Lonely

The BBC is still picking over the scabs after the sale of Lonely Planet travel guides by BBC Worldwide. A report by BBC non-executive director Brian McBride (also chairman of online fashion shop ASOS) reveals as well as losing £80m on the resale, the BBC spent £20m trying to improve things - making total losses up there with the Digitial Media Initiative.

Lonely Planet seems now to be chugging along quite nicely, and the BBC news website, like many others, leapt on its 2014 list of best places to visit. It shed 80 jobs (out of 450) when taken over by Nashville-based NC2 Media earlier this year, but is now recruiting in both London and Nashville. In September NC2 bought Passport to Adventure, which has produced programmes for US public tv for nearly 20 years.

Directors of NC2 Media include two names that will be familiar to BBC journalists outside London: Michael Rosenblum, who spent many years proselytising around local and regional newsrooms about VJs - video journalists - and his partner Lisa Lambden, 17 years with the BBC, whicn ended rather acrimoniously in 2007.  

NC2 is funded by Brad M Kelley, of Franklin, Tennessee, the fourth biggest private landowner in the States. He made his millions in cigarettes, but now is more interested in thoroughbred racehorses and conservation.

Now you see it ...

Transparent - or just veneered ?

From a BBC job ad for a tour guide to join the team "taking MPs and Brownies" round Broadcasting House: "The tours department falls within BBC Media Engagement, which is part of Marketing and Audiences and has a key role to play in making the BBC appear more open and accessible." My italics.