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‘Today’ pulls the plug on its online critics
The BBC is to axe the ‘Today’ programme’s popular online message board in what appears to be an attempt to silence its strongest critics. The announcement that after this month listeners can no longer debate the news as delivered by the likes of Sarah Montague has prompted a furious response from regular users. “The closure of this board is nothing more, nor less, than naked, unapologetic censorship,” says one. The Beeb says the change is part of a website revamp and that listeners will be encouraged to use the main Have Your Say forum instead. Forums are credited with boosting online traffic on all the BBC sites, but for Radio 4 it would appear to be the wrong sort of traffic.
Is Jason Cowley the Bertie Wooster ‘de nos jours’? The new ‘New Statesman’ editor has upset Sigrid Rausing, the Aunt Dahlia in his life, by leaving ‘Granta’ so soon after she made him editor. And in 2006 he found himself in a Woosterish scrape at a football match in Germany: “It was hot and I was late; let us say a robust discussion followed be-tween me and a steward … He was wearing a baseball cap, which I could not resist knocking from his head. I was soon in the agreeable company of the German military.” What next? Missing cow creamers at the Staggers?
Watch the pressure rise
Mirror Group supremo Sly Bailey turned up on Tuesday at the Lords Communications Committee – to declare the ‘Daily Mirror’ would support Labour at the next election – wearing a huge watch. “The sort of thing Buster Crabbe might have worn when deep-sea diving,” says an onlooker. Given her titles’ sales figures, it may be no bad thing to have pressure-resistant equipment.
Even Associated Newspapers has been hit by the credit crunch, it seems. Staff at Derry Street were horrified to find notices announcing whopping canteen price hikes last week, allegedly reflecting the global rise in the cost of food. “It’s a joke. A litre of water, which costs just 50p in over-priced M&S, cost 94p downstairs!” fumes one thirsty staffer. The timing is unfortunate: last week Daily Mail and General Trust announced a pre-tax profit rise of 7 per cent.

independent.co.uk