Blair not there - Biased BBC

Blair not there: "

BBC most read stories day after Chilcot.

"

RATS' NESTS... - Biased BBC

RATS' NESTS...: "Whenever you turn over a stone involving reports about 'climate change' at the BBC, it reveals a whole new rats' nest of other problems. Take this report designed to show that, even if the IPCC has got it wrong about Himalayan glaciers, changes to rainfall patterns caused by 'climate change' will wreak havoc. It's part, of course, of the BBC's damage limitation efforts to shore up climate alarmism in the face of the growing revelations of lies and fraud. The reporter is Navin Singh Khadka, a Nepali journalist who files for the BBC World Service as well as online; over the years, he has written numerous 'climate change' panic stories. Mr Khadka, it transpires, is also a member of the Climate Change Media Partnership (CCMD), which exists - as far as I can see - entirely to spread warmist alarmism:

Just 11% of the 1500 journalists accredited to the 2007 Bali climate change summit were from developing countries, highlighting the urgent need to provide training and opportunities for journalists from these countries to report on climate change.

CCMD is supported, among others, by the International Institute for Environment and Development (the IIED), which receives funding from the UK government (DfID)and also Comic Relief. The BBC is therefore indirectly a supporter of both these organisations because the vast majority of Comic Relief funds come from its BBC exposure, and also senior BBC staff are trustees.

Thus Mr Khadka, I would contend, is yet another 'climate change' fanatic employed by the BBC. He recently gave an interview to the Nepal Monitor in which he stated:

But treating climate as a ceremonial issue (that is paying attention to it only when conferences take place or, say, when the world is observing environment day) has been our greatest weakness. The media need to wake up to the fact that it is an issue about our lives and the issue has to be conveyed effectively to the people.

It's striking also that in his report about the Himalayn glaciers, the first authority he turns to is Mats Eriksson, a senior hydrologist with the Nepal-based International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD). I checked out this body and guess what? Like Mr Khadka, it also supports warming alarmism, with this among its primary goals:

Globalisation and climate change have an increasing influence on the stability of fragile mountain ecosystems and the livelihoods of mountain people. ICIMOD aims to assist mountain people to understand these changes, adapt to them, and make the most of new opportunities, while addressing upstream-downstream issues.

I know I write about thes issues often, but it's simply staggering to behold the extent to which the BBC is in bed with 'climate change' in all its lying, fanatical manifestations.

Click through to read and contribute comments on this post.

"

The News Agenda v The Documentary Agenda - Harry's Place

The News Agenda v The Documentary Agenda: "

The News agenda and the Documentary agenda are completely at odds, at the moment.

The News agenda = “bush dog tony dog yobbos jihadis pandemics war crimes”

The Documentary agenda = “Ah, Britain. Glorious, glorious Britain. Great Britain. Its graceful rivers, its noble coast, its rich and proud history, its traditions, and Admiral Lord Nelson! We’re all in it together. It will all work out fine.”

The Documentary agenda is playing the same role that The West Wing did during Bush’s presidency. It is the plausible counterfactual.

"

HEADS IN SAND....Biased BBC

HEADS IN SAND....: "It's endlessly fascinating to watch how the BBC wriggles and turns to ensure that it keeps churning out 'climate change' lies. One technique used with obdurate single-mindedness is to report only the views of those who agree that there is 'consensus'. Thus when the government's chief scientist, Sir John Beddington, says that's the case, that's what the BBC reports. Never mind the latest revelations about the IPCC lies about the Himalayan glaciers melting by 2035; never mind that Bin Laden is now using 'climate change' as a basis for the need to wreck the Western economy (I wait with bated breath to see how the politicians who support climate lies spin that one); and let's also ignore that it was propaganda from Greenpeace (and WWF), rather than scientific research, that underpinned the IPCC latest report.

Let's get on instead with wasting vast amounts of BBC licence fee payers' money - £1.74m of it - on sending 177 BBC boys and girls to Glastonbury. That's what our public service remit is all about!

Click through to read and contribute comments on this post.

"

BBC Worldwide should pay £60m a year for brand name, producers argue - Guardian

BBC Worldwide should pay £60m a year for brand name, producers argue: "

BBC's commercial arm gains huge benefits from use of corporation branding, argues research commissioned by Pact

BBC Worldwide, the corporation's commercial arm, should be forced to pay as much as £60m a year for the right to use the BBC brand, according to Pact, the independent producers' trade body.

Pact is also calling for BBC Worldwide to lose its preferential status in bidding for rights to the corporation's programming, in a report commissioned from research consultancy Oliver & Ohlbaum Associates.

The organisation said these reforms should be introduced whether or not part or all of BBC Worldwide is sold off.

BBC Worldwide gains huge commercial benefits by avoiding the usual business practice of paying an annual licence fee for use of the valuable BBC brand, according to the report.

The report examines the structure of the deals to licence the use of the Virgin Media and Virgin Radio brands. Each deal is structured on the basis of paying an annual fee relating to revenues earned.

According to the report BBC Worldwide, which made more than £1bn in revenues for the year to the end of March 2009, should be paying as much as £60m a year.

'Applying this levy to revenues (excluding the UKTV channel business, which do not use the BBC name), produces an annual licence fee growing to £60m per annum by 2014/15,' stated the report.

'Note that were BBC Worldwide pay a licence fee to the BBC for the use of the name this would not result in a loss of value to the BBC, it would merely transfer the value of the asset (and thus potential sale price) into an ongoing annual charge.'

The report points out that the effect of an annual licence payment would be to reduce BBC Worldwide's value to any buyer by around 39%.

Pact is also seeking to scrap BBC Worldwide's 'first look' and 'last look' arrangement with the public service arm of the corporation when bidding for programming rights. The commercial arm gets the chance to put in the first and last bids in this process.

'The current relationship between BBC Worldwide and the BBC is not appropriate for a stand-alone business, and has contributed to Worldwide being the biggest exporter of British TV in the market,' said John McVay, chief executive of Pact. 'By choosing not to open up the market for its programmes to competitive bidding also raises the question of whether the BBC is getting a true market value for its programmes, and ultimately, the full return on their investment funded by the licence fee payer. These are areas that need to be addressed before it can be privatized, but also if it is not.'

A review of BBC Worldwide's activities by the BBC Trust published in November concluded that the deal should stay in place but there should be a more 'transparent process' going forward.

However, a report last year by the House of Commons culture, media and sport slect committee that examined BBC Worldwide's activities concluded there was 'little evidence' to show that the BBC is 'currently obtaining the maximum value from its programming' through the 'first look' arrangement with BBC Worldwide.

'To foster effective competition in the UK market and allow UK distributors a fair chance to build their presence in the international market, some of the privileges that BBC Worldwide enjoys need to be curtailed,' said McVay.

Last month the government included BBC Worldwide in a portfolio of assets that could be sold off and urged the corporation to consider a full or partial sale. Selling off a stake was also backed by the Lords communications committee in a report published on Monday.

However, Mark Thompson, BBC director general, has ruled out full privatisation, saying in a MediaGuardian.co.uk comment piece in December that the BBC 'cannot envisage a Worldwide in which the BBC does not continue to play a central role'.

Thompson also said Worldwide would 'only be worth a fraction of its present value' if it was sold off and stripped of the BBC brand and that 'the right question to ask is neither how to chop it back ... but how to develop and exploit it'.

Worldwide is wholly owned by the BBC and, if a stake were to be sold, it is understood the money would return to the corporation, although it could be urged to use the windfall to subsidise other activities or to make up any reduction in the licence fee.

• To contact the MediaGuardian news desk email editor@mediaguardian.co.uk or phone 020 3353 3857. For all other inquiries please call the main Guardian switchboard on 020 3353 2000.

• If you are writing a comment for publication, please mark clearly 'for publication'.

• BBC Worldwide
• BBC
• Independent production companies
• Television industry
• Media business

Mark Sweney

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"

Luvvies - Biased BBC

Luvvies: "

'I could talk to you forever'

Richard Bacon to Marcus Brigstocke, R5L 28 Jan.

Click through to read and contribute comments on this post.

"

BBC spending criticised by Audit Office - The Independent

BBC spending criticised by Audit Office: "

The head of the National Audit Office (NAO) was yesterday highly critical of BBC spending after the corporation paid £250,000 for a purpose-built studio with a view of the Vienna skyline as part of its coverage of the 2008 European Championship, for which no home nation's football team had qualified. The BBC spent £8.68m on covering the event, to which it sent 142 of its own staff.

"

Jeremy Clarkson rakes in another £830,000 from Top Gear - alongside his £1m BBC salary - Daily Mail

Jeremy Clarkson rakes in another £830,000 from Top Gear - alongside his £1m BBC salary: "
The TV presenter has cashed in on a lucrative deal with bosses, allowing him to make money from merchandising and overseas sales bearing the Top Gear brand."

BBC does not know how much it spends on events, NAO report finds - Telegraph

BBC does not know how much it spends on events, NAO report finds: "The BBC has been criticised for its 'casual approach' to spending licence fee
payers' money at large music and sporting events."

BBC 'casually' spent £580,000 of licence fee a day at Glastonbury - Daily Mail

BBC 'casually' spent £580,000 of licence fee a day at Glastonbury: "
Edward Leigh, chairman of the Public Accounts Committee, accused the BBC of having a 'casual' approach to spending licence fee money and said confidence in it had been 'dented'."

SOTU on Today - Biased BBC

SOTU on Today: "For Mark Mardell there was only one word to describe Obama's SOTU speech, and boy did he use it on the Today programme: 'striking phrases… striking phrase… striking passage… the words were striking' (that last one appears on his blog, too). His colleague Paul Adams preferred a different cliché, telling the Today audience it was Obama's 'most important speech to date'. Of course it was Paul - they always are. Later in the programme Jim Naughtie discussed the speech with two commentators, both from pro-Obama publications - Newsweek's Stryker McGuire (check out the response to the speech from the magazine's Obama-worshipping Senior Editor) and the Guardian's Jonathan Freedland (or 'Johnny' as Naughtie called him - nice and cosy).

Note to Today editor - other viewpoints are available, please check internet for details.

Click through to read and contribute comments on this post.

"

What the BBC spent on major sporting and music events - Guardian

What the BBC spent on major sporting and music events: "

Full details of the big events the corporation covered in 2008/09 – from the Beijing Olympics to Wimbledon and the Proms

The BBC's coverage of major sporting and music events – what it spent where in the year to the end of March 2009*

Total spend of £357m on sporting and music events coverage, comprising £246m on rights and £111m on production.

Beijing Olympics

Cost: £15.57m (4% under budget), including £160,000 on purpose-built studio

BBC production staff: 491

Euro 2008 football championship in Austria and Switzerland

Cost: £8.68m (1% under budget), including £250,000 on studios with a view of the Vienna skyline

Staff: 142

Wimbledon

Cost: £4.22m (less than 1% over budget)

Staff: 358

BBC Proms

Cost: £3.71m (1% under budget)

Staff: 145

Glastonbury

£1.74m (1% over budget)

Staff: 277

Staff and talent cost per day: £90,000

Radio 1 Big Weekend in Maidstone

Cost: £888,000 (5% over budget)

Staff: 271

Staff and talent cost per day: £138,000

* Source: NAO report

• BBC
• Television industry

John Plunkett

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"

BBC's big events spending criticised by National Audit Office - Guardian

BBC's big events spending criticised by National Audit Office: "

BBC 'does not have transparency' over cost of coverage for major events such as World Cup and Glastonbury, says NAO
Read the full NAO report

The National Audit Office has criticised the BBC's coverage of major sport and music events such as the football World Cup and Glastonbury, saying the corporation 'does not have transparency' over the way money is spent on its output.

The NAO report, commissioned by the BBC Trust, found that the corporation spent £357m on the rights for and coverage of sport and music events in the year to the end of March 2009.

It focused on six major events during the period: the Euro 2008 football championship in Austria and Switzerland, the Beijing Olympics, Wimbledon, Glastonbury, the BBC Proms and Radio 1's Big Weekend in Maidstone.

Although the NAO acknowledged that such programming is 'valued by millions of viewers and listeners', it criticised the BBC for failing to adequately measure the amount spent on many big events.

The NAO also revealed that coverage of one major event during the year in question – Wimbledon – went over budget, while BBC executives could not find the paperwork approving the production budgets for three events.

TV coverage of Wimbledon in 2008 was £700,000 above the BBC's approved budget of £3.5m, although the NAO emphasised that four out of the other five came in at or below budget.

'The BBC has told us the budgets for its coverage of the Beijing 2008 Games, Wimbledon, and Euro 2008 were approved at divisional level, but could not provide documentary evidence of this as the approval was not minuted,' the NAO said.

The NAO added that the corporation should ensure that total budgets for such events are more accurately collated, however. 'The BBC does not have transparency over the total budget for coverage of individual major events,' the report found.

'Approvals processes for expenditure mean that all expenditure is approved but not gathered together to allow the BBC to consider total costs against achievements.'

The NAO said the cost of major events are spread across different departments providing TV, radio and online coverage and the total amount spent is not therefore known.

'The BBC does not prepare a single budget for individual events that gathers together the total cost of coverage across platforms' it added. 'Separate budgets are prepared and approved for each platform (television channel, radio station, online), and the BBC told us some talent costs are approved separately as part of long-term contracts.

'For example, the BBC Sport plan included TV (including HD), radio and interactive plans of £13.7m for coverage of the Beijing Olympics. However, this figure did not include additional budgets of £2.5m for some talent, BBC staff and online coverage, which were approved separately. The total budget of £16.2m was not brought together anywhere.'

The NAO recommended that BBC management put in place a series of measures, including introducing better cost benefit analysis systems, and should 'adopt a more structured approach to the management of its coverage of major events'.

Paying presenters and commentators is a major part of the overall budget for big events, the report also revealed.

'The cost of talent (presenters and commentators) can be a significant element of coverage expenditure, particularly for the events covered by BBC Sport. The cost of talent was ... between six and 20% for sporting events,' it found.

The BBC has been taken for task by the Conservative party for spending too much money on top talent, and executives were criticised recently for failing to reveal salaries to the NAO.

A BBC trustee, Jeremy Peat, said: 'The report finds that the BBC has succeeded in coming in very close to or under budget for all but one of the major events considered.

'The trust notes that the executive has already implemented many of the NAO's recommendations, but there is still more to do and we will review progress on a regular basis in the context of the action plan that we have asked the executive to produce.'

Asked about the fact BBC management could not find paperwork relating to the Beijing Olympics, a BBC Trust spokeswoman said: 'We consider that to be a serious matter and we've made it known to the executive that its not acceptable. But there have been considerable improvements in records keeping since then.'

A spokesman for BBC management added: 'Today's review not only recognises that these events are enjoyed and valued by millions of viewers and listeners but that the BBC has for the most part delivered these events within budget and with appropriate staffing to provide thousands of hours of content for TV, radio and online. The BBC accepts and will now implement the recommendations made in the review.'

• To contact the MediaGuardian news desk email editor@mediaguardian.co.uk or phone 020 3353 3857. For all other inquiries please call the main Guardian switchboard on 020 3353 2000.

• If you are writing a comment for publication, please mark clearly 'for publication'.

• BBC
• BBC Trust
• Television industry

James Robinson

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"

BBC spent £250,000 for better view of Vienna at Euro 2008 - Guardian

BBC spent £250,000 for better view of Vienna at Euro 2008: "

BBC prepared own studio for Euro 2008 football in Austria and Switzerland as host's facilities didn't overlook 'key buildings'

The BBC spent £250,000 on a purpose-built studio at the Euro 2008 football championships in Austria and Switzerland because it did not like the view from the facilities provided by the host broadcaster, it was revealed today.

A National Audit Office report into the corporation's spending on major sporting and music events said the studio provided at the International Broadcasting Centre in Vienna for Euro 2008 was deemed by the BBC not to have an 'editorially suitable camera shot of key buildings'.

The BBC's coverage of the tournament was anchored by Gary Lineker from a local studio in the Austrian capital, built and operated at a cost of an extra £250,000, the report said. The total cost of the BBC's coverage of Euro 2008, to which it sent 142 staff, was £8.68m, 1% under budget.

Another £160,000 was spent on a purpose-built studio for the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, which it said was 'editorially necessary', today's report revealed.

'For Euro 2008, the BBC was allocated space and facilities in the International Broadcasting Centre, some four miles from the centre of Vienna and without, in the BBC's opinion, an editorially suitable camera shot of key buildings,' said the NAO report.

'The BBC therefore paid an additional £250,000 for the construction and operation of its local studio in Vienna, with a backdrop of the city skyline. For Beijing, the construction and operation of the BBC's own studio, which it considered editorially necessary, was approximately £160,000.'

The corporation spent a total of £357m on major sporting and music events in the year to the end of March 2009.

Some £246m was spent on buying the rights to the events – which included the Beijing Olympics, the Wimbledon tennis championships, Euro 2008 and the Glastonbury music festival – and £111m on the live production and broadcast of coverage across TV, radio and online.

The NAO said the cost of talent, including presenters and commentators, can be a 'significant element' of the corporation's coverage expenditure, 'particularly those covered by BBC Sport'. Talent accounted for either 2% or 3% of music events, and between 6% and 20% of sporting events.

But the BBC Trust requested the NAO not reveal total talent costs for each event, which it said could 'constitute disclosure of talent fees for individuals which would be in breach of the data protection act'.

The report focused on six big events – the Beijing Olympics, Euro 2008, Wimbledon, Glastonbury 2008, the BBC Proms and BBC Radio 1's Big Weekend music festival in Maidstone, Kent.

'For the events we reviewed the BBC did not compare the proportions spent on the cost of talent with the added value of using those presenters,' said the NAO.

'The added value was particularly important given the BBC had exclusive free-to-air coverage for two of the three sporting events. There was no inter-event comparison even though the proportions varied markedly.

'While such comparisons clearly have to take into account the editorial ambition for the programme, a systematic analysis of the added value from high proportionate talent costs could help the BBC make best use of its resources.'

The BBC spent £15.57m on its coverage of the Beijing Olympics, including £13.7m for TV, radio and interactive, plus another £2.5m for talent, staff and online coverage. The NAO report said the total cost of the coverage had not previously been published because spending was split between different budgets by the corporation.

'The total budget of £16.2m was not brought together anywhere,' said the NAO report. The total cost of covering the 2008 games was 4% below its planned budget.

The BBC spent £4.22m on Wimbledon, less than 1% under budget. The 2008 BBC Proms, which cost £3.71m, were also marginally under budget, but Glastonbury was 1% over budget, at £1.74m, and Radio 1's Big Weekend, which was 5% over budget, at £888,000.

A total of 491 staff were sent to cover the Beijing Olympics, 358 staff covered Wimbledon, 277 for Glastonbury, 271 for Radio 1's Big Weekend and 145 for the Proms.

The report said 84% of the BBC's outside broadcast expenditure was with SIS. The company bought BBC Resources' outside broadcast operation in March 2008 for an estimated £20m.

"The BBC's five-year contract with SIS guarantees it a minimum amount of business across the BBC, not just Audio & Music and BBC Sport," said the report.

'While the BBC is not obliged to use SISLive, and can therefore competitively tender the work, it will incur a financial penalty if the minimum expenditure threshold across the BBC is not met. This was agreed as part of the sale of BBC Resources, and may diminish the advantages that can accrue from competitive tendering.

'The BBC's rationale for placing a high volume of provision with one provider was that it secured what the BBC believed to be a competitive price on the disposal of this part of BBC Resources.'

The report said the corporation had 'almost no formal cost-benefit consideration of different coverage options' when it drew up provisional budgets for big sporting events.

It said budgets were based on the cost of covering previous events – 'rolled forward versions of previous budgets' – but there was a 'more comprehensive budget-building process for the four-yearly Olympics and Euro football finals'.

'The BBC made only limited use of the potential for using internal benchmarking of costs to improve efficiency,' it said.

It said the six sporting events featured were all 'largely within final budgets'. But it added: 'The BBC has recognised that the absence of a formal documented control framework or a formal planning procedure may have exposed the BBC to unnecessary risks.'

• To contact the MediaGuardian news desk email editor@mediaguardian.co.uk or phone 020 3353 3857. For all other inquiries please call the main Guardian switchboard on 020 3353 2000.

• If you are writing a comment for publication, please mark clearly 'for publication'.

• BBC
• Sports rights
• BBC Trust
• Television industry
• Euro 2008

John Plunkett

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"

BBC 'sacked popular radio presenter after row with local council over wife's £25 parking fine' - Daily Mail

BBC 'sacked popular radio presenter after row with local council over wife's £25 parking fine': "
Gareth Evans, 39 revealed on Facebook how his wife Joanna was given a £25 ticket for parking badly in an 'empty' town centre car park."

A RAY OF SUNSHINE? - MAYBE NOT... - Biased BBC

A RAY OF SUNSHINE? - MAYBE NOT...: "The BBC has finally woken up to some elements of the deluge of climate realism that has emerged via blogs over the past months, and has reported that the CRU may have acted illegally in not complying to freedom of information requests about its data. But have no fear, behind the scenes, its propagandists are working as assiduously as ever to produce 'climate change' moonshine. Back in November, I found that BBC journalists and others were being brainwashed on special courses by the green fanatical PR outfit Futerra. Now a BBC reporter called Helen Grady has filed this, pointing out that alarmists use too much religious end-of-the-world nonsense in attempting to terrify people. Her source for this concern? Why, none other than Futerra, those same 'experts' to whom the BBC shells out thousands of pounds of our hard-earned cash - in order to spout such nonsense.

Meanwhile, Harrabin continues to report faithfully as 'the science' a bogus survey which say that CO2 feedback loops are going to cause out-of-control temperature rises. It takes two minutes on the blogsphere to find that these alarmist lunatics are recycling entirely unreliable proxy data to back up their theories, along with the same bogus computer models that underpin the whole 'climate change' edifice. So why does he report it all as the gospel truth?

Click through to read and contribute comments on this post.

"

STOP THE BBC - ABOLISH THE LICENCE FEE - NETWORK

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BBC Trust chairman Sir Michael Lyons claims £60,000 in travel and accommodation expenses for living outside London - Telegraph

BBC Trust chairman Sir Michael Lyons claims £60,000 in travel and accommodation expenses for living outside London: "The head of the BBC's governing body claimed more than £60,000 in travel and
accommodation expenses in a year because he lives outside London."

BBC Trust chairman's summer of Glastonbury and cricket at Lord's - Guardian

BBC Trust chairman's summer of Glastonbury and cricket at Lord's: "

As well as hospitality tickets, Sir Michael Lyons claimed £29,000 for personal expenses in six months

As chairman of the BBC Trust, Sir Michael Lyons is expected to do his share of pressing the flesh. And last summer was no exception, with his engagements including Glastonbury, the Spectator summer party – and a visit to Lord's to watch the Ashes, as a guest of Channel Five.

Details of Lyons's BBC-related social engagements for the summer are included in the trust's hospitality register for the six months to the end of September, published today.

The BBC Trust also today published details of trustees' personal expenses for the period, showing that Lyons claimed £29,000.

Last year the trust also ran up almost £6,500 in expenses on lobbying lunches, co-hosted by Lyons, for the three main political parties during party conference season.

According to the BBC Trust report on individual trustees expenses a total of £63,054 was claimed by 13 individuals in the six months to the end of September, down from the £78,394 in the six months to the end of March and the £77,137 for the same period last year.

The hospitality register shows that Lyons attended the first day of the Lord's Ashes Test on 16 July last year, as a guest of the Five chief executive, Dawn Airey. He would have seen the England captain, Andrew Strauss, score a century against Australia in a match the home side went on to win.

Other corporate hospitality invites Lyons accepted over the six months included lunch and access to the directors' box at the Grand National in April, courtesy of the chairman of Aintree.

Lyons also took a production pass for Glastonbury in late June, attended the Spectator's annual summer bash a few days later, and was a guest at the 800th anniversary of the Cambridge University Prom on 22 July.

On a more serious tack, Lyons co-hosted a three lunches for representatives of the Labour, Liberal Democrat and Conservative parties between 21 September and 5 October last year, which cost the trust £6,415.

The Labour lunch, co-hosted with trustee Diane Coyle, proved the most expensive, coming to £2,869. The Liberal Democrats ranked second on the trust's lobby lunch bill at £1,820. Lyons co-hosted this with trustee Janet Lewis-Jones.

The Tories were the cheapest lunch dates, at £1,726. Lyons co-hosted with trustees Anthony Fry, Alison Hastings and Jeremy Peat.

Included in the cost of each of the lunches, paid for by the BBC Trust as a whole, was venue hire and hospitality with attendees described as a mixture of 'invited external guests and stakeholders'.

Overall, the trustees claimed about £24,000 on accommodation, £12,000 on cabs and 'long distance cars', £16,000 on rail travel and £7,000 on flights.

Lyons's expenses were the biggest – coming in at £29,604. Of that figure, £8,485 was for hotel rooms and £14,517 went on cars. Within this the cost of a car and driver for Lyons during the period was £13,493. Taxis, most commonly to and from his home to Birmingham railway station, came to £1,025. Train travel, comprising mostly trips from his home station of Birmingham to London, hit £5,540.

The trustee with the next biggest expenses was Peat with £9,376, followed by Hastings with £8,764, and Rotha Johnston with £7,625.

Hastings spent the most of any trustee on cabs, at £1,887. Johnston spent the most of all trustees on flights at £3,250, all from Belfast airport in Northern Ireland where she lives to London, closely followed by Peat on £3,141, mostly on flying from his home in Scotland to London.

Mehuda Mian was the most frugal BBC Trust member, claiming just £513, with four trustees in total claiming less than £1,000, including David Liddiment, Coyle and Fry.

• To contact the MediaGuardian news desk email editor@mediaguardian.co.uk or phone 020 3353 3857. For all other inquiries please call the main Guardian switchboard on 020 3353 2000.

• If you are writing a comment for publication, please mark clearly 'for publication'.

• Sir Michael Lyons
• BBC
• BBC expenses
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Mark Sweney

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BBC criticised for being too 'London-centric' - Television

BBC criticised for being too 'London-centric': "The BBC and other broadcasters are too 'London-centric' and regard anything
outside the M25 as 'inferior', MPs have warned."

BBC's governing body lavishes £11,000 on lunches with MPs and boxes at the Proms in just SIX months - Daily Mail

BBC's governing body lavishes £11,000 on lunches with MPs and boxes at the Proms in just SIX months: "
Despite the painful economic climate, BBC Trust officials spent £11,000 on lunches with MPs and hosting boxes at the Proms over a six-month period."

LOVING HAMASTAN.. - Biased BBC

LOVING HAMASTAN..: "The bias lies in the very first sentence.

'UN development projects in Gaza are being stalled by Israel's blockade of the region.'

As we all know, the BBC has such a loathing of Israel that it always spins in favour of Hamastan and of course when the UN is involved, it's a double-header of rancid bias. Wonder why the BBC couldn't run the same item as follows,

'UN development projects in Gaza are being stalled by Hamas terror threats against Israel'

Click through to read and contribute comments on this post.

"

GET ORF MY LAND... - Biased BBC

GET ORF MY LAND...: "I know that Biased BBC has quite a few readers involved in farming. A very noble but challenging activity but not one the BBC has much sympathy for - unless, of course, it is about environmentalism rather than producing food! Listened to an item this morning on Today @ 7.16am which was all about the link-up between farmers and environmentalists, aimed at squeezing more cash from Brussels in exchange for farmers...erm, not farming. Through the BBC prism, one could be forgiven for thinking that our farmers are some sort of legion of tractorised eco-warriors!

Click through to read and contribute comments on this post.

"

FRAMING THE NARRATIVE... - Biased BBC

FRAMING THE NARRATIVE...: "Oh god - for the past two days now, Gordon Brown has been residing in the castle of a village near to where I live. He has landed here in Northern Ireland to 'help' the local political parties 'save' the 'power=sharing' Assembly. Good old Gordon - such a nice man.

The BBC narrative on what is happening here is framed in almost childish terms.

They would have you believe that the good and brave Gordon Brown (along with his Irish counterpart in unpopularity, the charming Mr Brian 'BIFFO' Cowan) have come here to see if they can give encouragement to the local Northern Ireland parties as they seek to do 'the deal' that will 'save' all the good things that have been achieved here. The nation waits for white smoke to emerge from Hillsborough Castle.

OK - now back on planet earth and away from the spin of the BBC.

Brown and Cowan have come here to pressurise the spineless and now openly corrupted DUP into agreeing a date for devolving Policing and Justice powers into an administration that is inherently dysfunctional and which contains murderers, bombers, gunmen and bankrobbers. This is presented as 'the last piece' of the devolution justice - in fact it is the last chance to save democracy by preventing the very thing that Brown and co are here to urge on.

Now I appreciate that the view I have expressed is just one view - but it is one that the BBC seems oddly reluctant to air. Why?

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STARTING THE DAY THE SOCIALIST WAY... - Biased BBC

STARTING THE DAY THE SOCIALIST WAY...: "Start the day the socialist way! All morning BBC Today has been droning on about the alleged 'fact' that 'inequality' between the richest and the poorest has been getting greater in the UK. BBC keen to explain on several occasions how this gap INCREASED during the years of evil Conservative government but even under the more enlightened rule of Labour, it has still grown, Isn't it just awful and how delightful for the BBC to be able to find only those commentators who take the whimsies of the National Equality Panel seriously. Just imagine had they gone to speak to someone who disputes the basis of this risible study and the ludicrous conclusions it draws? Still, that's never going to happen. I am disappointed Today did not hail the achievements of the Dear leader on this issue since thanks to his staggering mismanagement of the economy we are all poorer. Equality of outcome??

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"

Balance - Biased BBC

Balance: "Bishop Hill:

The BBC's flagship Today programme featured an environmentalist presenter, John Humphrys, interviewing an environmentalist, Tony Juniper and an activist environmental scientist, Mike Hulme.

Nobody to put the sceptic point of view.

Again.

A point also made by borderglider in the comments.

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"

Harrabin's Black and White World - Biased BBC

Harrabin's Black and White World: "The indefatigable Richard North has a dismissive take on the BBC's latest article about Pachauri and Glaciergate. His point that the Beeb's bias comes as much from what it leaves out could also apply to the most recent of Roger Harrabin's Notes.

For the second 'note' running (see previous one here) Harrabin has expressed his anguished concern over recent developments in America. He says that Scott Brown's election 'certainly puts the nail in the coffin of Democrat hopes for a full climate bill this year' but once again fails to point out that some Democrat politicians oppose such legislation too. He states that the 'fossil fuel industry is poised with banknotes at the ready' to take advantage of the recent Supreme Court ruling on political advertising, but neglects, as ever, to mention the huge sums of money swirling around the warmist lobby, much of it provided courtesy of Western taxpayers. And there's certainly no mention of the money that flows into Pachauri-linked enterprises, some of it thanks directly to the false claims about Himalayan glaciers. Harrabin takes at face value the spin that the inclusion of this material in the IPCC report was just an unfortunate 'inexplicable blunder'; heaven forbid that a BBC environment correspondent would dare to suggest that there could be a link between dodgy climate research and financial gain by leading warmists.

As with the BBC line that Obama's woes are down to Fox News, Harrabin apportions similar blame for the problems facing the warmist cause:

Part of the answer lies with the media - particularly right-wing newspapers…

Mr Cameron has re-branded his party as 'vote-blue-get-green', but many of his back-benchers rank climate change as a very low priority. A couple of his Cabinet members are likely to be outright climate sceptics, and more may be driven that way if right wing newspapers continue chasing stories about the IPCC's failings.

[Note to Harrabin - check BBC style re 'right-wing newspapers' or 'right wing newspapers']

That last line seems to imply a lack of interest on Harrabin's part in 'chasing stories about the IPCC's failings' - ie they're the realm of the right-wing press. It's worth remembering that some of the Conservative-supporting newspapers have often been slow to run stories critical of the AGW orthodoxy.

For Harrabin it's all about good versus evil, with the scientists (incorruptible truth-seekers, noble of intent), the Democrats, and the NGOs on one side and the evil fossil fuel lobby, the Republicans, and the right-wing media on the other. It's biased, simplistic and wrong, but it's the sort of world-view that helps people like Harrabin get through the day.

Update. Andrew Neil goes where Harrabin fears to tread.

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"

BBC may delay Television Centre sale - Guardian

BBC may delay Television Centre sale: "

Corporation may wait until 2014 to sell west London site following property downturn and buildings' listed status

The BBC may delay selling off Television Centre in west London until around 2014 and may keep some presence in the building.

A review is taking place about the future of Television Centre in Wood Lane, Shepherd's Bush, parts of which were listed last year by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, including the so-called 'concrete doughnut' at the heart of the complex.

The property downturn and the listing have affected plans to sell the site. Executives have been considering selling parts of the complex, rather than the whole site, due to the current property downturn.

The BBC is looking to make as much money as possible from the disposal of its properties, following a lower-than-expected licence fee settlement from the government.

One senior BBC executive recently told MediaGuardian.co.uk: 'With Television Centre we'll wait until the price is right, it's inevitable.

'TVC is the spiritual home of the BBC and we'll make sure we do the right thing – whether we stay in it partially is still to be decided.'

The review, which will cover all options, is being led by Keith Beale, who has been overseeing the BBC's new home in Salford and previously worked on the redevelopment of Broadcasting House.

Television Centre, the 1960s complex on Wood Lane that has come to personify the BBC, has been the home of some of the BBC's biggest programmes, including Blue Peter and Newsnight.

BBC staff are due to vacate the site in 2012, moving to other sites including the refurbished Broadcasting House and a major new development in Salford.

Last summer the DCMS ruled that the central ring – or concrete doughnut – and Studio One of BBC Television Centre, designed by Graham Dawbarn of Norman & Dawbarn, were both worthy of listing.

While other studios in the building, as well as the scenery block and canteen, did not meet the level of architectural or historic interest needed for listing, they will nevertheless gain gradeII status because of their 'structural attachment' to the more notable parts of Television Centre.

It is thought that the listing may make the site less appealing to developers, although the BBC is likely to argue it is a unique selling point.

In 2007 the BBC announced it was selling TVC – parts of which are becoming dilapidated and too expensive to refurbish.

Due to asbestos, parts of the complex, or the whole building, are likely to have to be knocked down within the next few years.

Instead the BBC is moving news staff to the newly renovated Broadcasting House in central London and the children's, sport, and learning departments, much of Radio 5 Live and parts of future media and technology to MediaCityUK in Salford.

News staff will be joined at Broadcasting House by the BBC World Service, which is leaving Bush House in central London.

BBC Worldwide staff have already moved out of the Woodlands building near Television Centre on Wood Lane. This site has been sold to Imperial College for the impressive price of about £20m.

Staff from BBC Worldwide are now housed in the White City complex, just down the road from Television Centre, which includes the recently built Media Centre.

London-based drama and entertainment executives are expected to join them once Television Centre is sold.

A number of other BBC buildings have been or are due to be sold off, radically slimming the corporation's property portfolio.

Television Centre is part of a 23-acre site that Hammersmith & Fulham council and the London mayor want to develop as a "cultural quarter".

The BBC's property dealings came under the microscope last week after the outgoing Channel 4 chairman, Luke Johnson, criticised the BBC for the amount spent on the refurbishment of Broadcasting House.

It is believed a National Audit Office report on the project, due to be published next month, will be critical of the first phase of redevelopment, which included a falling out with architect Sir Richard MacCormac and additional costs due to extra work on nearby Western House and unforeseen problems due to underground tunnels.

A BBC spokeswoman said: "The BBC intends to vacate TV Centre and is currently working on a detailed exit strategy which takes into account the moves of Children's, Sport and 5 Live to Salford in 2011 and News to Broadcasting House in central London in 2012."

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Tara Conlan

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"

Jeremy Paxman and Co still don't tell the whole story - Biased BBC

Jeremy Paxman and Co still don't tell the whole story: "Charles Moore reviews 30 years of 'Newsnight'."

Are children getting the programmes they deserve? - Telegraph

Are children getting the programmes they deserve?: "There is more children's television than ever, but less and less of it
reflects British life, writes Cassandra Jardine."

Television presenters such as Adrian Chiles 'too scruffy', say viewers - Telegraph

Television presenters such as Adrian Chiles 'too scruffy', say viewers: "The One Show's Adrian Chiles singled out as one of the worst offenders."

You do WHAT at the BBC? After vow to get rid of ridiculous jobs, corporation advertises for a 'Change Lead' - Daily Mail

You do WHAT at the BBC? After vow to get rid of ridiculous jobs, corporation advertises for a 'Change Lead': "
The job description says the candidate will be 'responsible for shaping and managing the execution of the change ambition'."

Public Media Bias and Climate Change - Canada Free Press

Public Media Bias and Climate Change: "Americans are lucky left wing radio station Air America crashed before Obama and founder now Senator Al Franken found a way to turn it into public radio.

Ironically, Saul Alinsky, father of US radical socialism wanted to break control of the media because it was used by power elites. Obama doesn’t need to break the control as the mainstream media act as a state media."

BBC should give up licence fee cash for children's programmes - Telegraph

BBC should give up licence fee cash for children's programmes: "The BBC should be forced to give up some of the licence fee to help save
declining children's television, a House of Lords committee will report
today."

FOUR LIONS - Biased BBC

FOUR LIONS: "Fancy watching a comedy about suicide bombers? The BBC covered Chris Morris' long awaited film 'Four Lions' which is premiering at the Sundance Film Festival this morning. The BBC were flogging the line that we have to stop demonising suicide bombers because they are part of our culture and that we needed to be more understanding towards the self-detonators. I can appreciate that Morris is a satirist, not sure if the BBC get the satire. There was no one available to suggest suicide bombers are the scum of the earth...

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Call for sale of BBC Worldwide - Independent

Call for sale of BBC Worldwide: "

BBC Worldwide, the main commercial arm of the BBC, should be split from the corporation and turned into a global communications company brand to promote and sell British television programmes around the world, a committee of peers has recommended.

"

BBC CLOUD CUCKOO LAND - Biased BBC

BBC CLOUD CUCKOO LAND: "Today, it seems that the false 'consensus' around global warming is melting at a faster rate than ever before. Richard North has shown that the head of the IPCC solicited EU grants to research Himalayan glacier melt even though the claims of that melt were totally bogus; David Rose on the Mail on Sunday has evidence that the IPCC deliberately inflated melting ice theories to make the world pay attention; and the Sunday Times has further evidence that other parts of the 2007 IPCC report also deliberately falsified the records about alleged increases in the damage caused by hurricanes. It adds up to an avalanche of fraud that is building up momentum daily - for the first time the MSM is following what blogs have been saying for years.

So where is the BBC on all this? Not very far, to put it mildly. There's virtually nothing on the BBC website that reflects the turmoil. Harrabin posted on Friday a pessimistic blog containing the old warmist lie that the lobbying firepower from oil corporations was the reason why 'climate change' legislation has not been passed; and Richard Black, though admitting that the 'climate change' suicide rush to enact globally-binding targets has faltered, still refuses to to discuss or even properly mention the catalogue of lies and distortions that are now being exposed. It's BBC cloud cuckoo land, as usual.

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