22/09/2010

A story has leaked this morning that the BBC is to allow the National Audit Office to look at its accounts - an idea proposed by the three main parties before the election. An announcement is expected from Don Foster at the Lib Dem conference in Liverpool. When the idea was first raised, there were concerns that government inspection of the BBC books could compromise its independence. Media commentator Dan Sabbagh of Beehive City looks at the potential points of conflict. In Prospect magazine tomorrow, Peter Kellner writes on his research that shows a marked drop in the public trust in journalists in the last 5 years while trust in politicians has apparently increased. He discusses this with Elinor Goodman, former political editor at Channel 4 news. Elinor Goodman is at the Lib Dem conference and comments on the change in the level of media interest this year. And in a wide ranging interview, Lord Puttnam discusses the possible impact of Rupert Murdoch's News Corp's planned buy out of BSkyB, executive pay at the BBC and Channel 4 and the government's closure of the UK Film Council. The producer is Simon Tillotson.