Yesterday the BBC made another proclamation on its digital future, announcing a shake-up in the way the corporation is organised to deal with multimedia more fully (they call it a "360 degree" approach). From Owen Gibson's report in the Guardian:
The changes were designed to make the BBC "the most creative organisation in the world" by streamlining decision-making and production, [director general Mark Thompson] told staff. "We need a BBC ready for digital, for 360-degree multi-platform content creation."
Acknowledging the central role of technology and marketing in the new media age, Ashley Highfield will lead a new Future Media and Technology division with a budget of £400m, while former Pepsi marketing chief Tim Davie will get a beefed-up role as head of marketing, communications and audiences. BBC Vision will oversee channels such as BBC1 as well as inhouse programme production.
Interestingly. Former BBC staffer Tom Coates, who left Auntie last year to work on Yahoo's efforts at tech strategy, has written an analysis which is critical of the Beeb's inability to finish off the high-profile projects initiated by Highfield.
Referring to the (announced three years ago), Coates says:
Highfield's most recent speeches from May this year are still talking about these projects, with him showing mock-ups of potential prototypes for the iMP replacement the 'iPlayer' that could be the result of a collaboration with Microsoft. Are you impressed by this progress? I'm not.
It is, he says, "with a bit of a heavy heart" that he found out Ashley Highfield was going to get a much bigger role, encompassing pretty much everything that the BBC's doing in new media. "I don't know enough about the nature of the restructuring to know whether it's a good or a bad thing at a more general level," he says. "But it's pretty bloody clear to me that it's an ominous move."
And he's not alone. Euan Semple, who was head of knowledge management at the BBC until recently, says that he agrees - and points out what he calls "Ashley's incompetence and inability to harness, or indeed retain the considerable talents of the people available to him". Strong words indeed.
Now, perhaps this is just two ex-BBC chaps expressing frustration at the organisation - one which they clearly care for and believe should really be at the cutting edge of broadcast/internet interaction and developments.
But how much more frustration is going to come out in the open? And are the guns out for Highfield?
Update: Tom got in touch to say he didn't leave the BBC to "head up tech development for Yahoo UK" as I previously said. The text is now amended.
