The BBC: Summing-up the past few days

The apologies, walk-outs and resignations over the past few days remind me of the great Robert Evans quote from the Kid Stays in the Picture: “There are three sides to every story. My side, your side, and the truth. And no one is lying.”

Apart from the already well-publicised and unfortunate personal setbacks for some of the key players, the news about the BBC further clouds the PSB Review … and further takes it off track from what should be the primary focus: how will the BBC be governed (or regulated) and funded to compete in the larger global marketplace. The BBC will become a minor global player if it does not change and grow.

Want a comparison point? Check out Time Warner’s 2003 results, released two days ago. How many more years before the BBC’s news and programming budget is 1% of Time Warner’s (or Disney’s or Viacom’s or News Corp.’s)? Maybe it is already. Oh well, better to focus on more important things like Andrew Gilligan’s 5-minute appearance on a morning radio show. That’s perspective.

By the way, my sources indicate that Luke sexed-up his account of ‘meeting’ Ed Richards at Ofcom on the 28th of January. Upon seeing Luke (sporting his Ofcom Watch beret), Richards actually fled in the opposite direction. Further, Luke’s claim that Ofcom is paying �24 per square foot for office space was inserted in his blog post after pressure from Downing Street.