)

Guns

Meanwhile. 

Amol Rajan has a playlist on BBC Sounds of his 'University Anthems'. 

Included is 'Put it on' from 1995, by Big L, real name Lamont Coleman. In 1999, Lamont was shot nine times in the face and chest on West 139th Street, near Lenox, East Harlem and died from from his injuries. A sample of the lyrics that appealed to Amol in his heady years at Downing College, Cambridge:

I got the wild style, always been a foul child
My guns go "Boom, boom" and yo' guns go "pow pow"
I'm known to have a hottie open
I keep the shotty smokin'
Front, and get half the bones in your body broken
And when it comes to gettin' nookie, I'm not a rookie
I got girls that make that chick Toni Braxton look like Whoopi
I run with sturdy cliques
I'm never hittin' dirty chicks
Got 35 bodies, buddy, don't make it 36

Defensive

The answers may be very simple, but at the moment, the snippets of information we have don't add up. One suspects that BBC DG Tim Davie will stonewall at the media briefing for the BBC Annual Report, and one hopes the hacks will respect that position - there's plenty more to challenge the BBC about that's happened over the past 12 months. 

News channelling

Our more established tv news channels had a better June, in terms of monthly reach. The merged BBC News was back up to 12.1m, from May's 10.7m. Sky News was up to 9.3m from 8.67m. 

GB News was static, at 3.4m. TalkTV was up to 2.1m, from 1.77m. 

Size matters

And we've just got the minutes from the May meeting of the BBC's Audit and Risk Committee. They presciently report, with my underlining : The Committee noted the Whistleblowing Report. Overall case numbers were increasing and it was noted that this was having an impact on service level agreements, given both the size of the team managing investigations and the complexity of the issues. 

A busy enough period for the committee, with the Indian authorities hassling on tax compliance, Capita's data breach by cybernauts, and that bloke back chiselling bits off Prospero and Ariel at the front of Broadcasting House. To top it all, the E20 Project, rebuilding the EastEnders' set has gone to 'amber'.  

Board biffed

New RTE DG Kevin Bakhurst has suspended his whole executive board, on official day one in the job. The former Beeboid and recent Ofcom witch-doctor is clearly aware of how delays look....

Next

Contrary to this morning's newspaper headlines, I think Tim Davie is largely 'through' this current unpleasant crisis.  Key decisions about what happened in this relationship between a staff presenter, his alleged victim and their family, are now for the police; the Culture Secretary has deemed herself satisfied with the speed of what's happened since Thursday. 

The remaining problem is how the original complaint was 'triaged'. Who exactly did the family contact at the BBC on 19th May, and what did they do about it ?   The BBC has a reasonable record on tracking programme complaints, which are easier to understand, either by phone, email or letter. But did this complaint come to the department which directly employs the presenter, or to HR, or to the DG's Office - and why did it lie there for 48 days ? 

The family say this relationship has been going on since 2020 - it's entirely possible and reasonable that no-one at the BBC could have known about it. How the two came to connect matters - clearly the family describe a needy 17-year-old and a 'household' name. The BBC has to hope Auntie did not facilitate.

Agents

More news about agents. Three of Noel Kelly's clients have now dispensed with his services. Noel is the agent for chat show host Ryan Tubridy, whose secret top-up payments from RTE have hit the headlines and kicked RTE in the stomach. 

Ciara Kelly co-hosts breakfast on the commercial station Newstalk, and she says she's left Kelly "to remain impartial and fulfil my objective public service broadcasting remit". 

Lottie Ryan reports on entertainment for the pop channel RTE 2FM; she's been a 'brand ambassador' for Toyota. She said "My relationship with NK Management ended a number of weeks ago when we respectfully parted ways. I will not be making any further comment."

Ciara Doherty has also left Kelly: “As a presenter on The Tonight Show on Virgin Media Television, it’s important that I am able to cover news stories and ask probing questions of our guests with total impartiality on behalf of viewers and I have always done this. It is also important that viewers believe and trust me to be fully impartial. With this in mind, I have decided to part company with NK management.”

Last week RTÉ sports presenter Marty Morrissey revealed he had returned a Renault car to the company. In a statement, Mr Morrissey said he had been granted permission by RTÉ to host a number events at Renault garages throughout Ireland in 2017. He said he had not sought a fee for the engagements and instead was offered a car by Renault. Mr Morrisey said that following the controversy he reflected on his use of the car and decided it may have been an "error of judgement".

Why ?

Anyone else feel uncomfortable that a top agent and professor should be tweeting that he knows who it is ?

All the names being speculated are not the culprit. When the name is revealed all will be surprised. There are valid reasons why not revealed yet. It is NOT an Entertainment or sports presenter, so the many suggested should not be sullied in this way.
https://t.co/Hlc5rIjjDe

— Prof Jonathan Shalit OBE (@jonathanshalit) July 8, 2023

Hello again, Netflix

The latest weekly consolidated ratings from BARB have a rare appearance from Netflix in the Top 50, with 36th place and 2.59m for last year's film version of Matilda The Musical. Elton John topped the chart, with 8.37m for his Glastonbury appearance. BBC "News" is down the summer agenda, headed by one edition of the BBC Six O'Clock News at No 16, on 3.61m; Huws At Ten  follows at No 18, with 3.41m. 

The week's four episodes of EastEnders, currently being stalked as a potential basket case by the Daily Mail, spread neatly between 3.3m and 3.75m.

Everyone's an interviewer

Photographer Mary McCartney has been interviewed by River Cafe owner Ruth Rogers, at a "Women in Art" lunch in London to raise funds for BFAMI (British Friends of the Art Museums of Israel). In the audience, Ruth's bestie, Alan Yentob. 

Another Al

The latest attempt to enliven the weekend schedules of the BBC merged News Channel features Alastair Sooke going 'Inside Museums'. 

In a continuing battle to widen the range, diversity and socio-economic background of presenters, Al, 42, was a scholar at Westminster School, then a scholar at Christ Church Oxford, and moved through to an MA at the Courtauld Institute. At 14, he found time to play Kay Harker, in a BBC radio adaptation of The Box Of Delights, alongside a starry cast including Donald Sinden, Lionel Jeffries and Spike Milligan

Not on my watch

Andrew Neil, a short-term chairman and presenter at GB News, sends his eyebrows north at the number of Tory MPs interviewing Tory MPs at his former channel. 

"It has surprised me how tolerant Ofcom has been of this kind of stuff. Certainly, when I was involved in trying to put together GB News it never struck me that Ofcom would allow that sort of thing to happen.  Indeed, I always regarded Ofcom as something of an ally and keeping us within the bounds of proper mainstream broadcasting.”

“I'm just surprised at what Ofcom allows the channel to get away with.”  

 “I don’t think serving politicians should be allowed to present political programmes, not unless all the major parties are providing the presenters as well.”

Andrew was talking to Roger Bolton for his Feedback-in-exile podcast, Beeb Watch. 

Still talking

Guido Fawkes' suggestion that Rupert Murdoch had his hand on the chain attached to the plug keeping TalkTV afloat, and was about to pull it, has brought a firm denial from within News UK, supplied to the Daily Telegraph.  

It must be irritating to see the technically-maladroit GB News pull away from the slightly-more-polished Talk TV in the ratings; it will be annoying to Piers Morgan that his beloved stylist/director Erron Gordon has left TalkTV for GB News. It's perhaps odd that the astute Kate McCann, a talent to watch, prefers working for Times Radio over TalkTV. 

Both channels now have to get through the summer holidays, so you can expect more than a few new, nervous faces having a go at being a presenter - how hard can it be ?  

The printed word

I am endlessly surprised by the number of former colleagues who've turned to crime and thriller writing as a second career.  How they find the patience and guile to construct plots that surprise, in an overcrowded marketplace, is the mystery to me. 

Sometimes it means I get a look at a new book before publication, and I'm pleased to report Peter Hanington has got into an enjoyable page-turning groove with his veteran-but-unpredictable BBC hack William Carver series, and the third in the series, The Burning Time, is officially out today.  Sadly, his take on the menu at the Yorkshire Grey is a distance from reality, but otherwise, his take on the current mechanics of investigative journalism is on the ball. 

Another former oppo with a book is comedian/consultant Neil Mullarkey, who has brought improv into the world of business. In the days when the BBC did big 'awaydays', we booked Neil to enliven a chunky day-long session, and Mark Damazer, then BBC News' resident wise man, joined in from the start, gawd bless him. To see and enjoy BBC hacks trying the 'Yes, and...' approach to building on ideas was both genuinely funny and eye-opening.  Neil's new book is 'In The Moment'.

More Yanking

"The anticipated annual base salary for these positions ranges from $75,000 to $115,000.....  Any offer of employment with the BBC will be conditional upon you having the right to live and work in the U.S. (U.S. citizenship, permanent residency or work authorization). "  

A job ad for Home Page Editor, BBC News, Washington DC. Thus the Americanisation of BBC News continues, based on the idea that a British organisation can report the USA better than an American one. Forget that global perspective that made the BBC more interesting, would you ? 

BTW, thanks to the all-new-singing-dancing BBC product, BBC online recruitment, this job comes up top in the search list today, despite apparently closing on 29th June... 

Joanna

Messages of appreciation have been exchanged between the BBC's departing head of creative diversity, Joanna Abeyie and her employers - such love, it's hard to see why the journey is over. 

Dr Abeyie arrived as an interim in April last year, and was confirmed in post in October; it seems she's now decided she prefers her previous portfolio career of consultancy and recruitment; some of that may still involve the BBC. 

Here's how she got there... 

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Contemplation

On behalf of the world of culture and high art, we like to keep tabs on Alan Yentob. The picture below sees him, we hope, engaging with the balloon artwork of Yayoi Kusama (rather than having a kip). 'You Me and The Balloons' is on at Manchester's Aviva Studios. 

Odds and ends

• BBC-developed chef Tom Kerridge has got a show on ITV. The BBC have stood by him thick and thin, but everyone seem relaxed these days about cross-channel traffic - Holly Willoughby, Gary Lineker, Zoe Ball are among the big names who are now seen on both channels. The Daily Mirror has characterised this as 'presenter wars'. More likely there's accountants involved, with no-one confident about IR35 rules. The stars want to demonstrate that they are freelance, and the commissioners are helping. 
• Wimbledon has unnecessarily added eighties disco music to the inter-match results round-ups. 
• Evidence of summer: there was no news programme in the Top Ten tv shows for the week ending 18th June.  The BBC 6 O'clock News came in at No 15, on 3.3m. 
• The BBC wants a Senior Journalist, Digital News - Curation, to write a daily newsletter. They haven't yet approached me. 
• Saxton Bampfylde are still the preferred headhunters for the DCMS/BBC - asked again to find a new Chairman. Until 2018, Cynthia Hall (Lady), wife of Tony, worked there helping find top teachers. SB worked with Sarah Healey, previous top civil servant at the DCMS, on a civil service mentoring programme. 

Wilf

Sky News showrunner David Rhodes has turned to the Frost Dynasty to bolster his first schedule changes. 

Wilfred Paradine Frost, 37, is the son of Sir David Frost and Lady Carina Fitzalan-Howard, a daughter of the 17th Duke of Norfolk. Frost went to Eton and picked up a degree in PPE from St Edmund Hall, Oxford University.  He started in investment management, but joined CNBC as the co-anchor of Worldwide Exchange, first from London and beginning in 2016, from the United States. In 2018, he became co-host of CNBC's Closing Bell. Since March last year he's been depping around the Sky schedules, before today's takeover of the 1000am to 1130am slot, to be branded Sky News Today.  As Sky is part of Comcast, he's still an NBC/CNBC contributor.

If the cap fits...

Kevin Bakhurst, heading to Dublin this week, will be watching events in the Seanad. Independent senator Ronan Mullen has resurrected a bill which would cap salaries at RTE, in the light of the l'affaire Tubridy. He suggests no-one should earn more than the Minister for Communications, currently on €195,000. 

According to figures published by RTE, during 2021, outgoing RTE DG Dee Forbes had a basic salary of €225,000 and also enjoyed a car allowance of €25,000 which, along with pension contributions of €56,000, brought her overall package to €306,000.

Kevin's base salary as Content Director Ofcom was £225,750 - €262,699.76 at today's exchange rate. 

Taste

 Another tilt on the rudder at BBC America. This morning, three shorts featuring The Three Stooges, from 1935, 1938 and 1954.  Then it's back to that great British classic, Star Trek: The Next Generation, through till three episodes of Law and Order from 1995. 

Filler

 And this weekend, how may we leaven the dough of the global BBC News channel ?

Why not two showings of a cut-down interview with Nicole Kidman from January 2022 ?  Or perhaps a slice of a Storyville documentary from July two years ago, interviewing the parents of school shooters ?

Not quite the job it was

The Irish Mail says the Government wants to split up RTE, and make it concentrate on its 'public service' elements. RTÉ currently operates on a dual funding model, with 55% of its income - around €200m a year - coming from the licence fee and Government subvention. The remaining 45% comes from advertising and commercial activity.

It would mean selling off 2FM, RTE's equivalent of the UK's Radio 1, and perhaps closing tv channel RTE2.  The story says that the current board will have to go - and points out that this is the board that appointed Kevin Bakhurst to follow Dee Forbes. One Government source expressed concern over whether or not Kevin 'would have the credibility to take reforms forward'.

Debs

There's an entertaining and restrained piece on BBC News CEO Deborah Turness in the New Statesman, on the challenges she's facing, featuring the mildest of quotes from yours truly. Entertaining also that this relentless chariot driver of transparency was only able to contribute to the feature via email....