James Harding's lab experiment at BBC News - attempting to apply newspaper editorial systems to a broadcasting cephalopod - is exposed to scrutiny again today, with the advert for another new role he has created, News Editor.
It's a senior management role, reporting directly to Big Jim and his Number 2, Fran Unsworth. But the job spec is a defensive piece of work, with a number of inherent contradictions. .
The post will have an overview of the agendas being pursued by the Newsroom, Newsgathering, Millbank, Programmes and English Regions, (and if appropriate the language services) and will bring together teams as needed to drive forward big stories to ensure that the whole news operation is bigger than the sum of its parts.
The role will not seek to draw up running orders or interfere in the decisions of individual editors, who will still be accountable for their own programmes. It is not intended that this role will result in a more homogenised agenda, as plurality is vital to purposes of BBC News and CA. But the News Editor will have the authority to demand appropriate staffing and resources on important running stories by relevant parts of News Group. Negotiation will be key to how it operates.
Equally this role will have the authority to state that some requests will not be met and some stories may not be covered as a result of effort being placed elsewhere.
So editors can run whatever stories they like, but, if there's no coverage, that's in script and interviews with outsiders only... And presumably, if this sensitive News Editor loses a negotiation, he tells the bosses. A period of high anxiety will follow for all other editors.
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