Sexismatthebbc

The creatures Love Island: A war film that will “appallingly without outlive us all watchable” heroes HEALTH & TALKING FILM P31 SCIENCE P19 POINTS P21 29TH JULY 2017 | ISSUE 1135 | £3.30 EWTHE BEST OF THE BRITISHEEK AND INTERNATIONAL MEDIA Sexism at the BBC The revolt over pay Page 2 ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT EVERYTHING THAT MATTERS www.theweek.co.uk 2 NEWS The main stories… What happened What the editorials said The BBC “fought tooth and nail” to prevent these revelations, Mind the gap said the Daily Mail, which were demanded by the Government Some of the BBC’s best-known female stars, as part of its latest Royal Charter agreement. including Clare Balding, Emily Maitlis and Fiona And no wonder. “Hard-pressed TV owners, Bruce, have called on the corporation to “act forced on pain of prosecution to pay £147 a now” to redress the glaring gap in pay between year” to keep Evans, Lineker and the like “in men and women. Salaries of 96 “creative staff” luxury”, must be furious. There is a debate to earning £150,000 or more were published last be had about “whether anybody is worth” the week. The figures showed that only a third of £2.2m that Evans is paid, said The Times. But the BBC’s highest-paid presenters are women, the “enormous disparity” between male and that its seven highest earners are all men, and female pay is “not only embarrassing for the that its best-paid man makes four times as much BBC but also clearly ridiculous”. as the best-paid woman: Chris Evans received £2.2m-£2.25m in the last financial year, while It is “unforgivable” that the BBC’s top male Claudia Winkleman, eighth on the list, earned talent earn much more than the women, “even £450,000-£499,999. The other highest-paid when they sit side by side in the studio” doing stars included Gary Lineker (£1.75m-£1.79m), what looks “very much like the same job”, said Graham Norton (£850,000-£899,999), Jeremy Lineker: worth nine Baldings? The Guardian. But in its defence, the BBC can Vine (£700,000-£749,999), and John Humphrys point out that the gender pay gap among its (£600,000-£649,999). top earners, of around 10%, is much better than the national pay gap of 18%. And if the salaries seem high generally, we The Prime Minister urged the corporation to “abolish this shouldn’t forget that “the BBC has to fight its corner in a gender pay gap”, while Culture Secretary Karen Bradley said highly competitive marketplace”. Ant and Dec reportedly stars should be conscious of “how this looks to the public”; signed a three-year deal with ITV last year worth £30m. Paul she called on licence fee payers to say whether they thought Dacre, editor of the BBC’s leading critic, the Daily Mail, “is such high salaries were “good value”. paid £1.5m before he counts his share options”. What happened What the editorials said Edging to the exit Thank heavens for our “cool-headed” Chancellor, said The Mail on Sunday. Philip Hammond seems to have persuaded The first round of substantive Brexit talks his colleagues of the folly of a too sudden ended in Brussels last week with little sign of Brexit. Even hard-line Brexiteers such as Trade progress, and fears of deadlock on key issues. Secretary Liam Fox and Environment Secretary After four days of discussion, the EU’s chief Michael Gove now accept the wisdom of a negotiator, Michel Barnier, spoke of a “transition deal” giving business time to adjust. “fundamental divergence” on the questions Such a “pragmatic” solution amounts to a of how to treat EU citizens in the UK and “wise and typically British compromise”. Britons living in Europe, and the role of the Certainly, it makes practical sense, said The European Court of Justice (ECJ) in settling Times. To build new immigration and customs future disputes. He also insisted that no systems would be impossible in just two years. progress could be made on agreeing a post- At last we have a realistic approach to Brexit Brexit trading relationship with the EU until that “better serves the economy”. Britain “clarifies” how much it is prepared to pay on leaving the bloc. Barnier: “a fundamental Any celebrations are premature, said The divergence” Independent. It is a “dangerous assumption” However, Theresa May’s Cabinet signalled a that Barnier will recommend a transition period new flexibility over Brexit, by agreeing that a “transition to the European Commission – or that member states and the period” was needed to smooth the exit process. The Prime European Parliament will agree to it. The poor progress last Minister told business leaders that such an “implementation week suggests just how intransigent the EU may prove. Plenty phase” would allow EU citizens to work freely in the UK more “British vanities” will have to be “consigned to the for two years after Britain leaves the bloc in 2019. bonfire” before a final deal is reached. An 89-year-old man who has been A girl fined by her local council It wasn’t all bad studying German at the same for setting up a lemonade stand Two original scores by the university in Leeds for the past has been inundated with job English composer Gustav Holst half-century has now won a prize offers. Two weeks ago, the five- have been discovered in New for modern languages. Thought to year-old was selling cups of Zealand, more than a century be Britain’s longest-enrolled lemonade on her street in east after they were written. The student, former chemical engineer London when four council manuscripts to Folk Songs from Ken Knapton (pictured) first joined officers marched up and gave Somerset and Two Songs the class in 1968; since then, he her a £150 fine for trading Without Words were found in has received several qualifications, without a permit. Distraught, an orchestra’s library, in including a German degree. His she burst into tears. “I’ve done Tauranga. Two Songs is still tutors at Leeds Beckett University a bad thing,” she told her performed today, but the have described him as a model father. But now several festivals original score was thought to be student. “I’ve continued studying and markets have offered her lost; Folk Songs was conducted German with the university for all space for a new stall – an offer by Holst, known for The Planets, these years because I enjoy it,” Mr her father says he hopes might at its 1906 premiere, but may Knapton said. “It’s easy to forget be extended to other children. not have been heard since. things, so I keep at it.” And the council has apologised. COVER CARTOON: HOWARD MCWILLIAM THE WEEK 29 July 2017 …and how they were covered NEWS 3 What the commentators said What next? The “great reveal” of BBC salaries “has, for the most part, been grim fun”, said Emine Saner This is likely to be the last in The Guardian. Can Alan Shearer’s “most obvious of observations” really be worth up to time that “top presenters’ £450,000? “How many Clare Baldings would you get for one Gary Lineker? (Nine).” Who, salaries will be open to public outside of Northern Ireland, has heard of Stephen Nolan, a DJ who earns up to £449,999? And view”, says The Times. The who knew that Charlie from Casualty was raking in up to £399,999? The figures don’t tell the BBC intends to move many whole story, said Jane Garvey in The Daily Telegraph: many stars are “conveniently missing”, salaries into the accounts of because they’re paid through independent companies; others work exceptionally long or anti- BBC Studios, a commercial social hours. But they make a clear point. If you want to be valued by the BBC, “be a man with subsidiary that is subject to a very big ego; be a man with a very big brain; be a retired sportsman or, sod it, just be a man”. much more “feeble” transparency rules. It’s shocking that discrimination should be “rampant” at this “beacon” of progressive integrity, said Josie Cox in The Independent. Laura Kuenssberg, Fiona Bruce and Sophie Raworth all The publication of stars’ earned hundreds of thousands less than Huw Edwards. Sarah Montague, Jenni Murray and salaries is likely to fuel Emily Maitlis didn’t even earn enough to get on the list. Why? Having spent many years as another “internal row” at the a BBC executive, “I know that pay is largely governed by how loud the talent or their agent BBC, says The Observer: over screams and complains”, said Janet Street-Porter in the same paper. Some huge salaries are the pay gap between the explained by contracts dating back decades, with built-in yearly pay rises. Either way, the “real highest- and lowest-paid scandal” is the failure of BBC management to confront waste and keep costs down. employees. There are also 100 or so BBC managers who The BBC claims that it has to keep up with the competition, said Will Hutton in The Observer. are paid more than £150,000, This argument is “palpably overstated. Where else are John Humphrys or Jeremy Vine likely to and 400 employees who earn broadcast to such big audiences in such well-loved, prestigious programmes with such fantastic less than £20,000. The union production support?” Given half a chance, dozens of presenters would jump into their shoes. Bectu has stepped up “The most likely result of this BBC sex war will be that the women will get more while the men demands for the minimum stay the same,” said Charles Moore in The Daily Telegraph.

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