Sunday, June 30, 2024

Interesting

Should the benighted voters of Clacton turn to Farage, then one future moment of amusement could be his declaration of interests as an MP. 

"The main purpose of the Register is to provide information about any financial interest which a Member has, or any benefit which he or she receives, which others might reasonably consider to influence his or her actions or words as a Member of Parliament."

Mr Farage is the sole shareholder in Thorn in the Side, a company which has moved forward from £3k in total assets in 2011, to £1,359,162 in the most recent accounts. He also has shares in Farage Media and the Reform Party Ltd. 

Just a small piece, please

One of the most heart-warming blogs about tea and cake has lain fallow for a while, but now I recommend that you take a look at Making People Happy With Cake again. 

Gill Edmonds started running the Garden Tea Rooms in the ground of Witley Court, with an accompanying blog in March 2010. Now she's contemplating her last season before handing on the cake slice. It'll be a right roller-coaster.... 

Proliferation

The ex-ITN team running BBC News are messing around dangerously with the speech radio ecology. Radio 5 Live, since its inception in 1994, has been "news and sport from the BBC". There's been the odd compromise - election nights have always featured one host from 5 and one from 4, in joint programming.  But otherwise the politico-tyros producing Radio 4 current affairs have been confined to their allotted hours. 

This time, the Today programme on results morning is being allowed to run on til twelve noon, and the World at One will run from twelve to two. Do you think at two they'll graciously trail 'continuing news coverage on Radio 5Live'. Nah - it'll be 'we're back with PM at 5'. 

Yet also during the election, we've had the hybrid "Sounds" election channel, which runs Today, Nicky Campbell, the soundtrack of Politics Live on tv, The World at One, more tv soundtrack, PM, The Six O'Clock Radio bulletin, more tv soundtrack, Newsnight. 

And even in the world of podcasts, we had "When It Hits The Fan x The Today Podcast x Newscast". Even a new Labour Culture Secretary might eventually recognise we have rather too many BBC staff ploughing the same furrow. 

Saturday, June 29, 2024

Tom Service restored

The problem that stopped Google Nest speakers understanding the instruction 'Play Radio 3' seems to have been resolved this morning. Now we just need to update the website....

Friday, June 28, 2024

Appropriate footwear

Researchers at the cutting edge of calceology and sociology have noticed that BBC DG Tim Davie honoured Rishi Sunak and Keir Starmer ahead of their debate in Nottingham, historical home of many cordwainers, by wearing 'real shoes'. Others felt that Deputy CEO of News, Jonathan Munro, heading for the last leg of what will undoubtedly be deemed election coverage triumph, was a touch too hugger mugger with the Labour leader. 

The overnight audience was a respectable 2.7m. 

Thursday, June 27, 2024

Three not so smart

"We're aware that BBC Radio 3 can't be accessed by voice command on Google speakers.  We are investigating the issue and will update this page when we know more."

This has been true since Monday - Google tries all sorts; an EP called 3 x 3 on Spotify, streaming Radio 1, or Radio 1 Dance.  It then suggests using other devices, or plaintively says "I don't understand". 

Vincent Duggleby

Charles Vincent Anstey Duggleby MBE (born 23 January 1939) has died. He was educated at Blundell's School in Tiverton, and Worcester College, Oxford. At 18, he was reporting on rugby union for the Bristol Evening Post (his uncle was chairman and managing director).  

In 1963, he joined the Radio Sports Unit at the BBC, and was soon presenting "Sports Session", on the BBC Home Service, a Saturday evening round-up after the Six O'Clock News, which lasted for him until 1966. He was host of the London edition; there were variants around the UK. He also found to present a number of editions of "Playtime", records for young people on The Light Programme. 

In 1969 he fronted the whole Saturday afternoon of live sport, then called "Sport Service" which came, bizarrely, on Radio 3, ending with Sports Report. He was then also deputy editor of the show, supporting Angus Mackay, and presented a BBC record of highlights when the show reached 21 years. 

In 1970, Saturday afternoon sport moved to Radio 2, presented by Peter Jones; there was also a re-organisation in the air, with sport and outside broadcasts to merge. Vincent moved to news and current affairs, as deputy editor of The World Tonight team, which also produced Newsdesk.  

In 1974, he launched the sub-brand The Financial World Tonight. In my brief encounters with him, I learned that he had purchased at least a dozen of the same grey suit at once, stored carefully in a garage, because he wasn't going to change size, and inflation was on the up. 

In 1975, he published his great collectors oeuvre, English Paper Money, which was later to have 10 editions.  It gave the world 'Duggleby Numbers', his own cataloguing system. 

In 1977 came Radio 4's Money Box, hosted by Peter Hobday and Louise Botting.  By the 1980s, Vincent was often a panellist, and eventually Vincent eased his way back into the presenter's chair, alternating with Paul Lewis. 

In 1984 came the book "Making the Most of Your Money", co-authored with Louise Botting. In 1985, he was a member of the Royal Mint Advisory Committee. In 1989, when the Financial World Tonight moved to an earlier slot on Radio 4, Vincent hosted the Financial Week on Fridays.   In 1990 came Money Box Live.

The presenting gigs at Money Box lasted for Vincent until 2013. He was also writing on personal finance for The Independent, rather frankly discussing his daughter's mortgage prospects amongst other things.  


Easy does it

New Controller Radio 3 Sam Jackson seems to have executed a schedule shake-up without alarum. 

Sean Rafferty is set to leave In Tune in April next year - when he'll turn 78. Born in Belfast, he was adopted by a couple of 'fiendish golfers' who brought him up near the Royal County Down course in Newcastle. After boarding school and a law degree from Queen's, Belfast, he tried three years in accountancy, before a gear change to researching on radio magazine programmes for the BBC. His first network Radio Times credit was as a reporter for the weekly edition of Woman's Hour produced in Northern Ireland, interviewing the Countess of Enniskillen.  

I met him when I was a news trainee in 1974, when he was presenting "PM Ulster", which opted out of "PM" at 5.30, until 6pm. He was regarded then as a 'voice', and, when the programme had a big political interviewee, a local headteacher was called in to conduct it. He rotated between tv and radio, and, of course, was allowed to do all the interviews when given his own chat show, Rafferty. 

In 1997 came the move to London, to host In Tune, and sold his south Belfast home in Colenso Parade, overlooking the Botanic Gardens. But he also bought a grand 'cottage' in Croaghan, Donegal, on the banks of Lough Swilly 'on an impulse', without a survey (despite hosting a BBC Northern Ireland property renovation show).  At the millenium, Peter Mandelson, then Secretary of State for Northern Ireland was a house guest. 

Petroc Trelawny, 53, moves into the Rafferty-share of In Tune, alongside Katie Derham. He will have presented at breakfast for 27 years - a remarkable innings. Radio 3 Breakfast moves to Salford, to be hosted by Tom McKinney (RNCM guitar, and Musicology, Manchester University) from Penkhull, Stoke. He likes birdwatching. 


Wednesday, June 26, 2024

Supercharged

More insight into why the BBC News website is obsessed with clicks. Digital Director Naja Nielsen told a conference in Copenhagen last month: "We used to be very big, in people’s lives, but now every, every click and engagement has to be fought for". 

And, say it quietly, the competition is 'newspapers'.  Naja says we have been "learning from other newspapers … and have supercharged our digital content."

"We were looking at New York Times, and thought, ‘Oh, that’s really smart; they’re creating a bundle.’ And then we realised we already have a bundle – it’s more about how we are showing that to the audiences."

So, for example, this morning, where you might expect a summary of the most important news items for a UK audience, you get a self-penned promo for the Leader's Debate tonight, and "an adorable moment" at Glastonbury. 



Tuesday, June 25, 2024

Tips off

I think it was my old BBC sparring partner Alan Ashton who introduced racing tips to Today, in late 1977.  Alan had been sent in as deputy editor to Ken "Two Dinners" Goudie, with the duo tasked to rebuild the show after the disastrous "Up to the hour".   

Garry Richardson and Steve May were the sports reporters at the time, and both racing enthusiasts. Alan and Garry kept up their friendship in the 2004 Ascot Tipster Challenge, covered on a fledgling BBC website.  Alan did better than Garry and Steve together.

There was a theory that somehow this daily mention of the sport of kings helped with tv rights to cover racing. But the BBC had already started a drift away from live coverage, which reduced to just 13 days in 2010.  And the idea of a quid-pro-quo was a bit too strategic in 1977. 

I spent rather too much time as a sub-editor at CEEFAX helping our one sports sub type in racing results. We provided intermittent tips on big meetings - the only internal commitment was that we had to back them ourselves, usually with a trip to the bloke in the costume department's ironing room, who offered bookie's odds on site at TVC. 

Monday, June 24, 2024

Dash for growth

 In today's "Features and Analysis" section of the BBC News website... 









It's credited to Samuel Spencer, Senior Journalist. He describes his current job very frankly on Linkedin: "Writing SEO-friendly supplementary news, features and interviews for the BBC website to support the release of the hottest new BBC Three shows."

Look both ways

Bang in the middle of last night's Scotland game came an example of the internal strategic struggle at the BBC, where Public Service Tim is in constant dialogue with Marketing Tim. 

It was a 20" trailer for "Explosive US Drama" available on iPlayer. It builds on the ITV-irritating acquisition of "Suits", featuring up and coming actress Meghan Markle, and also features clips from The Dropout and Snowfall. 

This is an extract from Tim's most recent 'big thinking' speech, in March. 

"The BBC is a growth and innovation fund for the UK and we want to do even more to back British storytelling. This is not an insular strategy. We are a global brand. But as someone who ran BBC Studios, I can tell you that our most successful approach is to focus on our point of difference: authentic British stories produced beautifully, not worrying too much about an abstract notion of global appeal."

Just before the late evening news, a trail for The Traitors US. 

  • By the way, can someone in Sport explain why BBC1 viewers got match commentary from Steve Wilson and James McFadden, and viewers to BBC1 Scotland got Liam McLeod and Neil McCann ?


Sunday, June 23, 2024

Boosters

Yet more evidence of the self-promotion that is wrecking the BBC News website. Since early this morning, the 'lead' story has been a trail for Laura Kuenssberg's BBC1 interview programme - both on smartphones and the website. 

Radio 4 has been correctly leading with the Sunday Times scoop on the behaviour of the Conservative Party's Chief Data Officer, a job title redolent of compliance, rules, trust and transparency.  The website has it nestling just above the fold. 



Saturday, June 22, 2024

Stay classy, Naja

 A Saturday tea-time check in with the digital thrusters at BBC News (the UK website) to see how they winning the weekend.

"Upset PLT customers banned over too many returns"

‘Insane’ journey for NI supermodel from grammar school to Dior. 

More fashion: Diane von Furstenberg on 'magic' wrap dress and fearlessness. This is from an interview by Katie Razzall, plugging an Disney Plus/Hulu documentary, called Diane Von Furstenberg: Woman In Charge. Can it be only last weekend we had Emma Vardy interviewing Celine Dion, plugging an Amazon Prime documentary,  I Am: Celine Dion ?

Elsewhere: Sheryl Crow: 'Resurrecting Tupac with AI is hateful'. An odd line from an interview promoting her latest album. 

Escaped pet donkey found 'living best life' with elk. 

Lead feature: Penis cancer cases increasing: Brazil sees 6,500 amputations in a decade

Friday, June 21, 2024

BBC News' naked hunt for clicks

Am I really on my own here thinking this is pretty shameless number-boosting by BBC News Online ? Top 5 most watched at 1430 BST.





At Number 4 "Nude swim club wants more female members" (original headline "Naturist swimming club wants more women members") is from June 2019. 

At Number 5 "Hundreds of people strip naked by the Dead Sea" is from October 2021, about a living art installation by Spencer Tunik". 

Politics v Football

The Question Time leaders' special maintained an average audience of 2.5m; not bad considering decent weather, and presumably helped a little by inertia from the preceding England Denmark match, which averaged 8.1m. An average of 4.2m preferred the Italy/Spain clash on ITV, over Fiona and Her Audience. 

First year deficit

We now have the first set of minutes from the full BBC Board under new Chair Samir Shah, held in March. It's an extraordinary eight pages, obviously constructed with the guiding hand of secretary Phil Harrold, in which gnomic utterances covered in a thick wash of corporate burble tell us very little indeed. 

Here are the odd factoids that crept it. 

Directors discussed how the business might approach the delivery of an additional 170 million pounds worth of annual savings by 27 /28.

Directors also considered and agreed the proposal to explore a number of options designed to create additional value for the BBC.

The Board approved the BBC budget for 2024-25 noting the significant projected deficit for that year.



Thursday, June 20, 2024

New tricks

The drive for growth at BBC Studios continues apace. You can earn up to £110k plus a 25% bonus as Senior Manager, Business Development, New Business.   Here's the word salad: 

"Working closely with the production units, the role will share industry knowledge and intelligence to maximise the value of the content, steering development activity and engaging in production plans as appropriate. The role will maximise and manage the value of the Business Unit’s intellectual property in the domestic and international marketplace and support the development of exploitable IP by providing market insight and building, maintaining and managing first class relationships with key commercial partners and customers. "

You will work closely with the VP of News Business, presumably close enough to check some of his or her spellings.....



Wednesday, June 19, 2024

Challenging

Mark Byford has resigned as senior non-executive member of Winchester Cathedral Chapter. 

 "As a matter of both deep reluctance and deep disappointment, I have decided I should stand down as the Senior Non-Executive Member of Chapter at Winchester Cathedral. I have given a great deal of thought, and, indeed, prayer in relation to this move recently."

"Unfortunately, and with great sadness, I have come to the conclusion that it is in the best interests of the Cathedral, myself and associated relationships within Chapter, that I take this course of action. I will not be making any further comment at this time and I would be grateful if this can be respected at such a challenging period both for the Cathedral and myself." 

His departure seems to have triggered more action. A spokesperson for The Bishop of Winchester, Philip Mounstephen, said: “On Tuesday, June 18 the Bishop of Winchester was informed of the resignation of the senior non-executive member of Winchester Cathedral Chapter. In the light of that significant development in the Cathedral's governance, the Bishop has decided to commission an independent review, under the terms of the Cathedral's Measure 2021, into the events that have led to this.”

Events leading up to this hoo-ha include the apparent ousting of the Cathedral's Director of Music Andrew Lumsden in May, after 22 years in post. It had the look of a resignation, but there've been rumours of settlements and non-disclosure agreements, and questions about the actions of The Precentor, Canon Andy Trenier.  Canon Trenier has "particular responsibility for the organisation, development and delivery of the liturgy and music of the Cathedral".  

Mr Byford has been a member of the Chapter since 2017. His bio says "He chairs the Cathedral’s Nominations Committee and inputs strategically on communications via the Editorial Group. He is also a listening voice on Chapter for the Volunteer Section Heads who coordinate the Cathedral’s 800+ volunteer community. He brings to Chapter extensive experience of high-level leadership and management."

Traditionally, in most organisations, the senior non-executive soaks up bullying claims and whistleblowing. 


Please release me

The BBC's Group General Counsel Sarah Jones made a very rare appearance in the witness box yesterday. 

She was being questioned at the Field House Tribunal Centre, just off Fetter Lane; the BBC is defending withholding a range of documents from journalist Andy Webb, all relating to l'affaire Bashir. And here's a funny thing; she wishes some more information had been shared with Earl Spencer at an earlier stage in the investigation: 'I accept that there should have been some consultation with Earl Spencer. If we had, events would have unfolded very differently. I very much wish we had shown him, but we didn't.'

Nonetheless, the BBC maintains it has redacted and released all it can; Webb claims the latest batch of 3,400 emails were so heavily redacted that they were "effectively worthless."  

Some, of course, may fall under the legal privilege of communications between lawyer and client, and Sarah has so far invested close to £450k on external support, most of it from Blackstone Chambers. Their Top Gun, Monica Constance Gunnel Carss Frisk KC, told yesterday's hearing, that Webb is “making very serious allegations on a speculative basis”.

Sarah (Sutton High School and BA Law, Lincoln College, Oxford) has been with the BBC for 28 years and is on £315k+.  The BBC will be back in front of the tribunal on Friday. 


Success at all costs

The layers of new jobs required to deliver the BBC's bid to conquer the USA increase, it seems, week by week. 

Here's this week's offering, at $70k-$75k in Los Angeles: The Client Success Manager (CSM) oversees program execution and performance, delivering exceptional service to BBC Advertising clients. The CSM will lead campaign processes, coordinating and ensuring successful delivery to drive renewals and continued investment. Success in this role is measured by revenue growth and increased client renewals.

Complied

Here's something unusual. On the carefully-curated BBC News homepage this morning - Times-branded content writ large. 














"This podcast has been acquired by the BBC. It's not complied [sic] by BBC editorial standards, but covered by the OFCOM Broadcasting Code."






Tuesday, June 18, 2024

A sniff of the BBC by the sea

Here's your chance to acquire Walber House, in Walberswick, designed by architect and painter George Val Myer when he was just 22. Val Myer went on to be the architect for Broadcasting House, starting on the project in 1927.  The 1906 Suffolk house is included in Pevsner's 'The Buildings of England' series. A snip at £2.75m.




Pushed aside

The irritating way BBC News uses social media alerts to promote programmes is still in the pending tray at board level. 

Minutes of the Editorial Standards Committee from March, just published, show they've had a report from their adviser, former Newsnight hack David Grossman, and it's on the back burner. 

7. Senior Editorial Policy Adviser’s Report

7.1 The Committee noted the Senior Editorial Adviser’s report and agreed that a session on the use of push notifications should take place at a future meeting. 

Recommendations (continued)

The flying trampoline is Number 1 on the BBC News Tik Tok feed. Public service broadcasting at its finest. 


Recommendations

It's grand to know that the seasoned and well-stocked minds of those journalists curating the BBC News at home and abroad have the simple interests of the audience at heart, and can recommend this extraordinary recording of a children's trampoline being blown away in high wind. Wait til they get first pictures of bears in woods - a global lead to follow, surely... 



Monday, June 17, 2024

Roger, Sir Roger

I missed a tangential BBC gong - Roger Wright CBE, about to step down as Chief Executive of Britten Pears Arts, was knighted. He was a successful Controller of BBC Radio 3 and the Proms, but resigned the day before the appointment of Bob Shennan as the first ever Director of Music back in 2014. His departure paved the way for the arrival of Alan Davey from Arts Council - Alan and James Purnell had previously worked together at the DCMS. 

Sunday, June 16, 2024

Sharp focus

It seems to be the misfortune of Richard Sharp to have his late career development subject to so much scrutiny. The Times believes that Rishi Sunak tested the water with those who rule on the appropriate people for peerages with the name of his old Goldman Sachs mentor, and they found Mr Sharp wanting in some respect. So he won't be in the list of new Lords that goes with the dissolution of Parliament. But he might pick up something 'smaller' in the inevitable Sunak resignation list. Subject, of course, to the approval of Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer

Saturday, June 15, 2024

Gongfest

Quite a haul for BBC connections in the second King Charles' Birthday Honours. Topping the list is an even grander Damehood for Jenny Abramsky, now 77, who left the BBC in 2008 as Director of Audio & Music, to be replaced by Tim Davie. She was first made a Dame in 2009. The citation: Media Producer and Philanthropist. For services to Arts, to Media and to Culture. For many years she sat on the Arts & Media Honours Committee - now BBC chair Samir Shah is on that committee.

It's never really clear whether or not Alan Yentob, also 77, has left the BBC, but he's now a CBE. Barbara Slater, officially replaced this week as Director of Sport, is upgraded from OBE to CBE. Roy Noble, still hosting a Sunday show on Radio Wales at 81, also becomes a Commander of the Order of the British Empire, after his 2001 OBE for charity work.  

Nick Owen, formerly of Anne and Nick, and still fronting Midlands Today, becomes an MBE. He says opening the letter was a 'real wow moment'. 

There's an OBE for Di Spiers, Audio Executive Director for Books, BBC. Di's first radio credit was for abridged Woman's Hour serials in 1994.  She produced the first ever Book of the Week and has directed scores of Book at Bedtimes, dramatisations and short stories, as well as an active producers of radio book club shows. She's been a driver of the BBC National Short Story Award since it began in 2005, is the returning judge on the panel and is also behind the BBC Young Writers Award. 

Former BBC business and technology correspondent Rory Cellan-Jones joins the OBE.

Ally Castle, who's worked previously for the BBC as both an audience planner and disability consultant, gets the MBE for services to inclusivity and diversity. As does her consultant partner, Tanya Motie, who worked for the BBC in various roles for 26 years. 

More tangentially, the BBC can claim an interest in Armando Iannucci, Amy Dowden and Rose Ayling-Ellis. 


Friday, June 14, 2024

Transition

 "Dear  XXXX 

My name is Alex and I joined the BBC this week as Director of Sport – I'm delighted to be here and feel spoilt rotten arriving at a time like this...."

The opening of an email to all BBC staff from Alex Kay-Jelski, 'onboarding' today. He's feeling spoilt rotten because he's joining at the start of 'an incredible summer of sport', not just plain rotten because a piece he wrote back in 2019, published in The Times has incurred the wrath of J K Rowling, Sharron Davies, the Daily Mail and many others. This is not referenced in his introductory email. 

Inertia

Someone at BBC News must be able to explain why old stories so often hit the top 5 most watched; or maybe they're just sitting back enjoying the clicks from the long tail. 




Number 3 is from February 2023, in Nations & Regions' extensive library of police dashcam footage  Number 5 is from US police helicopter footage of a car chase in September 2023. 

Company news

Tracking whose money pays for what in BBC News was always difficult, making sure that 'internal trading' between Foreign Office-funded World Service output and licence-fee funded domestic news was at least moderately transparent and explainable. It's been less of an issue since the licence-fee took over responsibility for the major part of World Service output. 

The complexity has increased with the drive to conquer The USA, via bbc.com, FAST channels, apps, and subscription offers - and this year, in India, a 'third-party' company had to be created by the BBC to keep broadcasting in line with new government rules. 

So now a big new brain is required to keep all this stuff 'compliant'. He or she will be call 'Divisional Company Secretary'. BBC News is clearly not a company within a company, though many in other divisions think it acts like one, and will cite this as yet more evidence.  

  • There is still a BBC News Ltd, which was set up in 2000, to exploit the supply of news services to mobile phones. In its first published accounts, two years later, it reported a loss of £12 on a turnover of £107,500. It 'ceased trading' in 2003, though accountants have been keeping the dormant shell ticking over - currently it has a single director, Peter Ranyard, Assistant General Counsel and Head of Commercial Legal.

Hello sailors

Taking product exploitation to the high seas, BBC Studios has moved into the field of on-board entertainment, in collaboration with Saga Cruises. Leading the line: Strictly Professionals, including Luba Mushtuk and Vito Coppola;  Dame Maggie Aderin-Pocock DBE, branded Sky At Night, doing two talks per voyage;  evolutionary biologist and stand-up Ella Al-Shamahi previewing her 2025 BBC2 series 'Human'; and special effects expert Kate Walshe  'taking you behind the scenes of Dr Who and Silent Witness' and showing how to turn an ordinary man into a gruesome vampire before your very eyes. 

Thursday, June 13, 2024

Out of order

It's hard to judge a political inflection point, but yesterday may have been one - the day the Tories made public their inner fears that Reform UK might beat them into third pace in the total vote share. Grant Shapps coined 'supermajority', to argue that all Tories must vote Tory; the Mail thought it was important too.

It was the lead on the BBC 6pm news on Radio 4, talking about an apparent concession of likely defeat from a senior minister.

However, over on BBC1 at 6pm, the fresh debate around 'supermajority' was the second headline.  A backgrounder on crime from Middlesbrough by newly-appointed UK Editor Ed Thomas took pride of place, apparently driven there by the Turness Outreach Project 'Your Voice, Your Vote.' 

This was a strong piece which should have teed up a four-party discussion about solutions. It was, in tv terms, 'sexy'; we're clearly meant to gasp as one of the masked youths interviewed by Ed produced a large knife. But 'news' is about recency, and it was not a lead. Crime figures were a top story in January when annual figures were totted up. One might have asked what progress has been made since 2020's review.  One didn't. 



 

Wednesday, June 12, 2024

Beer coming

The on/off delivery of alcohol at the new BBC Club area in Broadcasting House has been resolved. Lawyers representing BBC Club Sports and Leisure Ltd told Westminster City Council that an application for a 24-hour licence had mistakenly been filed by an employee they said worked on it alone.

Now a licence to order drinks up to 11.30pm and listen to live music until midnight most nights has been approved. 

Unfortunately, the venue is likely to be off-limits for much of the election campaign, with the area taken over a spin-room for the election broadcasts in the adjacent Radio Theatre. 

Tuesday, June 11, 2024

Top Three

 Old news keeps its prime place on the BBC News website, at 1450 BST




The 'fireball' is from September 2023. The 'shocking video' is from October 2023. The crashing cars are from July 2023. All three are attributed to bits of the BBC England team, enhanced by cuts to BBC Local Radio. 

Leaders

Some may not notice. Tonight's planned Panorama/Nick Robinson interview with Nigel Farage, scheduled for 10.40pm, has been replaced by an episode of Tokyo Vice called 'Consequences'.  'Diary confusion' is the reason given.  Meanwhile previous loose end Sir Keir Starmer has been slotted in at 7.30pm this Friday. 

Last night Rishi adopted his Chatbot approach to questions; Nick Robinson didn't get under his skin, despite a number of provocative "Come off it" approaches. Suspect the figures will not be spectacular...

1430 update: Last night's 8pm ratings

BBC1 - Rishi Sunak interview - 1.4m
BBC2 - Springwatch - 1.5m
ITV - Corrie - 3.5m
Channel 4 - Bake Off - 1.2m
Channel 5 - Motorway Cops - 1m

Monday, June 10, 2024

May figures

The latest BARB monthly figures are in, and GB News paddled along in May, with a four-week reach of  3,136,000, a little up from April's  3,037,000, but down on last May's 3,395,000.

The BBC News channel will be pleased with 10.9m, up from 10m. Sky News was steady, at 7.56m, compared with 7.6m in April. 

Saturday, June 8, 2024

Not slotting in ?

The BBC have published their list of party-leader-interviews-with-Nick-Robinson, without slot for Sir Keir Starmer. An outsider might say this is the BBC trying to bounce Labour into coming to the wicket. Keir's broadcast specialist is Matthew Doyle (BA History and Film Studies, University of East Anglia), who worked for Labour on the 2001 and 2005 General Elections, then as an adviser to David Blunkett and Tony Blair, followed by five years in The Office of Tony Blair. Then came a spell spinning in Europe for David Miliband's International Rescue, before joining Sir Keir in 2021. 

Could he be being difficult - over day and slot ? Surely not in principle ?

Talking things up

Forgive me, but this 'tweet' reads like old-fashioned boosterism, that perhaps even Amol wouldn't accept from a politician without some statistical support. Perhaps the transparency wing of BBC journalism can help us out with some real listening figures. 


Thursday, June 6, 2024

Out of order

Here's a puzzle. Thanks to PodNews, I've found the Edison Top 25 Podcasts in the UK based on reach for Q1 2024 among weekly podcast listeners age 15+.

The highest ranking BBC production is Desert Island Discs, at No 15, with Newscast at 18, Uncanny at 20, The Archers at 21, and You're Dead To Me at 24. 

The BBC Sounds figures for the same quarter (measuring only BBC product) put Just One Thing, with Michael Mosley, as their No 1 podcast - it doesn't feature in the Edison chart. Newscast is second, with Things Fell Apart at three and You're Dead To Me at four. 

The BBC figures consider Desert Island Discs to be an on-demand programme, but in their chart it comes third behind The Archers, and Whodunnits, which doesn't feature in the Edison chart. 

How lists work

Good to know that BBC Studios in the United States uses the Lippin Group to promote its work and people....


Onboarding

I haven't been monitoring consistently, but heard "Give us a sense" from Emma Barnett on Today, R4, this morning c0715. 

Then, in the normally tightly scripted moment after the 0800 pips, she ad libbed "Good to have your company". Do we feel flattered ?

Wednesday, June 5, 2024

Still old news

The auto-play feature on the BBC News website is still bringing old news to the front... (1000am BST)




The wind turbine story is from 12th December 2023; the runway repair is from 1st December; "Scotland's infamous road" is from 28th August 2020. 

Starmer on points

YouGov were out of the traps first

Leaving aside your own party preference, who do you think performed best overall in tonight's debate ?
(excluding 'don't knows') (1657 surveyed)
Sunak 51%
Starmer 49%
(with 'don't knows')
Sunak 46%
Starmer 45%
Don't know 9%

But.. Savanta
Who won the debate ? (1,113 surveyed)
Starmer 44%
Sunak 39%
Don't know 17%

JL Partners (957 surveyed)
Who, in your view, performed best in the debate ?
Starmer 53%
Sunak 33%
Don't know 13%

Mental arithmetic

ITV producers tried to turn the first big leaders' debate of this campaign into a game show last night, and headgirl Julie Etchingham was strict but a little unfair. Rishi Sunak yapped round Keir Starmer's ankles with his £2,000 tax rise claim - a direct inheritor of the Brexit "£350m a week" nonsense.  For no apparent reason, Sir Keir decided to wait for later rounds to declare the claim 'garbage'.  He's not great on figures - was he waiting for an ad break to consult on his response ?

I haven't reviewed the whole tape, but Julie rather allowed Sunak's dodgy ring technique, ending each 45 seconds with a challenge to Starmer, saying "Answer him directly please". 

Today it's clear the memorable claim, used by Rishi as "signed off by the Treasury" despite clear and timely advice to the contrary, is a tax rise of £500 per working household per year; try comparing that with the Sunak freezing of personal allowances in 2021, which has brought 3.2m into paying income tax for the first time. If the allowance had been allowed to rise in line with inflation, it would have moved from £12750 to £15255 this year; at the basic rate of 20%, it means every individual on the tax man's list is paying £500 more this year thanks to Rishi. 

Tuesday, June 4, 2024

Promotion

The person curating the BBC News landing page (c1230 BST) thinks the Glastonbury order of play is one of the top stories we ought to know about. It scores in several directions - the BBC is covering Glastonbury, and the item counts as "Somerset" in the Nations & Regions Scoreboard Justifying De-Localising Local Radio. 



Wider still

We note that the latest poll by JL Partners gives Labour a 17-point lead over the Conservatives, after their headline winning previous figure of 12 points. 

Monday, June 3, 2024

Making it clear

There's a tradition, if not always observed, in the UK for big websites to flag 'advertorials'; items with a bit of the look and feel of 'news' that are actually promoting products or services. 

Here's a couple, from the main landing page of the Mail Online, from 1030 BST today... 











The UK version of the BBC News site doesn't carry ads, but there are nearly always stories that point the reader to other BBC output... 








Is this news or a plug for a BBC World Service/Panorama investigation ?

Over the weekend, this was in the 'news' rail. Is it a plug for Desert Island Discs (or is Desert Island Discs a plug for Ms Wilson's memoir, "Rebel Rising") ?.





Meanwhile, a regular reader sends this snapshot of BBC News as viewed from Florida. The two stories about Amazon across the middle are 'ads'. Can you tell ?











Sharp-eyed readers may spot the clue in the top right above one image. 








Is this the 'transparency' that's going to uphold BBC editorial values in the USA ?

Sunday, June 2, 2024

A different world view

No UK Election, Trump or Gaza in the ten most recent posts on the BBC News Facebook page (61 million followers)

North Korea floats more rubbish-filled balloons over South Korean border

How UK's 'fastest' rollercoaster ground to halt within day of opening

Race Across The World winners reveal how they'll spend cash prize

Can you imagine a year without summer?

How Google's new algorithm will shape your Internet

Controversial legacy of Eminem's alter ego Slim Shady

Why are Alaska's icy blue rivers turning orange?

We have no Plan B if Ukraine falls, Estonian PM says

Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt's daughter files for name change

Luke Littler wins in under 10 minutes on dream US darts debut



Saturday, June 1, 2024

Informing the democratic process

How's the outreach work going on, say, BBC News' Instagram service (27.6m followers) ?  Nothing about the UK General Election in the first twelve items..... 














or the next twelve





















or the next twelve....
























or the next twelve....



Other people who read this.......