For the record: 14/12/2009

"The [BBC] Trust is unduly slow and bureaucratic, expensive to run and creates inbuilt conflict within the organisation." Greg Dyke calls for the governing body to be axed.

Blog off

The brave new world of the BBC's Editors blog (with its romantic association with the USS Enterprise's captain's Log) seems to have sailed up a black hole.

When it was launched in May 2006, "to explain the editorial decisions and dilemmas" in the BBC newsroom, the big cheeses hurled themselves forward to show enthusiasm. In July 2006, the blog hit 101 posts a month. But since then it's been seen as a great chore. By August this year the output was down to a meagre six posts. So far this month we have only a lone contribution on Copenhagen from Mary Hockaday. I suppose that, as "Head of the BBC Multimedia Newsroom", she has to do it.

Rising 'Star'

In possibly another sign of the failings of capitalism, the Morning Star, which will celebrate its 80th birthday on 1 January, is showing rare resilience in a beleaguered sector. Founded as the organ of the Communist Party of Great Britain, it's received fresh investment and is one of the only titles in the industry planning to up pagination and take on staff.

Rebekah's riot act

Party time tonight at News International, where boss Rebekah Brooks has ordered that each of her four national titles socialises in a separate corner of Wapping's old press room, with boozy staff expressly forbidden from returning to their newsrooms.

Dawn downs Grade

Less yuletide cheer from channel Five chief Dawn Airey, who mocks her former boss Michael Grade as "the ex-chief exec of ITV". "I've never sent him a Christmas card and I suspect I'll never receive one from him," she tells Broadcast magazine.