Head shaking

When you open your door to a new plumber, there's a clear expectation that they will rubbish the work of all previous plumbers. At the BBC, it seems Lord Hall is happy to go only so far with that tradition. He is a  returning plumber, and harks back to the boss white days of Master Plumber Birt, to whom he was a mate.  As was James Purnell.

So it's the more recent Mark Thompson structural changes of 2006  - to create "Journalism", "Vision", "Audio & Music" and "Future Media" - that have to be painted over. But it's not just about a return to plain language (and new signage) with News, Radio and Television: HR teams know that name changes are vital to one embedded BBC process - getting new people in, at bigger and better salaries, and getting old people out painlessly, because the pay-offs are so good.  Ideally, the structural change behind the new name is genuine, but sometimes it's a veneer.

Paul Mylrea
 at Hampstead Heath

James Purnell joins as Head of Digital and Strategy, on £295k, with a seat on the Executive. Does this duplicate or replace the work of Ralph Rivera, Director of Future Media, on £295k, with a seat on the Executive ?  Does he stay - or is he redundant ?  James Purnell takes control of Communications - Paul Mylrea, Director of Communications, and more recently Director of Public Affairs (salary £154k) is leaving. Is he redundant, just feeling chilly or will he be replaced ?

If James Purnell is to be Number 2 to Lord Hall, does that set a benchmark salary ? Does Tim Davie, at Worldwide, need "global editorial strategy" added to his bow in order to maintain his package, at close to £350k?