TV coverage restricted to single highlights show, with possible extras on red button, due to 'budget restrictions and time zone'The BBC has been criticised for scheduling just one hour of TV highlights of the Vancouver Winter Paralympics, despite dedicating 160 broadcast hours to the Winter Olympics on BBC2.Lewis Wiltshire, the editor of the BBC Sport website, said TV coverage was restricted because of "budget restrictions and the time zone factor".The Winter Paralympics, which start today in Vancouver and run until 21 March, follow the BBC's extensive coverage of the Winter Olympics which ran for 17 days from 12 to 28 February. The BBC published a detailed press release highlighting what it called its "most comprehensive coverage in Winter Olympic history".However, in a blogpost,...

It has been open season on the BBC of late. We all have our reasons for criticism: the incompetent decision to close 6 Music, the failure to manage budgets, the excessive salaries of performers and especially of senior managers create a climate of anger which serves only to underline the perhaps more important failures to deliver quality public service broadcasting. I have long been a critic of the ‘Today’ programme, which is overlong, too pleased with itself and too inclined to slide into its comfort zone of two party politics. Andrew Neil’s political vehicle ‘This Week’, a weekly genuflection before the altar of bipartisanship, is a disgrace to the Charter. Meanwhile quality is astonishingly variable, especially in comedy. ‘We are Klang’ on BBC3 was jaw-droppingly awful...

Critics complain that it's unfair, but an all-women audience on Question Time will redress an imbalance in our political arenaThe BBC's decision to run with a women-only audience on tonight's Question Time should be commended for many reasons. The show will give ordinary women, whose all-important vote the parties have been falling over themselves to court, the chance to question if there's any policy substance behind their "female-friendly" spin.The Fawcett Society, which this week challenged all parties to answer the question "what about women?", is not yet convinced that there is. With the parties' leadership and key policymakers still overwhelmingly male and in a week when polls showed 49% of women don't feel politicians are listening to their views on the economy, this programme can...

I am dismayed at the BBC Trust's proposal in its Strategy Review to close BBC Radio 6 Music.To quote the BBC itself, the station "brings together the cutting edge music of today, the iconic and groundbreaking music of the past 40 years". Radio 6 Music is distinctive and valuable, and offers a place for exciting new acts to be heard. It provides its listeners with content that no independent commercial broadcaster offers, and has helped artists like Florence + The Machine reach greater audiences. At 3.4 pence per listener hour, 6 Music is also good value for money. Closing 6 Music would generate a very modest saving, and it is not clear that this would be worth losing such a distinctive station.The future of 6 Music is a decision for the BBC Trust to make after they have consulted with...

So it seems that you can get Libertarian ideas on the BBC. But only if you're a Muslim.Who knew?Allah...

Mirco Toniolo/Rex...

Dominic...

Rageh Omaar's defence of the discredited BBC report on Band Aid beggars belief. He ignores the total collapse of standards at the World ServiceRageh Omaar's piece "Even Band Aid is not above criticism" is ridiculous. It is of course not about me, or Band Aid, but rather a defence of journalistic exceptionalism, and the now thoroughly discredited BBC World Service programme that "sexed up" a claim that nigh-on the entire humanitarian relief effort by all aid agencies was diverted to arms in Tigray province in 1985.He allies himself with the programme's dubious technique of using a "star" name to attract attention to an otherwise unexceptional or dubious point of view in the hope that it will gather attention.So let me first say that far from being above criticism, should Rageh or the World...

Of course, I read that caption from earlier today as a mark of praise rather than of......

Dodgy tenner cartoon featuring Alastair Darling drawn for Channel 4 News © Matt Buck Hack cartoons More rumblings from some of the membership of the Monetary Policy Committee of the Bank of England – as reported by CityWire. The MPC is the committee which decides how well the national economy is doing and which recently approved the policy of Quantitative Easing (video explainer). This process invented £225Bn of new UK money (or credit) which was then used to buy government debt, much of which was undertaken to support the insolvent banks and financial institutions including HBOS and RBS. QE in the UK started on March 5th 2009 and ended during February of 2010. The following chart is a screenshot of the BBC twelve-month tracker for the value of the UK’s currency –...

Bob Geldof and charities deny aid was spent on weapons but corporation executives say reports are credibleThe BBC is standing by a report that 95% of the $100m aid raised to fight famine in northern Ethiopia in 1985 was diverted by rebels and spent on weapons, despite denials by Bob Geldof and leading charities.A programme broadcast last week by the BBC World Service's Africa editor, Martin Plaut, suggested that rebels in the province of Tigray tricked aid workers into giving them the money, which was meant to buy food for the starving.The Assignment documentary is expected to find itself the subject of a formal complaint next week when Geldof and several charities send a letter to the broadcasting watchdog Ofcom and the BBC Trust.In the programme, two former members of the Tigryan...

BBC's web cuts, which will involve closing about 200 sites, are not simply an exercises in clearing dead wood, digital chief saysErik Huggers, the BBC digital chief, has promised its closure of 200 websites is simply an exercise in cutting dead wood and will help rivals.Huggers, in an interview with MediaGuardian, said the BBC expansionist tendencies that had angered commercial rivals were a natural consequence of the internet being a medium with no boundaries."Our mistake was allowing our web presence to sprawl, a natural consequence of not being constrained by spectrum," he said. "We need to be more focused, and do it much better... we need to improve the quality level, and reprioritise on what we do best."Huggers, who refused to be drawn on how many jobs might be cut – the number at...

Today's Politics Show in London covers the battle for Barking and Dagenham, which in electoral terms mostly means the struggle of the Labour-run Council and Labour MPs Jon Cruddas and Margaret Hodge to keep the BNP at bay. As we know, BNP leader Nick Griffin is contesting the Barking seat. As we also know, he has taken part in BBC television debates before. So why did he turn down an invitation to participate in today's Politics Show discussion with fellow candidates for the Barking seat?A BNP press release predictably foams on about a "lynch mob set-up" and quotes Griffin being affronted that a local channel covering elections in a particular locality appears to want to ask him questions about local issues. He is also rather rude about the Liberal Democrat candidate, who he describes as:...

He's replacing the most popular Time Lord ever. So how will the new Doctor cope?Welcome aboard, says the new Doctor, shutting the door on the outside world. It's a cold, gusty day at Doctor Who HQ in Cardiff. I'd been hoping for the Tardis, but we make do with his trailer.The heater is blowing out hot air, and photos and postcards are flapping on the wall. There's a picture of a cat, a mate doing a moony, good luck messages. The trailer has become home for Matt Smith while he's been filming his first Doctor Who series.He already feels he's done his share of time travelling. Friends, strangers, future fans ask him what it's going to be like when he's the Doctor, and to answer he has to do a double take – take a trip back to the future. As far as he's concerned he's been busy Doctoring...

Meera Syal, Shilpa Shetty and Amir Khan among more than 100 calling for rescue of digital radio stationThe BBC, already under fire over plans announced this week to close BBC 6 Music, faces a new wave of protest today as more than 100 prominent British Asians call for the digital radio station the Asian Network to be saved.Actor and writer Meera Syal, Olympic medal-winning boxer Amir Khan and Bollywood star Shilpa Shetty are among the entertainment stars, actors and peers signing a letter, published in today's Guardian, urging the BBC to halt the closure of the station.The letter, to the BBC Trust chairman, Sir Michael Lyons, is also signed by Bend It Like Beckham director Gurinder Chadha, England cricketer Vikram Solanki, singers Jay Sean and MIA and Sir Mota Singh QC, Britain's...

Earlier this week the Electoral Commission published a new report, The completeness and accuracy of electoral registers in Great Britain, looking at how electoral registration is working in the UK. Although it’s been widely covered, the coverage has been very similar – taking the top line figures from the report and covering press release without digging in to what the report really says. So if we venture in to the inner reaches of the report, what do we find? The report is a very welcome piece of path-breaking research, based on in-depth local studies. Given the importance of registration, and the number of policy and organisational options available to politicians and council officials, gathering this sort of information is extremely useful. An interim report was published...

My attention has been drawn to a newish feature on the BBC website that aims to review blogs from around the world “for a special BBC season about the power of the internet”. …well, at least they will until the cutbacks in the BBC’s website start to take effect. Starting on March 8th the BBC will be airing short TV and radio slots in English, Arabic and Farsi, talking with some of the bloggers they feature. That probably gives you a feel for the sort of blogs they want to review, which for me at least makes the project more interesting as I do like to keep up to date with international news and opinion. They are seeking recommendations, either via email on super.power@bbc.co.uk, comment on their website, or via twitter......

The BBC itself reports: Cornwall MP Julia Goldsworthy says the BBC should consider scrapping Radio 1. The Lib Dem communities spokeswoman was responding in a BBC3 debate, First Time Voters’ Question Time, about the BBC’s strategic review… But Ms Goldsworthy said: “They should be looking at other areas where there is already competition in the market, like Radio 1.” You can read the full report...

BBC director of audio and music breaks silence about 6 Music decision with argument for doing 'fewer things better'The BBC's director of audio and music, Tim Davie, said today that he is "passionate" about BBC 6 Music but it had to go because the BBC's network of nine standalone national radio stations had grown too big.Davie said take-up of digital radio had been slow and he wanted to use his budget to invest in "unique, high quality radio, not supporting a large number of services"."I do not believe that offering the current range of nine standalone digital networks is the right way to serve audiences and ensure radio remains strong in a digital world," said Davie, speaking for the first time about the decision to axe 6 Music, along with sister digital station, the Asian...

ITV chairman Archie Norman sees no benefit for his company in the BBC review, and softens his language on pay channelsITV gains nothing from the proposed cutbacks at the BBC, its chairman Archie Norman said today, as he promised a "day zero" revamp of the broadcaster that could include a fresh look at pay TV.Norman, who also highlighted ITV's digital strategy and programme-making divisions as key targets for revitalisation, said he did not believe that the broadcaster would be helped by director general Mark Thompson's proposals, which were in part designed to give commercial players more breathing space."I don't see any benefit," he said. "The savings the BBC will make on cutting back on peripheral activities will be re-invested in programming. I can't see how that will be of any benefit...

The BBC's panicked digital expansion meant its offerings were diluted – now the corporation needs to focus on the futureIt's easy to dismiss yesterday's BBC strategy review as a tactical response to short-term political conditions. Close a couple of digital radio stations, reduce spend on sports rights and programme acquisitions, sell off BBC magazines and scale back web pages. These measures appease many of the more vocal of the corporation's critics, and is hopefully enough to quell the politicians.There is of course something in all that. The timing of the strategy review has no doubt been influenced by politics, and some in the industry will take some comfort from the BBC's proposals.But there is much more here than first meets the eye. For a start, this is the first time ever that...

More than 100,000 people join online campaigns as David Bowie and Emily Eavis appeal for threatened BBC 6 Music to be savedThe fight to save BBC 6 Music continues to gain momentum as one supporter launched a protest song on YouTube and more than 100,000 people signed up to online campaigns to save the station.Songwriter Dan Bull urged BBC bosses in Dear Auntie (An Open Letter to the BBC): "You need to appeal to the people that feel John Peel, and want to keep it real. So please pretty Beeb, we appeal for a new deal."The song was at the centre of a chorus of protest about the BBC's decision to axe the music station.A Save 6 Music Facebook group attracted more than 88,000 members, and another online petition signed up almost 25,000 signatures.On Twitter thousands of opponents of the BBC's...

Two for the price of one - that's BBC valueAccording to the BBC - no, don't laugh - its activities "generate over two pounds of economic value for every pound of the licence fee". So for the trifling sum of £3.5bn pa, we get at least £7.7bn of economic value every single year. It's a miracle of value-adding superefficiency.WTF?Well, it works like this. The BBC pays Deloitte - pays them an unknown sum out of our friggin' telly tax - and Deloitte produces a thick report that says the BBC generates at least £7.7bn pa of economic value. And to prove it, here's their picture (click on it to enlarge):OK, so how on earth have Deloitte come up with such wildly implausible numbers? We don't know. Despite the BBC claiming to have published Deloitte's report alongside their much...

The BBC today confirmed the closure of 6 Music as part of a wide-ranging strategy review by its director general, Mark Thompson. Here Lily Allen criticises the decision, and makes the case for why the station should be savedThe BBC is an amazing institution when controlled by the right people. Unfortunately I think it's going through a very dire phase at the moment.We're in the runup to a general election in which it's looking increasingly likely that David Cameron will be our prime minister, and I think that whatever decisions are being made now are being done so with a view to who will be in charge of the country this time next year.If you look at everything that's happened in the last year or so at the BBC – with Russell Brand, with Jonathan Ross, with expenses – you can't help but...

Three live face-to-face debates between Gordon Brown, David Cameron and Nick Clegg will take place in mid-evening weekday slots in front of studio audiences on BBC, ITV and Sky NewsBroadcasters and the three main political parties have struck a deal that will pave the way for leadership debates to take place for the first time during a British election campaign, it was confirmed tonight.The news quashes speculation that the Tories were having second thoughts about the events going ahead and it means that the debates are now a certainty.Three live face-to-face debates between Gordon Brown, David Cameron and Nick Clegg will take place in mid-evening weekday slots in front of studio audiences on BBC, ITV and Sky News.Members of the audience will be able to put questions to the Labour,...

Lib Dem leader Nick Clegg is to speak first in the first debate, hosted by ITV, while Gordon Brown and David Cameron will do so in the subsequent debates, on Sky and the BBC. From the BBC: Three major broadcasters – the BBC, ITV and Sky – have agreed on the rules for hosting party leaders’ debates in the run-up to the general election. The three 90-minute sessions will begin by focusing on domestic policies, international affairs and the economy. The studio audiences will then be able to ask direct questions on any subject, with viewers doing the same via e-mail. Labour’s Gordon Brown, Tory David Cameron and Lib Dem Nick Clegg agreed last year that they would appear. The BBC is to hold separate party leader election debates in Scotland, Wales and Northern...

There is, of course, nothing the BBC likes more than talking about itself, so the news - much trailed in advance - that the corporation is going to axe as many as two of its unlistened-to digital radio stations, besides slimming down its bloated website, has filled the airwaves all day. Both candidates for the chop have their supporters, but the BBC managed perfectly well for decades without either Radio 6 or the Asian Network and I doubt they'll be missed for long. Radio 6, in particular, does nothing that is not or should not be done by Radios 1 and 2. "Encouraging new music", for example, which its fans claim to be a unique property of the threatened station, is precisely the justification trotted out whenever someone wonders what a taxpayer-funded organisation is doing putting out...

BBC committed to spend at least 80% of licence fee on 'content creation' as it pledges to cut £100m a year in overheads, close BBC 6 Music and the Asian Network and halve web outputBBC strategy review: LiveRead the full BBC strategy review (pdf)In pictures: Who's who at 6 MusicIn pictures: Who's who at the Asian NetworkThe BBC has committed to spending at least 90% of the licence fee on "high-quality content and distribution" by 2013. Within that 90p guarantee, at least 80% of the licence fee will be spent on "content creation".The BBC has also promised to cut £100m a year from overhead costs as part of a package of cuts unveiled today by the director general, Mark Thompson, which include proposals to close BBC 6 Music and the Asian Network and halve web output.The proposals, which will...

Package of BBC cuts unveiled today include proposals to halve web output and slash spending on foreign showsBBC strategy review: LiveRead the full BBC strategy review (pdf)In pictures: Who's who at 6 MusicIn pictures: Who's who at the Asian NetworkThe BBC has pledged to cut £100m a year from overhead costs as part of a package of cuts unveiled today by the director general, Mark Thompson, which include proposals to close BBC 6 Music and the Asian Network and halve web output.The proposals, which will free up £600m a year to be reinvested in high-quality content, also include cutting web budgets by 25% and spending on foreign shows such as Mad Men by 20%, as well as capping investment on sports rights and potentially selling off BBC magazines such as Top Gear.The proposals, which will be...

Mark Thompson today unveils the BBC's much-anticipated strategy review. Follow the announcements, details, reaction, analysis with Steve Busfield10.35am: BBC News - possibly miffed that The Times beat them to their own story last week - are busily breaking this morning's 10.45am embargo on the actual report itself. BBC 6 Music and Asian Network face the axe.10.30am: Mark Thompson is currently briefing staff about the changes he is proposing at the BBC under the umbrella "Putting Quality First".The contents were leaked to The Times on Friday. Proposals are understood to include:• Cutting budget and staffing at BBC Online by a quarter• Selling or licensing off BBC Magazines, such as Top Gear and Radio Times• Axing BBC 6 Music• Axing Asian Network digital radio station• Capping...

Police said the death was unexplained, and that the host of daytime television shows was dead when paramedics found himThe BBC television presenter Kristian Digby, 32, was yesterday found dead at his east London home. Police said the death was unexplained, and that the host of daytime television shows was dead when police and paramedics found him.Last night tributes were paid to Digby, presenter of programmes such as To Buy Or Not To Buy. He had also hosted That Gay Show for the BBC, and came to presenting after starting out behind the camera. He had been a talented young director.A BBC spokesman said: "Kristian was a much-loved and talented presenter for BBC Daytime. He brought a real sense of energy and warmth to all the shows he presented and will be sorely missed. Our thoughts are...

Circumstances of To Buy or Not to Buy presenter's death are 'unexplained', police sayBBC daytime television host Kristian Digby has been found dead at his flat in London today.Police sources said the circumstances of the 32-year-old To Buy or Not to Buy presenter's death were "unexplained".He was pronounced dead at the scene when ambulance services arrived at his flat on Richford Road, Newham, east London, this morning.A Scotland Yard spokesman said: "Police were called to reports of a body of a man in his 30s found at an address in Richford Road, E15."Ambulance services attended and life was pronounced extinct. Next of kin were informed and we await formal identification."There will be a post-mortem at 12 noon at East Ham mortuary."Newham CID are investigating the "unexplained"...

The former BBC director general attacks the incumbent as Thompson publishes his strategic reviewGreg Dyke, the BBC's former director general, has said his successor is overpaid and out of touch with his staff, on the eve of Mark Thompson unveiling plans for cuts to the corporation's services.Dyke, who is leading the Conservative party's review into the creative industries, said the BBC's programming was "in pretty good shape" but the way management was handling the reshaping of the corporation had failed staff."On air, it's in pretty good shape but it's a bit short of friends," said Dyke. "It didn't manage [Jonathan] Ross and [Russell] Brand very well. It doesn't have to pay its director general £800,000."It is a good job, and Mark [Thompson] earns more than twice what I earned when I...

There have been a lot of big mistakes at the BBC recently, leading to jitteriness and a lack of confidence. But it remains supremely powerful. Is it moving in the right direction? And what does its future hold?Twenty-four years ago, the respected media correspondent Michael Leapman published a book called The Last Days of the Beeb. Leapman had contributed to BBC shows for years and knew its internal culture well. By 1986, he found "an institution in disarray".BBC programmes, he wrote, "are seldom sold to the American networks". The corporation was run by "gifted amateurs". It was "enfeebled by a chronic lack of purpose". Above all, "The Beeb can find no effective defence . . . against a [Conservative] government ideologically opposed to the concept of a publicly funded corporation."...

This is not a blueprint for a small corporation, in retreat from digital – but sometimes we must leave space for othersThe BBC has one mission: to inform, educate and entertain audiences with programmes and services of high quality, originality and value. It strives to fulfil this mission not to further any political or commercial interest, but because the British public believe that universal access to ideas and cultural experiences of merit and ambition is a good in itself. The BBC is a part of public space because the public themselves have put it there.Public space is an open and enriching environment. There are no paywalls in public space. While commercial media companies have to assign different values to different target audiences – favouring the affluent, for example, or the...

BBC blocks open source software from iPlayer video service This is a very sad development from the UK’s public service broadcaster. (tags: Flash BBC DRM Adobe) Don’t Know Much About History People have been wondering where I got all my strange ideas about American history. The answer: this great book, which I thoroughly recommend. (tags: Books History Amazon USA)...

Ed Vaizey claims he became 'an avid listener' to the digital station over the weekend, after calling for BBC cuts last weekEd Vaizey, the shadow culture minister who last week welcomed the BBC's package of cuts, has changed his tune, calling for the digital radio station 6 Music to be saved.Last week Vaizey commented in the Guardian that the BBC's proposals to cut internet, radio and TV services were "intelligent and sensible".However, MediaGuardian.co.uk can reveal that when challenged by an angry fans of the station, he admitted he had not heard the station before but claimed he had become an avid fan over the weekend. This was part of a public backlash over the closure of 6 Music, which included tens of thousands of supporters protesting via Twitter and Facebook."Having not listened to...

You’ll all be familiar with the history of Redsave, the online retailer that’s had a barrage of criticism from consumers, solicitors, Hot UK Deals and others besides. There’s plenty of history to read up on if you’ve don’t know about the company, but we wanted to let you know that the BBC’s report into Redsave that we reported on last October, finally aired on the BBC last week. The company was featured in a segment on Inside Out South – most of the country doesn’t see this regional version of the show, so thanks to several Bitterwallet readers for letting us know about it. You only have a few hours left to view it on the BBC’s website, but it’s definitely worth a gander: Redsave have acted on previous complaints and changed...

With BBC digital music stations 6 Music and Asian Network under threat of closure, we highlight some of their leading stars, from Jarvis Cocker to Adil Ray...

We are privileged to have in the studio the man who dislikes being known as the rockstar physicist. Professor Brian Cox introduces his new BBC TV series Wonders of the Solar System in which he uses locations on Earth to describe how the laws of nature work across the solar system.The particle physicist also updates us on the new phase of experiments that are about to begin at the Large Hadron Collider at Cern. Environment correspondent David Adam tells us about his encounter with the new president of the Flat Earth Society, Daniel Shenton. The panel discusses how the flat Earth phenomenon throws up some interesting questions about attitudes to climate change. Fresh off the plane from California, science correspondent Ian Sample re-lives the highlights of this year's AAAS conference in San...