Our Sights Set on the Future
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01·09·09 Week 35 explore.gateway.bbc.co.uk/ariel PHOTOGRAPH: MARK BASSETT BBC IN THE EYE OF THE STORM AT THE EDINBURGH a TV FESTIVAL Pages 2-3 Our sights set on the future BLUE PETER’S Lucie Harvey gives ◆media student Sachelle Connor a helping hand with the practical side of programme making while sharing her insights into a BBC that is looking to broaden its recruitment pool. The pair are taking part in the BBC Academy’s new Step Up mentoring scheme Page 5 > NEWS 4 WEEK AT WORK 7 OPINION 10 MAIL 11 JOBS 14 GREEN ROOM 16 < 2 EDINBURGH TELEVISION FESTIVAL a 01·09·09 TALENT GOES MISSING AS AN Man on a a BBC’s a crowd mission: James Room 2316, White City Murdoch 201 Wood Lane, London W12 7TS 020 8008 4228 Managing Editor in online news, Stephen James-Yeoman 02-84222 Deputy editors Sally Hillier 02-26877 Cathy Loughran 02-27360 Features editor rails Murdoch Clare Bolt 02-27445 Senior Broadcast Journalist 02-27630 by Cathy Loughran ‘Rather than concentrating on form the BBC’s chief operating Stephen Hawkes areas where the market is not offi cer Caroline Thomson ac- Reporters u James Murdoch wasn’t delivering, the BBC seeks to cused him of ‘tilting at wind- Laura Scarrott 02-84224 done when he accused the compete head-on for audienc- mills, blaming everyone else’: Peggy Walker 01-43940 BBC of state-sponsored jour- es with commercial provid- ‘He had no solutions – the usu- Feeling the Production editor nalism, of making a land grab ers to try to shore up support al Murdoch diatribe.’ pain: Robert Peston Claire Barrett 02-27368 in online news – so threaten- – or more accurately dampen Were there areas from ing its independence – and opposition to a compulsory li- which the BBC should now Art editor having ‘chilling ambition’ to cence fee.’ retreat, Thomson was asked: Ken Sinyard 02-84229 go further. More critical still, Murdo- ‘Not Lonely Planet, nor Ariel online The chairman of News ch said, was the ‘expansion of Radio 2 which is classic BBC de- Alex Goodey 02-27410 Corp followed up his scath- state sponsored journalism’ livery of public service broad- Business co-ordinator ing attack in his MacTaggart which was ‘a threat to the plu- casting – very popular but very Silvana Romana 02-84228 lecture with a call for a cut in rality and independence of distinctive.’ Ariel mail the licence fee. He wanted to news provision, which are so Her ITV counterpart John [email protected] see a BBC that was ‘fl ooding’ important to our democracy’. Creswell said it was a given Ariel online explore.gateway.bbc.uk/ariel the online market – where his In particular he attacked that ‘the BBC distorts every company plans to be the fi rst Radio 2 for targeting 25-40s, market it goes into. It’s not its Bit smutty: to charge for news – ‘much, served well by the commer- fault, it just does. Jeremy much smaller’. cial sector, and the BBC’s ‘Look at BBC Three and Clarkson Guest contributors this week Speaking 20 years after his acquisition of the Lonely Plan- Four…investments of around father Rupert Murdoch at- et travel guide business. £145m for a four to fi ve per- TORIN DOUGLAS, media tacked the British broadcast- Few were surprised at the cent share. That’s just too correspondent looks at the legacy of ing establishment from the Murdoch stance. Speaking big.’ And Dawn Airey, chief ex- Channel 4’s Big Brother. P11 same platform, he claimed: from another Edinburgh plat- ecutive of fi ve, thought it was RORY CELLAN-JONES, technology defi nitely time for the BBC to correspondent, wonders whether start closing something down. piracy is a real threat to British tv. P6 ‘Tough love’ was what the cor- PETER BOWES, LA correspondent on PESTON V MURDOCH poration needed. life in the Golden State. P15 AS FESTIVAL HIGHLIGHTS at the MacTaggart dinner – The BBC’s business edi- go, a loud, angry and public reportedly about the behav- tor Robert Peston, in his Ri- bust-up between two of the iour of the BBc – had Edin- chard Dunn memorial lec- pain,’ he said. ‘But it’s not ob- service.’ Responding to Mur- BBC Jobs 0370 333 1330 industry’s most infl uential burgh buzzing. ture, could see both sides vious that if you closed down doch’s MacTaggart, BBC Trust Jobs textphone 028 9032 8478 fi gures is about as good as ‘Of course we parted on of the BBC v Murdoch ar- BBC news online, the com- chairman Michael Lyons said: BBC Jobs John Clarke 02-27143 it gets. good terms. And I didn’t gument over online news: mercial sector would fi ll the ‘The BBC has no choice but to Room 2120, White City, London W12 7TS The heated, expletive- explode. We had a boisterous ‘Much of the private sector gap with depth and quali- serve all audiences, but that Advertise in Ariel fi lled row between Robert conversation,’ was all Peston sees the BBC as crowding out ty, and it might exclude mil- doesn’t mean that it can or Ten Alps Publishing 020 7878 2314 Peston and James Murdoch was prepared to tell Ariel. legitimate commercial play- lions of people who will nev- should seek to squeeze out ers. I feel the private sector’s er pay for an online news other providers.’ www.bbcarielads.com Printing Garnett Dickinson Group Rotherham 01709 768000 Subscribe to Ariel Revealing star pay may destroy market Six months: £26, £36, £40 u In Jana Bennett’s books, ment marketplace could not their money is spent’. top stars double what they Ed Vaizey was asked if a Twelve months: £50, £60, £68 it would be a form of ‘Sovi- be compared with other pub- ‘The point I was making already get. Tory government would force (prices for UK, Europe, rest of world et-style’ oppression, but one licly funded pay. was that setting talent fees ITV director of tv Peter the BBC by law to reveal what respectively) way or another, it is looking ‘The BBC is in entertain- is an inexact process and Fincham argued that percep- it pays its stars. He said that Cheques to: Garnett Dickinson Print, increasingly likely that the ment....it’s a fundamentally because we all operate in a tions had changed on what might be a sledgehammer Brookfi elds Way, Manvers, BBC will be pressured into different role that perform- market place, disclosure of fees were acceptable. He re- to crack a nut: ‘but we want Wath Upon Dearne, Rotherham S63 5DL revealing more about the sal- ers play to teachers and po- individuals would very like- minded the audience that to make it happen’, wheth- Tel 01709 768199 aries it pays its biggest stars. licemen. It’s like me talking ly drive up costs. This would ITV, Channel 4 and the BBC er through the BBC Trust or INFORMATION IN AN EMERGENCY At Edinburgh, Ofcom about Tom Cruise’s movie not be in the interests of had bid for Jonathan Ross: ‘It charter negotiations. chief executive Ed Richards deals. It’s a different sector.’ licence payers,’ she said. was a time when commer- Interviewed by Fincham Telephone 0800 0688 159 Richards said that public Vaizey described that as What the BBC would cial broadcasters were strong in another session, Ed Rich- Ceefax Page 159 www.bbc.co.uk/159 expectation might force the ‘an extraordinary argument do was look at publishing and ITV saw Ross at the top ards thought Vaizey might Ariel is produced by Internal BBC’s hand and Ed Vaizey, to put forward’: ‘If you pay the ‘block spend’ on talent, of his game but he went get his way: ‘It looks that Communications for people at the BBC shadow culture minister, Jonathan Ross £6m, you have which could be meaningful to the under-bidder, so it way to me,’ he admitted. made it clear that a Con- to argue the case.’ In a cli- to people, Bennett said: ‘But seemed like a good deal done ‘We are in a period now that servative government would mate of greater transparen- I think that [revealing pre- [by the BBC]. It now looks like a when the public pay for look for ways to put presenter cy, where MPs’ salaries were senter pay] would destroy piece of profligacy.’ something they expect to pay in the public domain. made public, the BBC had to the market. We don’t want a The former BBC One con- know what it is being used Earlier the director of follow suit, he believed. Soviet-style terror regime.’ troller also sounded a warn- for and where it is going.’ PLEASE RECYCLE YOUR COPY OF ARIEL BBC Vision had crossed Did she really think the Kevin Lygo, director of ing that if transparency was In a new YouGov poll 80 per- swords with Vaizey over the public would not understand television at Channel 4, be- taken too far, and the BBC cent of people thought tv pre- public’s right to know, de- why the BBC had to pay at the lieved the BBC didn’t un- was forced to stop running senters were overpaid, 83 per- bate and understand what levels it does? Bennett said she derstand how ‘dispropor- the race, it would become just cent thought stars pay should the BBC pays its top talent, appreciated that licence pay- tionately rich they are’ but a marginalised educational be made public and only 9 per- with Bennett arguing that ers ‘rightly want more admitted that he would be broadcaster and that would cent thought Jonathan Ross’s salaries in the entertain- information about how prepared to pay a select few be no good for the country.