about proposed BBC budget savings, including a filmed report by Liz McKean, Paxman interviewing Sir Michael Lyons, Chairman of the BBC Trust and the best bit, a studio discussion with Stuart Murphy, former Controller of BBC3, Jeff Randall, former BBC Business Editor and Paxman.
Liz McKean’s package started off informing us that “[The BBC is] having to do so with less, £2 billion pounds less of the public’s money”, then a pause, then the truth, “than it wanted…”. This was followed by a snippet of David Cox, a former ITV executive, stating what is obvious outside of London W12:
The BBC’s priorities ought to be to do those things that commercial broadcasters don’t do. There’s no reason why single parents or old age pensioners should be forced at gun point to pay for something that could be perfectly well done by commercial broadcasters, supported by advertising or by subscriptions paid by the people who actually want to watch those things.
…followed by the heartwarming though ridiculous sight of five-thousand, sorry, five Beeboids ‘protesting’ half-heartedly on the street:
Save our BBC!
…which is of course part of the problem – they regard it as their BBC rather than the public’s BBC. Liz intoned gravely that “it’s expected that in news alone 500 jobs will be cut”, then a union rep. threatened strike action (bring it on!), then back to Liz: “the digital era is ushering in new platforms and the BBC is committed to occupying them all” – occupy, got that? And the sad news that “I understand that staff will be told tomorrow that the BBC’s vast website, six million pages, will be hacked back” – which I expect really means it just won’t grow so fast, so less of quality stuff like this then.
Liz then interviewed a BBC fan, followed by Mr. Richard D. North, author of Scrap the BBC!*, who is not a fan:
Mark Thompson can make all the reforms he likes and they are doubtless necessary and good reforms, but in the end, the game is up. There is simply no rationale for a compulsory fee funded BBC.
…then cut to a fluffy quote from noted broadcasting expert and recipient of BBC largesse, actress Joanna Lumley:
This is the gold standard. This is the one blue-chip company we’ve got in this country. The one!
…well, I guess turkeys don’t vote for Christmas Joanna, do they. We then headed back to the studio for the delicious irony of Jeremy Paxman declaring:
Well, at this point, the BBC has required me to declare an interest because I’ve spoken out about how the BBC’s cuts might affect Newsnight.
…before starting his interview with Sir Michael Lyons, which starts at exactly five minutes into the first video clip (I’m too tired to transcribe it in the early hours, so you’ll just have to watch it):
Liz McKean report & Paxman interviewing Sir Michael Lyons
The best part of Newsnight’s coverage was the studio discussion, see second clip, with Stuart Murphy, the former Controller of BBC3, deliciously and preciously defending his inconsequential and expensive little bit of the BBC against obvious barbs from Paxman and Randall. Randall, as ever, was on the money:
Stuart Murphy & Jeff Randall discussion with Jeremy Paxman
An illustrative excerpt:
Randall: “I think this requires some really big bold judgements from management, not asking every department to lose a little bit, forget Newsnight, let’s look at the Today programme, £5 million annual budget, that’s less than the BBC pays Jonathan Ross in one year, and that’s not to be nasty to Jonathan Ross, but it puts into perspective the kind of pressures that are on news”
Murphy: “But it’s really difficult making those comparisons, isn’t it, I mean, when you look at the talent cost of Jonathan Ross I think licence fee payers expect, the main thing is, licence fee payers expect there to be maximum value from the licence fee, licence fee payers also, won’t come to the BBC, unless the BBC has major talent they love, and it’s a balancing act, you need to pay big stars big wages or they won’t be at the BBC”
Absolutely classic Beeboid drivel Stuart – most folk couldn’t care less if Woss was on ITV or the BBC – the more so when they realise just how extravagant the BBC was in paying him so much over the odds for his so-called talent.
Please try not to weep too much (in mirth or despair) in the comments…
* available in hardback direct from the publishers, The Social Affairs Unit, for a bargain £4.00 plus £2.75 postage via Amazon Marketplace (look for seller omm-sau).
Thank you to Biased BBC reader Lurker in a Burqua for the Telegraph link.
Martin;
“No one gave a stuff when Rover went to the wall, least of all the Guardian reading luvvies at the BBC.”
Rubbish
I had friends who lost their jobs at Rover and we did plenty of reporting about it. We certainly did “give a stuff”
I don’t read The Guardian either.
Interesting that in these times of struggle the BBC still had time to send Nicky Campbell (5live Breakfast show)to Paris one day before the Rugby World Cup final to present a news programme.
Such Jollification.
Lots of news 24 presenters there too.
Money does not seem to be such a big problem in certain areas of the BBC.
This Murphy guy seems to have a real hang-up about the over-35 age bracket doesn’t he?
When Murphy says that audiences expectations have changed in that they now want (in addition to the TV programme) a website, podcast, behind-the-scenes shows et bloody cetera, who is he really speaking up for? The UK viewing public as a whole? He is surely speaking for himself and his cronies. Younger licence-payers being “under-served by the BBC”? What absolute bilge!
My suspicion is that he quite disingenuous and deceitful.
He’s speaking up, not just for younger audiences, but for example, for those Archers fans who will now be able to download a copy of the programme so they can listen to it anywhere they like.
bbc3 10 more 4m