It isn't like the Daily Mail needs an excuse to bash the BBC, but was there more at play in the recent "Sachsgate" affair than meets the eye? And did it cost the corporation its much vaunted BBC Local web service?It was on Popbitch today, but it is I think worth repeating in more detail. The Daily Mail hit the BBC hard over the scandal that saw Jonathan Ross and Russell Brand leaving a regrettable message on the answer phone of the 'Fawlty Towers' actor relating to his grand daughter Georgina Baillie. In end the Daily Mail managed to get as many as 20,000 people to complain about the Radio 2 prank that went awry. It ran a number of stories, cried foul about falling public standards and called for heads to roll. It scored an equally regrettable victory over the BBC claiming a number of scalps including Radio 2 controller Lesley Douglas as well, cost Brand his job at the station and led to Ross being suspended from his chat show.At the same time as that was going on the BBC Trust was also making up its mind before going on to reject the corporation's plan to invest up to £68m in a web-based local video service across the UK. Apparently the service, which would have employed 400, was of a very high standard with many saying how how good it was.However, the Trust said it would not improve services enough "to justify either the investment of licence fee funds or the negative impact on commercial media".The Trust reached its decision after conducting a public value test and regional newspaper groups were some of the biggest critics of the proposed service as they were afraid of being blown out of the water by the BBC leading to a loss of staff and revenues.The Daily Mail and General Trust, which owns the Daily Mail is also a major UK publisher of regional newspapers via its Northcliffe Media subsidiary, which is behind such titles as Nottingham Post, Bristol Evening Post and the Leicester Mercury. Northcliffe is already struggling and DMGT recently announced "significant" cuts at Northcliffe Media as revenues at the regional outfit tumbled 28% year on year in October.So did the Daily Mail go for broke on Sachsgate knowing that it would hurt the BBC when it came to a decision on BBC Local?
Or is that simply too much of a reach? Maybe it was just as the Trust put it and that BBC Local could not justify either the investment of licence fee funds or the negative impact on commercial rivals and nothing else, but hey everyone loves a good conspiracy story.
It's worth noting what is happening to local media. It is being hit hard. ITV is cutting regional output and regional newspapers are cutting staff left, right and centre. BBC Local could have been the best thing that happened to local news services in years.
I see your point Gordo but I don't agree with your statement that 'BBC Local could have been the best thing that happened to local news services in years'. In fact, I think quite the opposite given that it would have put more pressure on local ad-funded newspaper groups thereby threatening media plurality. Unless, of course, we want to live in a totalitarian state where the only media outlet is the BBC whose truth would never be doubted....
Thanks for reporting about this -- seems yet another victim has resulted from so-called Sachsgate, to the shocking tune of 400 jobs that won't go forward.
There are too many people employed in non-revenue generating jobs by the State anyway so I don't have any sympathy. I have more sympathy with staff at those poor regional newspaper outfits that are being forced to cut jobs and would have made more redundancies if the BBC had pressed ahead with these unnecessary plans.
Gordon...
I recently did a post on AdScam about an AdAge column from Steve Rubel of Edelman, who waffled on about the death of media within five years. He claims not to have read a newspaper in two years. Although I am sure he reads them on line. There is something about actually holding a REAL paper in your hands while you sip your morning coffee, or whatever, that cannot be matched by the on line version. I would hope that the Daily Mail would be one of the first to go in Steve's new media reality. Unfortunately, *** floats, so it will probably outlast most of the real newspapers.
Cheers/George
I don't think this conspiracy theory adds up because, if anything, the Sachs affair would have buried any other Trust decisions.
Stephen, it adds up perfectly, and given what you say it's a double-bonus for the Mail: firstly, Sachsgate makes the BBC Trust jumpy, so they overrule the local video service, afraid of any more BBC-bashing. At the same time, the furore over Sachsgate guarantees that the media focuses on that aspect of the Trust's ruling, and the local video proposals are quietly brushed under the carpet.
Gordon Macmillan
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