BBC1 Controller quits...

[diankra]

BBC1 Controller Jay Hunt is moving to Channel 4.
As things take time to work through, this can't have much effect on Who for a year or so, so any impact is going to be long term.
On the whole, it might be positive for the Who, as it's been during Hunt's tenure that it was pushed earlier into the evening so as to lead in to Strictly (etc), with this competitive scheduling of shows to clash with similar shows on ITV.
Still, it does make it all look as if she was a very bad choice for the job in the first place (to summarize, she left a daytime post at the BBC in early 2007 to move to Channel Five, but had to work out her notice as 'gardening leave' Then within a few months of taking over Five full-time, she got the BBC1 Controller job in December 2007 - and then had to spend another six months on contract leave. So in practice, she's only run BBC1 for two years, and has had one year out of the last three on contractual holiday. Nice work if you can get it!)

 

[Bones2]

The telling point for me was that first episode when Matt put the fishfinger into the custard and from that moment on I completely believed in him.

A fitting tribute to a staggering intellect.

 

[Haggis and tatties]

I hope whoever takes over moves who to a April /May slot and for the love of god nail down its start time, the last series start time was all over the place.

 

[captcalhoun]

it's always varied. same as Merlin, Robin Hood, Primeval, Strictly, X-Factor, BGT...

 

[Jax]

A fitting tribute to a staggering intellect.

Nice to know your people skills are still wonderful. I do wonder why she quit, was she pushed ?

 

[Bones2]

A fitting tribute to a staggering intellect.

Nice to know your people skills are still wonderful.

People skills (usually taken to mean personal interaction) are unrelated to my post. Please criticise me for the correct reason.

 

[Starkers]

There's a correct reason to critisise you?

 

[Bones2]

I assume that's the notion you've been acting under for the past year or so.

 

[diankra]

I do wonder why she quit, was she pushed ?

It had been rumoured for a few weeks. If I heard the Media Show (Radio 4, 1.30pm today, available as a download at the BBC site) correctly, then a 50% salary boost might be a factor...

 

[Starkers]

Leaving before any salary cuts hit the Beeb then?

 

[Bob The Skutter]

I do wonder why she quit, was she pushed ?

It had been rumoured for a few weeks. If I heard the Media Show (Radio 4, 1.30pm today, available as a download at the BBC site) correctly, then a 50% salary boost might be a factor...

50%? More like 100% isn't it? She gets something like £375k in the post at the BBC more like £750k at the channel 4 one, or so I read on the guardian's site yesterday.

It also said 2 years is the average for controllers over the last decade or so. They're putting it down to contradicting goals, pressures to be more highbrow and individual in their approach to shows, and then pressures to be more popularist and prove their worth in the ratings making it a difficult job to keep anyone happy.

 

[Starkers]

Nice money if you can get it!

 

[Captain Shaw]

I do wonder why she quit, was she pushed ?

It had been rumoured for a few weeks. If I heard the Media Show (Radio 4, 1.30pm today, available as a download at the BBC site) correctly, then a 50% salary boost might be a factor...

50%? More like 100% isn't it? She gets something like £375k in the post at the BBC more like £750k at the channel 4 one, or so I read on the guardian's site yesterday.

It also said 2 years is the average for controllers over the last decade or so. They're putting it down to contradicting goals, pressures to be more highbrow and individual in their approach to shows, and then pressures to be more popularist and prove their worth in the ratings making it a difficult job to keep anyone happy.

I thought CH4 was broke?

 

[Bob The Skutter]

It had been rumoured for a few weeks. If I heard the Media Show (Radio 4, 1.30pm today, available as a download at the BBC site) correctly, then a 50% salary boost might be a factor...

50%? More like 100% isn't it? She gets something like £375k in the post at the BBC more like £750k at the channel 4 one, or so I read on the guardian's site yesterday.

It also said 2 years is the average for controllers over the last decade or so. They're putting it down to contradicting goals, pressures to be more highbrow and individual in their approach to shows, and then pressures to be more popularist and prove their worth in the ratings making it a difficult job to keep anyone happy.

I thought CH4 was broke?

Ah I've just looked, the article I read has changed since yesterday. They must have got it wrong and corrected. It now says a 45% raise to £395k and Kevin Lygo who she is replacing was on £758k...

 

[diankra]

[The guardian's site] also said 2 years is the average for controllers over the last decade or so.

That's not really accurate - there's been three controllers over the last decade. To get five you have to count the acting controller when the second one was forced to resign, and the last few months of Lorraine Heggessy's predecssor back in early 2000.

List of Controllers since day one, from wikipedia, with notes on why they left if I know...

1936–1939: Gerald Cock
1946–1947: Maurice Gorham
1947–1950: Norman Collins
1950–1957: Cecil McGivern
1957–1961: Kenneth Adam
1961–1963: Stuart Hood
1963–1965: Donald Baverstock
1965–1967: Michael Peacock
1967–1973: Paul Fox
1973–1977: Bryan Cowgill Defected to Thames (ITV)
1977–1981: Bill Cotton Promoted to MDTV
1981–1984: Alan Hart Retired
1984–1987: Michael Grade Promoted to MDTV, but then defected to Channel 4
1987–1992: Jonathan Powell
1992–1996: Alan Yentob Internal move to run arts coverage
1996–1997: Michael Jackson Defected to Channel 4
1997–2000: Peter Salmon Internal move to run BBC sport
2000–2005: Lorraine Heggessey Moved to Talkback TV, effectively job-swapping with her successor.
2005–2007: Peter Fincham Forced to resign over misleading trailer for a Royal documentary. Now at ITV.
2007–2008: Roly Keating (acting)
2008–Present: Jay Hunt

 

[Bob The Skutter]

So basically half of the decade was taken up by 1 person, then after that it was a cock up that took the next person out... Pretty shoddy reporting then.

 

[DimesDan]

So basically half of the decade was taken up by 1 person, then after that it was a cock up that took the next person out... Pretty shoddy reporting then.

I'm not sure how it is now but when I was at uni, The Guardian was shown to be pretty piss poor on certain aspects, spelling and facts being pretty much high up on that list.

 

[Neroon]

A fitting tribute to a staggering intellect.

Nice to know your people skills are still wonderful. I do wonder why she quit, was she pushed ?

A fitting tribute to a staggering intellect.

Nice to know your people skills are still wonderful.

People skills (usually taken to mean personal interaction) are unrelated to my post. Please criticise me for the correct reason.

Take it outside the board and do not persist this in here.

 

[Bob The Skutter]

So basically half of the decade was taken up by 1 person, then after that it was a cock up that took the next person out... Pretty shoddy reporting then.

I'm not sure how it is now but when I was at uni, The Guardian was shown to be pretty piss poor on certain aspects, spelling and facts being pretty much high up on that list.

I think I read a thing somewhere that said there was a study that concluded the spelling thing is a fallacy. Yes there was printing, editorial and spelling mistakes but no higher amount than most newspapers. I'm not sure whether the Guardian or the study itself putting down to the readers being smarter and there for noticing the mistakes.