For the record: 21/09/2009
"The BBC probably has reached the limits of reasonable expansion." Culture Secretary Ben Bradshaw’s message to the corporation at last week's Royal Television Society Cambridge Convention.
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Could this be the "Crown-gate" moment for the BBC1 controller Jay Hunt? When her predecessor, Peter Fincham, presided over the misrepresentation of a "storming out" by a powerful figure it ended up costing him his job.
This time we have a monarch allegedly in the wrong, the "Queen of Mean" Anne Robinson, who is said to have falsely claimed that business guru Duncan Bannatyne "stormed off" her Watchdog show in a "very, very angry" mood. Not true, the Dragon's Den star tells the Daily Express. "I have a live audience and the crew as my witness. Perhaps Anne has some memory loss or dreamt it. We were begged to stay for an extra hour as Anne kept fluffing her lines. I had an appointment so had to hurry but in no way stormed out."
Style queen search
In a blatant attempt to suck up to media agencies during an advertising downturn, Bauer Media's Grazia magazine is to take its "Style Hunter" team on a tour of 13 of the companies which are most influential in deciding advertising spend. It is, allegedly, "a search to find the UK's most stylish woman in the media industry". Staff at BBC Radio Sheffield or indeed Vogue have no need to reach for the lippy, it's strictly about media agencies. The winner will get £1,000 to spend in Banana Republic. Grazia readers will be fascinated.
Bet your shirt
The Spectator has changed its business model, taking magazine content off its website to encourage users to buy it in print or digital format. The ancient periodical has also come up with another way to make money, namely assigning high-profile columnists such as Toby Young, below, and Sarah Standing to write advertorials. In this week's pull out for Harrods, Young agonises over to whether to tuck his shirt in or not. Standing opines that a "gift of a great shirt is the male equivalent of a new handbag – and just as thrillingly welcome."
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