Annual report

Despite growing competition, the BBC reaches 95% of people each week It is a perennial debate when the BBC annual report comes out - how much should its top executives be paid and do they deserve their increases and bonuses? It overshadows all other discussion, even though the report is packed with facts and figures about the past year in broadcasting. In recent years, the BBC has tried to sidestep the issue by slipping out the pay figures a few days ahead, so the media can then concentrate on the rest of the report. The last BBC chairman, Michael Grade, tried to defuse the row by capping executive bonuses at 10% of salaries. As a result, this year's bonuses are a good deal smaller than those three years ago, when figures of £60,000 and more were routine. But that has not stopped the rows. This year they have been fuelled by... [read full story]