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The newspaper for BBC pensioners – with highlights from Ariel online Tales from a past era One of the oldest former BBC employees visits Salford – page 8 August 2012 • Issue 6 bbC financial Sketchy results memories Sale of tVC Page 2 Page 6 Page 9 NEWS • MEMoriES • ClaSSifiEdS • Your lEttErS • obituariES • CroSPEro 02 uPdatE froM thE bbC executive board’s pay to the average BBC employee. The director general’s salary was 15.1 times more than the average BBC publishes 2011/12 median earnings within the BBC. This figure takes into account that Mark Thompson surrendered a month’s pay last year, along annual report with some others on the executive board and BBC Trustees. Thompson’s successor, George Entwistle, The BBC’s annual report, which was published on 16 July, ‘highlights a year of change for the will earn 11 times median pay. BBC, but also a year of outstanding creativity and achievement’, according to the outgoing Patten told journalists that the Trust is putting a cap on the difference between the director general, Mark Thompson. executive board’s pay and median earnings. But he said that it doesn’t have a specific target. ‘On-air this year we have seen a of their amazing summer with the most The total paid to stars earning more than ‘I don’t think it makes sense as we don’t strengthening of drama across television comprehensive coverage of an Olympic £1m was £9.69m – down from £14.65m know what talent we have to recruit,’ he said. and radio. Highlights have included Call the games we will have ever seen.’ the year before – while 16 stars earned more He said that many people will work at Midwife and Sherlock on BBC One, The Shadow than £500,000. the BBC at a 70% or more discount on Line and The Hour on BBC Two, along with competitors because, ‘while not perfect, it’s the epic Life and Fate on BBC Radio 4. BBC Highlights Management pay the best broadcaster there is’. radio has enjoyed yet another successful year The BBC generated £499m in efficiency The senior manager wage bill has been cut In terms of overall BBC staff, headcount and it’s been especially heartening to see savings, bringing the cumulative total saved by £7m, with 70 senior managers leaving was reduced by 384 from 17,242 to 16,858. BBC Radio 2 and English Local Radio do so since 2008/09 to £1.498m. the BBC in the last financial year. The report well in retaining quality and distinctiveness says 156 (24%) of senior manager roles have Television whilst finding new audiences and keeping Star salaries gone since August 2009, saving £21m. The average cost per user hour is 6.4p, down existing ones. The bill for on-screen and on-air talent has The BBC exceeded its target to cut the from 6.6p the previous year and 7.0p in ‘It has been an extraordinary year for BBC reduced by £9.5m. The BBC spent £203m number of senior managers by a fifth and 2009/10. News. Among the many news stories we in 2011/12 compared with £212.5m the the senior manager pay bill by a quarter More than 140 hours of new British covered around the world, the Arab Spring previous financial year. – something chairman of the BBC Trust drama were broadcast over the year. has stood out as a particular achievement. The BBC said in 2008 that it would reduce Lord Patten welcomed in his opening to In Libya we were the only UK broadcaster the amount it spent for on-screen and on-air the report. Radio to maintain a presence in the country stars, and in 2010 published the combined Director general Mark Thompson’s base Approval levels for BBC Radio have been throughout the conflict. On the back of this bill for stars for the first time. The following salary remained the same, at £613,000, but the highest ever, while digital audiences and other coverage the World Service’s reach year it reported just under £9m in savings with no additional remuneration for pension also grew. has grown to180 million adults this year. on talent. benefits, his overall salary dropped from Downloads for radio programmes also ‘Closer to home, our Current Affairs However, the report mentioned a £779,000 to £622,000. surpassed the billion mark. programming continued to have a real ‘resurgent market for talent’. BBC director The total pay for the executive board impact, not least Panorama’s investigation general Mark Thompson said competition fell from £5.71m to £2.56m. However, the BBC Online into abuse in a Bristol care home. BBC for talent was predominantly for comedy, reduction was mainly due to six of the 13 BBC Online reached a record 43m average Sport have just completed their brilliant entertainment and drama, following BSkyB members either leaving the organisation or weekly unique users in February this year, Wimbledon and Euro 2012 coverage making a commitment to make more stepping down from the board. while BBC iPlayer programme requests and are looking forward to the pinnacle original British productions. The report also compares the BBC reached 191.7m the same month. News More than 80% of UK adults consumed Highest ever levels of trust in the BBC BBC News each week across TV, radio and The BBC’s annual report notes that trust in possible’. The bulk of savings, 29%, came It was a record year for BBC comedy, as online. BBC News continued to attract record the BBC has risen to its highest level since from improved technology. audiences gave Mrs Brown’s Boys 90 out of audiences, with 13.2m watching on the day current records began. He went on to highlight Panorama’s 100 in the audience appreciation index. It’s of the riots across England last summer, and Giving a nod to the Leveson Inquiry into investigation into abuse in Bristol care the best ever appreciation score for a BBC 39m using the BBC News website or the press ethics, it says ‘in a year when trust in homes as proof that investigative journalism One comedy. World Service. the media has been in the spotlight’ 67% can be a ‘potent force for exposing One area where audience appreciation of the audience say they trust the BBC. The wrongdoing and protecting the most has dipped is BBC Online. Appreciation Looking ahead report adds that BBC News keeps its position vulnerable in our society’. Added to this, fell from 80.5 to 77.1 this year. The report In future, the licence fee will additionally as the most trusted news in the UK. the report confirmed that the volume of attributes this to big changes, including the have to pay for BBC World Service and BBC The figures may assuage fears that current affairs programme on BBC One and bbc.co.uk front page redesign. It says that Monitoring, and for the BBC to establish a the £500m worth of savings made over Two wouldn’t decrease over the next year. audiences don’t like change on the site at partnership fund for new local television the financial year 2011/2012 would That’s despite a gradual decline in people first but get used to it. services (as much as an initial £25m in compromise quality of content. The chair watching them. ‘We know from experience that scores 2013, and £5m per annum in subsequent of the Trust Finance Committee, Rotha The BBC’s survey of the audience’s tend to drop following a change and recover years), establish a new partnership model for Johnston, pointed out in the report that perception of quality of output shows their as audiences become used to the new sites.’ Welsh language TV service S4C (contributing the ‘efficiency programme’ of savings appreciation of programmes on TV and The report promises that next year’s focus £76m each year in 2013 and 2014) and had ‘no negative impact either on overall radio have both slightly increased compared will be on monitoring the DQF savings, ‘in provide support for broadband roll-out. We audience numbers or on appreciation to 2010/2011. TV viewers’ enjoyment of particular to ensure efficiency savings are will reduce our current costs by £700m a of programmes’. programmes went up from 81.6 out of not made at the expense of the quality or year by 2017 to meet these new obligations. In his opening letter in the report, Lord 100 to 82.6, while radio listeners graded scope of BBC services’. Patten says this has been possible thanks programmes 80.6, rising from 79.7 the You can read the full report online at: to ‘greater back-office efficiency wherever year before. http://www.bbc.co.uk/ annualreport/2012/ Prospero is provided free of charge to retired BBC Editorial contributions: Write to: Prospero, employees, or to their spouses and dependants. BBC Pension and Benefits Centre, Broadcasting House, Prospero provides a source of news on former Cardiff CF5 2YQ. Email: [email protected] colleagues, developments at the BBC and pension Please make sure that any digital pictures you send are issues, plus classified adverts. scanned at 300 dpi. To advertise in Prospero, please see page 12. To view Ariel online, please visit www.bbc.co.uk/ariel. The next issue of Prospero will appear in October 2012. PROSPERO AUGUST 2012 uPdatE froM thE bbC 03 George Entwistle named as Agius next BBC director general agitation George Entwistle will be the next director general of the BBC, No sooner had Prospero the BBC Trust has announced.
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