... and no, this is not a post that ought to be in the new political section.
For most of the day I completely ignored this story, assuming it to be yet more tiresome BBC bashing, but having just seen Newsnight I am utterly aghast.
Long serving executives who enjoyed super-doopah renumeration being handed out ding dong golden goodbyes and most of them taking up lucrative positions elsewhere. At the top end, an executive getting into a taxi and rolling away with a cheque for £900,000, despite been given 14 months notice and heading directly into a new executive position.
One executive who left to go to a senior job with the British Museum was, it seems, sufficiently embarrassed to return his severance pay of £325,000.
Then there was the executive whose severance was £219,000 (though it is believed that should have been £141,000 if the rules had been followed properly) and £49,000 of that to assist with IT training and skills enhancements. In other words, to re-train him and make him better able to cope with the hardship of having been let loose by the BBC. Poor lamb.
The report does not recount if this helpless lamb ever found his way again in the media jungle. Probably because there was no remote suggestion of his being lost as he was clearly sitting pretty, well and truly looked after until his ample pension kicked in.
Oh, what's that someone's saying? He's now chief of this or that. I'm sure he is.
Meanwhile in response, Anthony Fry of the BBC Trust says not helpfully at all ... 'well, of course, we don't run the BBC'.
Okay, so let's cross to the BBC's Director of Finance & Strategy, James Purnell.
'Lessons have been learned.'
Oh, do tell! Have you changed the passcode on the petty-cash tin. Have you transferred all the assets to a biscuit tin and placed it behind the sofa?
Actually, none of this is a wonder. It all stems back to the point at which the BBC decided that it had become such a media player that in order to compete network-wise, global-wise, blah blah ... it needed to have an enormous big cheque book. Y'know to lure all of that hot talent, or is turned out, executives within its ranks who were earnestly, committedly, happily working for between £100k and £150k ... and, as it happens thinking of going nowhere, but suddenly they found they were wearing golden handcuffs twice the amount of their original salaries.
'Mistakes were made ... Lessons have been learned.'
Oh, you'll be eating those words, James Purnell, far sooner than you might have expected.
It seems clear now that BBC governance can only go one way, or two ways, I may mean.
Firstly, a wholly independent editorial governance, and secondly, a wholly accountable and visibly managed public body.
This really can't go on and while there's little sense in throwing good money after bad some of these payments really need to be clawed back.
Newsnight host, Jeremy Paxman, in his interview with Purnell asked, 'who signed off this? what was his name?'
Once again, 'lessons have been learned' came Purnell's lame answer that he had been schooled in earlier today at New Media City or whatever the hell it's called.
Thank you for the prevarication, Mr.Purnell, but this is a such a farago that we must insist you name names.
For most of the day I completely ignored this story, assuming it to be yet more tiresome BBC bashing, but having just seen Newsnight I am utterly aghast.
Long serving executives who enjoyed super-doopah renumeration being handed out ding dong golden goodbyes and most of them taking up lucrative positions elsewhere. At the top end, an executive getting into a taxi and rolling away with a cheque for £900,000, despite been given 14 months notice and heading directly into a new executive position.
One executive who left to go to a senior job with the British Museum was, it seems, sufficiently embarrassed to return his severance pay of £325,000.
Then there was the executive whose severance was £219,000 (though it is believed that should have been £141,000 if the rules had been followed properly) and £49,000 of that to assist with IT training and skills enhancements. In other words, to re-train him and make him better able to cope with the hardship of having been let loose by the BBC. Poor lamb.
The report does not recount if this helpless lamb ever found his way again in the media jungle. Probably because there was no remote suggestion of his being lost as he was clearly sitting pretty, well and truly looked after until his ample pension kicked in.
Oh, what's that someone's saying? He's now chief of this or that. I'm sure he is.
Meanwhile in response, Anthony Fry of the BBC Trust says not helpfully at all ... 'well, of course, we don't run the BBC'.
Okay, so let's cross to the BBC's Director of Finance & Strategy, James Purnell.
'Lessons have been learned.'
Oh, do tell! Have you changed the passcode on the petty-cash tin. Have you transferred all the assets to a biscuit tin and placed it behind the sofa?
Actually, none of this is a wonder. It all stems back to the point at which the BBC decided that it had become such a media player that in order to compete network-wise, global-wise, blah blah ... it needed to have an enormous big cheque book. Y'know to lure all of that hot talent, or is turned out, executives within its ranks who were earnestly, committedly, happily working for between £100k and £150k ... and, as it happens thinking of going nowhere, but suddenly they found they were wearing golden handcuffs twice the amount of their original salaries.
'Mistakes were made ... Lessons have been learned.'
Oh, you'll be eating those words, James Purnell, far sooner than you might have expected.
It seems clear now that BBC governance can only go one way, or two ways, I may mean.
Firstly, a wholly independent editorial governance, and secondly, a wholly accountable and visibly managed public body.
This really can't go on and while there's little sense in throwing good money after bad some of these payments really need to be clawed back.
Newsnight host, Jeremy Paxman, in his interview with Purnell asked, 'who signed off this? what was his name?'
Once again, 'lessons have been learned' came Purnell's lame answer that he had been schooled in earlier today at New Media City or whatever the hell it's called.
Thank you for the prevarication, Mr.Purnell, but this is a such a farago that we must insist you name names.
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