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http://www.ex-bbc.net/cgi-bin/yabb/YaBB.pl >> News and Comment >> Byford made redundant http://www.ex-bbc.net/cgi-bin/yabb/YaBB.pl?num=1286826283 Message started by Administrator on Oct 11th, 2010, 7:45pm

Title: Byford made redundant Post by Administrator on Oct 11th, 2010, 7:45pm This is taken from the FT: BBC to lay off deputy director general By Ben Fenton, Chief Media Correspondent Last updated: October 11 2010 20:00 The BBC is to make its second in command redundant and slash its 10-strong executive board as it confronts accusations of excessive management salaries, according to people who have seen the plans. Mark Thompson, director general, will announce on Tuesday that Mark Byford, his deputy and a BBC employee for 32 years, is to lose his job and will not be replaced. A senior BBC executive described Mr Thompson’s move as a “fulfilment of the promise to slim down management structure”. The corporation has been heavily criticised for being top-heavy with highly paid managers. In August Mr Thompson brought forward by a year a pledge to reduce senior managerial costs by 25 per cent. In addition to Mr Byford’s departure, Sharon Baylay, head of marketing and communications, and Lucy Adams, human resources director, will leave the board, retaining their roles but reporting to Caroline Thomson, the chief operating officer. A third member of the board may follow, a person close to the BBC said. Mr Byford, 52, whose salary of £475,000 attracted criticism from politicians and rival media commentators alike, will receive a redundancy payment of 12 months’ salary and a long period in lieu of notice. The total package will be worth between £800,000 and £900,000, a BBC insider said. The departure of the genial, Yorkshire-born deputy director general will come as a surprise to staff. It will be seen as a considerable sacrifice by the BBC, for he has often stood in as a bulwark against tough times for the organisation. In 2004, when Greg Dyke resigned as director general over government complaints that the BBC had misreported the official justification for going to war in Iraq the previous year, Mr Byford acted in an interim role for six months until Mr Thompson was appointed. His role has included running BBC journalism, sport, and planning coverage of the Olympics in 2012. Mr Byford has been a loyal lieutenant, taking control of the BBC’s response to a series of scandals involving the abuse of public trust, such as misleading editing of a 2007 documentary to suggest that the Queen had stormed out of a photography session. At the time, Ray Snoddy, the doyen of media commentators, wrote: “BBC folklore on crises is quite clear; when the worst happens, deputy heads must roll.” In an announcement to staff on Tuesday, Mr Thompson will heap praise on Mr Byford, saying that he had “never had a closer or more supportive relationship with any colleague”.

Title: Re: Byford made redundant Post by Knocking On on Oct 11th, 2010, 9:44pm Excuse me while I don't shed a tear! :'( He seems to be the sacrificial lamb for the public eye although mightly cushioned ..... I'm sure there will be many in the coming year who will be shown the door on a lot lesser package of £1m plus the six figure pension for life, (Of course that will help to plug the hole in the pension fund). It will be interesting sport to see where he re-emerges ....Sky perhaps?...maybe even following "Lord" Birt!

Title: Re: Byford made redundant Post by redlight on Oct 11th, 2010, 11:14pm as the darkness falls ........he will rise again........maybe OFCOM ........Olympic cmmte...........Lord Byford....?

Title: Re: Byford made redundant Post by Administrator on Oct 12th, 2010, 7:32am This is the text of an email from Mark Byford to all staff: Dear all, As you will know from Mark Thompson’s announcement today, I will be leaving the BBC next year after 32 years continuous service. Obviously I will be very sad to leave this brilliant organisation that has been such a dominant part of my life for so long. But I know this decision is the right way forward. From a summer holiday job to head of all the BBC’s Journalism - I have been fortunate and blessed to have had such a wonderful career at the BBC. Today, I’d like to thank all my close friends and valued colleagues across the BBC for their friendship and support, and their inspiration, creativity and wisdom. I have learnt so much from so many. I feel privileged and proud to have been a part of the best broadcasting organisation in the world. Thirty two years as a member of staff; thirteen years on the Executive Board – by some margin its longest serving member; seven years as Deputy Director-General. It will have been a long and eventful innings with such memorable times along the way. But, inevitably, it must end at some point and I recognise the right time has come. Closing my post will be an important contribution at Executive Board level to achieving the overall goals of the senior management review in the coming year and I fully support the decision. The BBC’s values are what glues this organisation together and makes it so great.I’ve tried to uphold them throughout my career. My total support for and loyalty to the BBC, and to Mark himself as Director-General, will remain undiminished in the future. My departure in a few months time allows Mark the necessary period to implement his restructure of the Executive Board in an effective manner. Of course, until then, I will continue to give the organisation my fullest support in terms of drive, energy and commitment over the transition. Warm regards, Mark Byford

Title: Re: Byford made redundant Post by Administrator on Oct 12th, 2010, 9:26am And this is Mark Thompson's email on the subject: Dear all, We are announcing this morning that, after a career at the BBC which has spanned more than thirty years and has included so many achievements on behalf of our audiences in the UK and around the world, my deputy Mark Byford is leaving the organisation. Mark has played a critical role in recent years as the leader of all journalism across the BBC and has been an outstanding deputy to me and member of the Executive Board.  But as part of our commitment to spend as much of the licence fee as possible on content and services, we’ve been looking at management numbers and costs across the BBC, and that must include the most senior levels. We have concluded - and Mark fully accepts - that the work he has done to develop our journalism and editorial standards across the BBC has achieved the goals we set to such an extent that the role of Deputy Director-General can now end, that the post should close at the end of the current financial year, and that Mark himself should be made redundant. From the start of the new financial year in April 2011, Helen Boaden in the existing role of Director of BBC News will move onto the Executive Board and will represent the interests of BBC journalism there. Michael Grade once described Mark Byford as the “conscience of the BBC”.  Anyone who has worked with him - and there are thousands across the Corporation - will attest to his unfailing integrity and loyalty.  He has always stood for the highest standards in journalism but also in all his doings at the BBC.  But he has also played a central role over the years in modernising BBC journalism and grasping the promise of this new digital age.  I have never had a closer or more supportive relationship with any colleague and cannot begin to express my personal sense of gratitude to Mark for his honesty, steadfastness and energy.  I know many of you will feel the same. Until these changes take effect in April next year, Mark will continue to fulfill all his present roles as both Deputy Director-General and the overall leader of BBC journalism. All the best, Mark Thompson

Title: Re: Byford made redundant Post by burgmanman on Oct 12th, 2010, 2:11pm Weasel Words.

Title: Re: Byford made redundant Post by david.shute on Oct 13th, 2010, 5:26pm Administrator wrote on Oct 11th, 2010, 7:45pm: This is taken from the FT: BBC to lay off deputy director general By Ben Fenton, Chief Media Correspondent Last updated: October 11 2010 20:00 The BBC is to make its second in command redundant and slash its 10-strong executive board as it confronts accusations of excessive management salaries, according to people who have seen the plans. Mark Thompson, director general, will announce on Tuesday that Mark Byford, his deputy and a BBC employee for 32 years, is to lose his job and will not be replaced. A senior BBC executive described Mr Thompson’s move as a “fulfilment of the promise to slim down management structure”. The corporation has been heavily criticised for being top-heavy with highly paid managers. In August Mr Thompson brought forward by a year a pledge to reduce senior managerial costs by 25 per cent. In addition to Mr Byford’s departure, Sharon Baylay, head of marketing and communications, and Lucy Adams, human resources director, will leave the board, retaining their roles but reporting to Caroline Thomson, the chief operating officer. A third member of the board may follow, a person close to the BBC said. Mr Byford, 52, whose salary of £475,000 attracted criticism from politicians and rival media commentators alike, will receive a redundancy payment of 12 months’ salary and a long period in lieu of notice. The total package will be worth between £800,000 and £900,000, a BBC insider said. The departure of the genial, Yorkshire-born deputy director general will come as a surprise to staff. It will be seen as a considerable sacrifice by the BBC, for he has often stood in as a bulwark against tough times for the organisation. In 2004, when Greg Dyke resigned as director general over government complaints that the BBC had misreported the official justification for going to war in Iraq the previous year, Mr Byford acted in an interim role for six months until Mr Thompson was appointed. His role has included running BBC journalism, sport, and planning coverage of the Olympics in 2012. Mr Byford has been a loyal lieutenant, taking control of the BBC’s response to a series of scandals involving the abuse of public trust, such as misleading editing of a 2007 documentary to suggest that the Queen had stormed out of a photography session. At the time, Ray Snoddy, the doyen of media commentators, wrote: “BBC folklore on crises is quite clear; when the worst happens, deputy heads must roll.” In an announcement to staff on Tuesday, Mr Thompson will heap praise on Mr Byford, saying that he had “never had a closer or more supportive relationship with any colleague”. Er wasn't Greg Dyke FIRED by the gutless BBC board. Corect me if I'm wrong. But it's nice to see the Beeb shedding some of the suits. Long overdue. Best regards to all. David Shute

Title: Re: Byford made redundant Post by david en france on Oct 13th, 2010, 8:39pm In all the years I was news-reading I never recall having to read the kind of smut we now see every day on BBC News On Line....today's offering of "Porn Studio to close after HIV scare"   (In the US, of course)  is in line with  "Indian Condoms too big for Indian Men" about which I complained (without response) some weeks ago. Frequently I have sent emails pointing out that when a pedestrian is killed by a car it can't be called a "crash" or a "smash" because those words are onomatopaeic....again, no reply.  Mark Byford was, for a time, "Head of Journalism".....look what we ended up with!    Bye-Bye Mark....enjoy your riches....my pension wouldn't even begin to pay your tax!   BBC Journalism is now just a joke.

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