The London pages of the BBC News website are technically within the fiefdom of Jason Horton, Director of Production BBC Local. No less than 6 pictures, all produced by Madame Tussauds, make up this story.
So when Jason next surfaces to tell us how his drive for online growth for Local is going, remember this.
Plenty of "Verify" references in last night's 6pm and 10pm bulletins on BBC1, perhaps provoked by Guido Fawkes' assertion that the Verify Unit, sixty-strong, had failed to produce any output over the Bank Holiday weekend.
What really happened between Monday and Tuesday was that the BBC decided that video footage widely shared on social media the previous night COULD be used with some blurring, given that no-one had died, and all injured were making progress. There were hundreds of eye-witnesses, and the checking of the car against building shapes was mere 'direction', not verification. Expect more shoe-horning of coverage into a flawed concept as the week goes on.
"He had a modernist’s flair for both the high arts and the more down-market stuff. He had a swaggering arrogance. I think it fair to say and name dropped like there was no tomorrow." Rod Liddle, The Spectator
"Amid the voluminous tributes to the BBC’s late creative director, we ought to point out that Alan Yentob knew nothing about classical music and disliked to be reminded of its existence." Norman Lebrecht, Slipped Disc
"A remarkable man, always creative, always interested in the new, always late, funny, so supportive, so many great things happened because of him" Wayne Garvie, Sony Pictures Television
"We’ve lost a tip top chap. Our advocate from the start… Alan Yentob." Dawn French
The BBC News channel, two years on from the 'merger', returned a monthly reach for April of 8.5m, down from 9.5m in March, down from 10m a year ago, and 10.6m just before the 2023 merger.
Sky News managed 7.2m, down from March's 7.9m, and down from last year's 7.6m
GB News registered 3.2m, down from 3.5m in March. and a little up from 3m this time last year.
Alan Yentob's first Radio Times' credit (out of 749) came in 1969. At 22, he interviewed baritone Peter Glossop, for the Radio 4 FM programme Home This Afternoon, presented by jazz guitarist and jobbing presenter, Ken Sykora.
Then followed tv, with two years with the BBC2 team making Review; Alan took his turn at studio directing, and fronted items on "The State of British Theatre"; directing an interview with TV critic T.C.Worsley, making a short film about "The Monster With Sex Appeal", Dave Prowse, and reporting on primitive sculptures at the British Museum. Then the Omnibus File emerged in 1972, with Alan Yentob joining a team under Leslie Megahey. In 1974, he was producer/director for a recording of Ella Fitzgerald at Ronnie Scott's, with Mike Wooller, then editor of Omnibus, striking the deal with her agents - and it was Mike Wooller who gave the go-ahead for the seminal Davie Bowie Omnibus, Crack'd Actor.
Mike Wooller moved on, but Alan stuck with music coverage, directing programmes about Rick Wakeman and The Chieftains, and then emerged as part of the collective editorship of Arena.
I'd argue that Arena was when Alan made the transition to taste-maker rather than reporter, choosing subjects of personal interest. Other obituaries will cover his time as a BBC executive, and pass judgement. Just remember, the BBC was well-off when he was in charge.
When he returned full-time to presenting, "Imagine" was classy, but showed Alan's taste-maker tendencies. Despite having told Clive James there was no future in presenter-led arts and culture documentaries, Alan emerged as editor, producer and presenter. The budget to travel seemed unlimited, when other shows were scrabbling for cash. You got the feeling Alan only profiled people he rated, many already within his network If the BBC is going to reach more people, you've got to have a wider range of impresarios at work; and ideally, not former executives on generous pensions as well as salaries. Would old Al have given young Al a chance ?
When you ring the BBC from 2026, you'll be speaking to a representative of Serco's Citizen Services department. They've just won a £40m contract to replace Capita in running BBC Audience Services.
It's quite a portfolio, including handling complaints, enquiries and comments, providing help with iPlayer, Sounds, and old-fashioned tv and radio reception, tickets for shows, Take Part In A Show, as well as the switchboard.
Capita set up an operation in Belfast to handle the contract under their care, and won two extensions; there's no word on where Serco will base the BBC work.
The BBC's announcement of a new pilot service for Polish listeners is ultra light on context. Nowhere does it mention the previous incarnation of the Polish Section, running from September 1939 to December 2005.
It was closed by Director Nigel Chapman, to switch funds into the creation of tv services in Arabic and Persian. It had navigated, not without blemish, the tensions of the Second World War (for a time, stories unfavourable to Britain's ally, the USSR, were not reported; it was late on the Katyn massacre; but strong on coverage of Jewish persecution, and brilliant at re-connecting Polish families) It kept going despite persistent jamming in the post-war period, and then again in the 1980s; and felt brave enough to carry early interviews with Lech Walesa. It facilitated debate as Poland acceded to the EU in 2004, and had spread its wings into the arts, culture and science coverage.
Every now and again, studio costs wag the tail of tv production. The latest 'shake-up' of ITV morning and daytime output will see Good Morning Britain move from Studio 3 of Television Centre at White City to underused space at ITN Studios in Grays Inn Road, which will also find space for the planning and production team currently based at White City Place.
The future home of Lorraine, This Morning and Loose Women is yet to be decided, but it won't be Television Centre Studio 2. ITV Studios say they are "consulting with its Daytime teams about a proposal that from 2026 would see the three editorially distinct shows produced by one team sharing resources and operations."
BBC Studioworks will be on the hunt for new customers - a lucrative contract running since 2017 is coming to an end.
I've mentioned Richard Burgess, the-BBC-News-executive-with-a-tendency-to-over-share, before.
(Swift and bold, cycling and running)
I wonder how his staff rapport quotient stands after his latest monthly all-points email, discussing his birthday celebrations at the Thursday matinee of MJ The Musical at the Prince Edward Theatre, and his youthful days having lessons in moonwalking.
