Strategic Comms Consultant and Broadcaster. Former MD Comms/ExCom member
@EBRD
, former BBC News Foreign Correspondent. Presenter
@vinylcountdow10
radio show
Really
@BBCNews
- this is the story that this morning deserves a live blog? Not the escalation of fighting in Ukraine? A strange choice for a publicly funded news operation.
@rogermosey
Lunch in the mountains of Uzbekistan - away from the golden road to Samarkand. The scenery reminds me of many valleys in neighbouring Afghanistan that I have travelled through. Amazingly beautiful.
A wonderful memorial service for George Alagiah - a generous
@BBC
colleague, a generous in spirit human being. We all have so many stories of the good times that we spent in his company. His legacy lives on in us all.
Personal news: A big thank you to
@OdileRenaud
for her lovely words at the party to mark me stepping down from my role
@EBRD
next week after almost 12 great years. I look forward to a slightly less frenetic life of strategic communications consultancy and a little broadcasting.
A strategic misstep by the BBC. There is no market failure to be remedied in launching a gold station. There is market failure in local radio which needs remedying. They could achieve both aims by enhancing BBC Local Radio and giving it a gold playlist.
I remain quite staggered that BBC Local Radio has come to this. It should make us all reflect on where the checks and balances both inside the BBC and
@Ofcom
have failed. When I was in BBC Local Radio, we put a lot of effort into Christmas programming to serve listeners.
Thinking of the BBC Local Radio stations such as
@BBC_Cumbria
and their listeners who aren’t getting any local programming over Christmas and presenters out of presenting jobs. How very sad.
#BBCLocalRadio
. How did this happen?
@rhodritd
@JasonHorton_uk
Chris Burns
A cartoon from Matt brought a smile to my face - much needed as
#thameslink
cancelled both my morning and evening trains. Unlike many poor commuters, I am at least able to take the tube as an alternative.
A big day for
@EBRD
- the Bank celebrates its 30th anniversary. I’ve been baking with my son but I don’t think our cupcakes will win the staff competition. They make the point though! 🎂🍰
Another one bites the dust would be an appropriate last tune for the devastation of BBC Local Radio - with decent management it could all be so different. It isn’t a lack of money but a failure of imagination and proper budget control which has brought the network to where it is.
Stand By Pop Pickers! Tonight from 10pm it’s my last BBC show ever. I’m looking forward to playing some of those special songs I’ve shared with you late at night over the last few years on the BBC across the South &
@BBCSounds
Let’s go round one more time.
@BBCBreaking
The excellent
@Ncknwmn
in The Sunday
@thetimes
captures the humour in tragedy - four U.K. Chancellors of the Exchequer,so far, this year. It reminds me of when I worked as a BBC Correspondent in Latin America in the 1980s.
I am delighted to say that I am taking up the Honorary Office of Chair of the
@EBRD
Alumni Association. It will be a pleasure to represent the thousands of former staff who served the Bank and continue to build the already strong relationship between them and the institution.
I am back in my
@EBRD
office for the first time in almost 15 months - getting used to lots of social distancing protocols but it’s nice to see it again.
The excellent
@Ncknwmn
in The Sunday
@thetimes
captures the essence of this week’s economic crisis beautifully - the Black Wednesday of our age. History plays out the first time as tragedy, the second time as farce.
Subscribe to our podcast
#Fearonomics
. In our first episode
@sguriev
,
@BJavorcik
&
@ebrdcharles
discuss the looming food crisis.
Our experts will help you confront and overcome your fears about the global economy after the outbreak of war on Ukraine.
Not that I want to nit pick but..........this was the rehearsal before we go on air when you run through the headlines at high speed to make sure they match the pictures. It wasn’t broadcast.On the other hand, if I had a pound for everytime the clip has been viewed online.....
What is most tragic is that for the same budget, successful BBC Local Radio schedules can be devised which would actually boost ratings. It’s about a failure of imagination and ambition, not funding. It is time for a full, independent inquiry into how this disaster
It gives me no pleasure to see the RAJAR for
@BBC
LR, reach down y/y almost 500k. Share and hours down too. Particularly bad
@BBCRadioLondon
down 38%in 2 yrs but is largely untouched in changes, however a few stations who show increases have been defenestrated of star presenters
I’ve always admired
@BootstrapCook
as a principled campaigner on food poverty-this is the first time I’ve cooked one of her recipes. It was an excellent peach and chickpea curry.
At the
@EBRD
we moved swiftly to condemn the invasion ordered by President Putin and now we have moved swiftly to offer a financial package to Ukraine and other affected countries-amongst the biggest so far offered by Multilateral Development Banks and international community.
Our €2 billion resilience package in response to the war on Ukraine
Ukraine, its people and economy have our unwavering support.
Our €2 billion to support resilience & livelihoods in Ukraine & countries affected by the conflict.
#SupportingUkraine
Excellent piece from
@dsmitheconomics
- he is right. We are facing a black swan event winter energy crisis and one that may endure for longer than we think. It will require an ambitious and imaginative response to get people through it.
Finger on the political pulse as ever (if the patient is still alive) -
@Ncknwmn
marvellous cartoons in The Sunday
@thetimes
- my breakfast wouldn’t be the same without them!
As predicted - the RAJAR figures show majority of BBC Local Radio stations have lost audience as a result of the sharp cut in local hours. They include BBC Radio Berkshire which dropped 31% (31,000 listeners). In a commercial operation, heads would roll.
It is an important public service that
@hendopolis
and colleagues provide. I never go to sleep, anywhere in the world, without checking out
#tomorrowspaperstoday
. Long may it continue. A big thank you from me.
Just one of
@Ncknwmn
excellent cartoons today in
@thesundaytimes
- humour is an essential part of getting people through the terrible
#COVID
ー19 crisis. Clearly, cartoonists qualify as key workers.
As someone who took the well trodden path from
#BBCLocalRadio
to national radio and tv, I recognise the issue
@DavidLloydRADIO
is highlighting. Stations full of decades of experience are being denuded. I hear the impact on local stations now, we will hear it nationally later.
Here's another thought. What is the long term damage to the quality of UK radio generally as so many staff leave so quickly in this ill-advised BBC local radio strategy.
If you have been watching the
#Chernobyl
drama, how about catching up on the real story. Watch the BBC documentary about how
@EBRD
has placed a giant lid over the nuclear plant to keep the radiation in. Inside Chernobyl's Mega Tomb: via
@bbciplayer
Ensuring that the
#Chernobyl
nuclear plant in
#Ukraine
stays safe while occupied by Russian troops should be an international priority - my message on
@BBCNews
@BBCWorld
with Christian Fraser.
@EBRD
put the new roof over the plant which keeps in the radiation.
The UK veg crisis captured brilliantly by
@Ncknwmn
in The Sunday
@thetimes
- I laughed out loud over breakfast (which was embarrassing as I was on a plane at the time 😂)
Ah…my place in broadcasting history…..I suppose it’s no good pointing out that it was only the high speed rehearsal and wasn’t actually broadcast like that?
@BBCNews
#bbc100
Thank you
@SimonBatesUK
- I would further add that the BBC should now accept an external review of the decisions which have brought us to where we are on Local Radio. Clearly, something has gone badly wrong.
Jonathan is entirely right, but can i add that the brutal treatment of long serving and loyal contributors has been entirely unacceptable and the contempt shown for them by the management speaks volumes for the kind of people they are.
Yes, I have always found on the streets of Kyiv, Kabul and Baghdad over the years they talk of little else but Holly and Phil. I have often been asked “Holly and Phil, we worry about their daily struggle, how are they doing?”
BBC News has just lead with the huffing and puffing at ITV This Morning. Although they clunkily tried to explain who Phil and Holly are, i bet there were puzzled faces in Montreal, Melbourne and Kolkata. Worry not, BBC got to the war in the Ukraine after ten minutes of this.
I agree completely with
@DavidLloydRADIO
- it should be perfectly feasible to run full BBC Local Radio and increase digital output on current budgets. This isn’t hard as anyone with both broadcasting and business experience will tell you.
Ah,
@Ncknwmn
, as a former BBC presenter, your cartoon in The Sunday
@thetimes
causes me great pain…..but also brought on great laughter over the breakfast table. Thank you!
#GaryLineker
#BBCMOTD
Fantastic view from the new
@EBRD
HQ in Canary Wharf - wonderful to run into many former colleagues and to chat to
@OdileRenaud
- the Bank continues to deliver into a challenging world.
It is a beautiful, sunny evening as I walk through Little Venice in London. A good way to shrug off the demands of the day and head to the calm of the night.
35 years ago today - 21st December 1988 - I will never forget the scenes that confronted me as I arrived, as a BBC Reporter, at Lockerbie in Scotland. A Pan Am 747 jet was blown out of the sky over the town. I found streets and fields strewn with bodies, Christmas presents that
Attending the
#Ukraine
rally in Trafalgar Square, London. The
@EBRD
has condemned President Putin’s decision to invade the country and is unwavering in its support for Ukraine. We are now working on an emergency resilience package for the region.
Just catching up on some document reading but my coworker doesn’t seem too impressed. That is the trouble with
#homeworking
, your colleagues don’t cut you any slack!
As a BBC Correspondent, I often saw the Queen up close including going on a Royal Tour of Canada in 1988. I enjoyed her mischievous sense of humour on many occasions.
@Ncknwmn
in Sunday
@thetimes
has caught it perfectly in this cartoon. I am sure she would have laughed.
What a lovely thing to say. It’s been a real pleasure to be Head of Comms
@EBRD
- to paraphrase an old quote ‘you can take the boy out of
@EBRD
but you can never take
@EBRD
out of the boy.’ A huge thank you to my whole team and the whole Bank.
It’s
@EBRDCharles
’s last day
@EBRD
today. He’s been an inspiring Head of Comms, boss & colleague.
But he’s not leaving us altogether. (He will still host
#Fearonomics
. And we will still be able to enjoy his non-EBRD
#VinylCountdown
podcast)
Thank you JC. We wish you all the best!
One of my biggest issues
@DavidLloydRADIO
with the failure of the BBC to put up someone to respond is what it tells us. As someone who helped to lead an institution during a time of change, if you believe in something you go out and defend it. No matter what. BBC Local Radio
At least with the BBC not putting anyone up to respond re local radio changes on today's
@BBCR4Feedback
, we were spared the usual patronising nonsense. There is a statement though.
Highly entertaining- a colleague in Belgrade tells me I appear in a new Serbian tv drama tonight about Slobodan Milosevic. They use a BBC clip of me reporting outside his besieged house exactly 20 years ago this week, just before his arrest.A very tense and dramatic weekend.
I would love to see the BBC Local Radio strategy written down on paper
@NickyHorne
- maybe there is some justification that I am missing. I have written a lot of strategies over the years and right now I just can’t see it. What is deafening is the silence of BBC management.
.
@tonyblackburn
is right, now “there is no such thing as LR”What is the point of an ersatz national network masquerading as local when it’s vastly inferior to
@bbc
national and paying lip service to local? It’s madness and it makes me want to weep.
This must be one of the best beaches that I have been on anywhere in the world. It’s not Greece, France, Spain or the Caribbean. It is The Hebrides in Scotland. It’s sunny ☀️ and barely a soul in sight.
Great topical cartoon from
@Ncknwmn
in The Sunday
@thetimes
this morning. It’s a good job there aren’t many of the milkman left that we used to see in my childhood-they’d need an armed escort. The Brinks Mat robbery would have nothing on knocking off a milk float.
#inflation
New episode of our podcast
#FEARonomics
is out!
Death of globalisation?
Brexit, Covid-19 and war on Ukraine...
What's next?
Listen to
@BJavorcik
@sguriev
&
@ebrdcharles
discuss are there any alternatives...
A beautiful morning as I look across the Dead Sea. A great location in Jordan as we discuss the
@EBRD
future strategy at the
#EBRDam
- the Bank delivered record impact on the ground in its countries in 2017.
Thoroughly enjoying
@SimonBatesUK
and
@MikeReadUK
on
@BoomRadioUK
marking 60th anniversary of Top Of The Pops. There’s a lesson here for current BBC Local Radio management - good programming isn’t about money, it’s about imagination and ambition.
This is a damning indictment of
@Ofcom
and they may well have left themselves vulnerable to a judicial review -
@DavidLloydRADIO
is right to question the way that BBC Local Radio changes have been handled and to call for an investigation.
The consultations by
@ofcom
into modernising the BBC's Operating Licence have been poor. I had not realised quite how poor until studying every word. I believe the exercise was not compliant with Ofcom's own Consultation Principles. (Letter to Ofcom below)
A mark of Jacques Delors good humour when I was a BBC Europe Correspondent: Letting myself into a dark Luxembourg hotel room late at night, I turned on the light to find Jacques Delors in bed. The hotel had double booked us. He was very gracious. I made my excuses and left.
Delors’ contribution to the European cause rivals those of Jean Monnet, Walter Hallstein and Robert Schuman, the founding fathers of the European Economic Community, launched in 1958.
Jacques Delors1925-2023
@FT
@lionelbarber
@TonyBarber8
The great pleasure of
@BoomRadioUK
is the breadth of music played (alongside the excellent presenters). This track wouldn’t be played anywhere else.
@SimonBatesUK
is elevating my Sunday afternoon.
Ho ho ho - an extremely funny set of cartoons from the always excellent
@Ncknwmn
in The Sunday
@thetimes
- so satirically on the nail that it almost hurts.
What shocks me
@NickyHorne
are not the technical failures, they are bad enough, but the fact that nobody is being held accountable for the omnishambles which now sum up BBC Local Radio. In three decades in the BBC, I never saw anything like this and I would like to think that
I think it’s a reminder
@NickyHorne
that, in life, timing is everything- the localness has been removed from much of BBC Local Radio just as winter is coming on and the output is more needed than ever. Big local news stories are increasing in our more complex world.
Red weather alert for Southampton - danger to life - and
@BBCRadioSolent
has National late show on from Salford ! Disgrace. Shameful.
@Ofcom
THIS IS CLEAR BREACH OF OPERATING LICENCE. DO. YOUR. JOB.
Very sad to hear about the death of my former BBC colleague, George Alagiah. He was always the friendliest and most generous of individuals, whether on the road or in the newsroom. He was the most human of journalists-caring about the world we live in.
All set up and ready to go with a mini broadcast position in the kitchen - about to appear on BBC1/World News with
@SallyBundockBBC
to discuss what happens now with
#Brexit
after that Brussels dinner
A cup of green tea and the papers - getting ready to review them on BBC1/World News with
@SallyBundockBBC
- we have the choppy markets,
#coronavirus
, plunging oil prices and more. Join us!
Fascinating dissection of the Northern Ireland economy by
@dsmitheconomics
in the Sunday
@thetimes
- it would appear to be benefitting from being both in the UK economy and the EU Single Market. I know many companies which moved there.