26/01/2011

On the day the BBC World Service announces substantial job losses, Steve Hewlett talks to the Director General Mark Thompson about cuts, the licence fee settlement and the corporation's strategy for the forthcoming years. Are the changes at the World Service a sign of things to come, as the BBC finds a way to make efficiency savings following a licence fee settlement that will see its budget reduced by sixteen per cent? And as candidates for the Chairmanship of the BBC Trust are considered, Steve asks him about his relationship with it, as it works to represent licence fee payers. In the studio with us, Broadcasting consultant and former editor of Current Affairs for the BBC Tim Suter, who offers his analysis of Mark Thompson's plans, and Guardian columnist Maggie Brown who tells us what she would hope to see in the next Chairman of the BBC Trust. The media regulator Ofcom has published a report on News Corp's bid to buy the part of BSkyB they don't already own. The Culture Secretary Jeremy Hunt has said that he may refer the bid to the competition commission but is first giving News Corp more time to suggest remedies. Stewart Purvis, the former Partner for Content & Standards at Ofcom joins Steve Hewlett to discuss the report's findings. The producer is Kathryn Takatsuki.