Turnessing 1

The Turness Administration at BBC News is in dire need of an intellectual consigliere. The latest round of cuts is maladroit, to say the least, making savings in the style of a small grocery chain dropping some stock lines and leaving some aisles empty.  Classy it ain't. 

HARDtalk, the half hour interview show that started with News 24 in 1997, is to go. It was sort of a British response to Larry King Live on CNN, designed to give a 24-hour news channel some heft, and something to pad out news-light late evenings and weekends. Over the years, with main presenters Tim Sebastian, Zeinab Badawi, Stephen Sackur, Sara Montague and Mishal Husain, it has found an eclectic range of guests. Not all have been frontline newsmakers - indeed, over the years, there have been fewer and fewer "big names", and more thinkers and commentators across the arts, global and regional politics.  

It would not be surprising if those driving the BBC News assault on US audiences wanted something different. The guest list majors on the UK, Europe, Africa and Asia; there is no obvious half-way house for adverts; the lead presenter is not blonde in the feminine sense. It's certainly something that makes BBC News look different to the other news channels in the United States, but then, as I have written before, the BBC in New York is selling its editorial brand down the river, paddling desperately towards an uncertain financial return. 

Against a background of high-minded stuff from Tim Davie, Keeper of the Candle of Journalism from the Dangerous Winds Blowing from Russia and China, the timing is grim. More posts follow....