Apologies for the brief interruption in posts. Catching up on recent events: Too much management at the BBC writes Jeff Randall in the Telegraph, in an article that expands on the views he expressed on Newsnight last week (see clip below). He starts off once again by pointing out the insanity of cutting news and documentary budgets whilst preserving some of the lowest common denominator dross that passes for content … Continue reading →

Please use this thread for comments about the BBC’s current programming and activities. This post will remain at or near the top of the blog – scroll down for new topic-specific posts. N.B. this is not an invitation for general off-topic comments, rants or chit-chat. Thoughtful comments are encouraged. Comments may be moderated. Click through to read and contribute comments on this post.

: The Daily Mail reports an anecdote from Mark Thompson that was on News 24 yesterday morning: [Thompson] said that during one recent “eye of the storm” news story he had “one interview request from ITN, one from Sky and 37 from the BBC”. A great example of BBC duplication and triplication in action (should ‘in action’ have a space in it?). Click through to read and contribute comments on … Continue reading →

A Grieving widow has been hit with a £180 fine after her dead husband was summoned to court. Maureen Davies was stunned to be told her husband had been hit with the fine for failing to appear in court – despite the fact he died five months ago…. Following a six-week stay in hospital, the 47-year-old returned home to find that Swansea magistrates had fined husband Leonard, even though he … Continue reading →

Today, Jon Craig, late of the BBC, asks How many BBC men…? On the day the BBC announced cuts and job losses, even the Prime Minister’s mild-mannered and quietly-spoken press spokesman, Mike Ellam, couldn’t resist a little dig at the number of the corporation’s senior correspondents attending the EU summit in Lisbon. At a briefing about Gordon Brown’s so-called “red lines” in the controversial new EU treaty, Mr Ellam was … Continue reading →

Please use this thread for comments about the BBC’s current programming and activities. This post will remain at or near the top of the blog. Scroll down to find new topic-specific posts. N.B. this is not an invitation for general off-topic comments, rants or use as a chat forum. Space here is competitive – comments may be reactively moderated. Click through to read and contribute comments on this post.

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 … Continue reading →

Although I really hate to say this on the week that the BBC bosses will announce job losses in news and current affairs (why don’t they merge BBC3 and BBC4 instead of cutting the very heart of what the BBC should be about?), there was yet another example of massive over-staffing today. When Chris Huhne launched his Lib Dem leadership bid, our cameraman took the trouble to count the number … Continue reading →

– the usual mush of dumbed down right-on BBC output. Highlights included, in no particular order: a report on the appearance of Northern Rock executives before parliament, including mention of criticism of the BBC for their part in precipitating the run on the bank, followed by a fairly lengthy studio discussion with Robert Peston justifying the BBC’s role. Naturally enough, this was countered by someone with an opposing view, er, … Continue reading →