Post by Teddy Bear on Aug 24, 2012 23:36:29 GMT
Despite the BBC Arts Board being paid a combined £1.7 million, according to its arts editor Will Gompertz, 'it has no arts strategy.
By the sound of it, the only creativity one is likely to find amongst them is their justification they find to inflate their expenses.
Needless to say for the time being, ' The BBC declined to comment' on this accusation. No doubt eventually they'll tell us how committed they are to excellence, but are constrained by cuts.
Or some such bullshit.
By the sound of it, the only creativity one is likely to find amongst them is their justification they find to inflate their expenses.
Needless to say for the time being, ' The BBC declined to comment' on this accusation. No doubt eventually they'll tell us how committed they are to excellence, but are constrained by cuts.
Or some such bullshit.
Arts editor admits BBC has no 'arts strategy' despite employing highly-paid creative director Alan Yentob
Branded the board 'hysterical' and compared them to bumbling staff on satire Twenty Twelve
Board members are paid a combined £1.7 million
By Alasdair Glennie
The BBC's own arts editor has called the corporation's Arts Board 'hysterical' – as he confessed it was just like BBC sitcom Twenty Twelve.
The Corporation employs a raft of executives to manage its arts coverage, including its highly paid creative director Alan Yentob.
However, its arts editor Will Gompertz has labelled the board 'hysterical', admitting it has completely failed to produce an 'arts strategy'.
Mr Gompertz, 46, was the media director at the Tate group of galleries before he was poached by the BBC in 2009.
And in damning comments, he revealed that Arts Board members - paid a combined £1.7million - spend much of their time deciding which arts events to avoid.
He also compared their fruitless conversations to BBC2 Olympics satire Twenty Twelve, in which Hugh Bonneville played the hapless leader of the Games' 'deliverance team'.
Appearing on BBC Radio Five Live, Mr Gompertz said: 'I also get to sit on something called the BBC's Arts Board, which is hysterical.
'It's like being on an episode of Twenty Twelve, when people like Alan Yentob and all the rest of them come in.
'We talk about the BBC's arts strategy. And there isn't one, it transpires. It is great fun to talk about it.
'It really is like being in an episode of Twenty Twelve. There are quite a lot of conversations about what arts events people might be able to miss, not go to.'
In his surprisingly frank admission, Mr Gompertz also mocked the Cultural Olympiad, originally designed as a four year programme of cultural activity in preparation for the Olympics.
He said: 'There's been lots of conversations about the Cultural Olympiad. Are people aware of the Cultural Olympiad? No.
'The BBC have been very involved in the Cultural Olympiad. And then it got narrowed down to something called Festival 2012, which has been very good.'
The BBC's Arts Board was created in 2009 to coordinate arts commissioning across its radio, TV and online channels.
Overseen by 'arts co-ordinator' Mark Bell, its members include Mr Yentob, who has built up £6.3million pension pot on top of his total remuneration package of £183,300.
Earlier this month, Mr Yentob claimed £1,216.05 for taxis for the period and a total of £722.81 for discussions about 'projects' and 'BBC films', although executive expenses were down four per cent.
Other key figures on the board include BBC One controller Danny Cohen, who draws a £270,400 pay package, and his BBC2 counterpart Janice Hadlow, paid a total of £235,050.
With the controllers of Radio 3 and Radio 4, director of audio Tim Davie, and Mr Gompertz himself - paid £150,000 a year - the total pay package of the board members exceeds £1.7million.
Describing his own role in the BBC, Mr Gompertz appeared to have an attack of modesty.
He said: 'It really is a fancy title for quite a straightforward job, which is to be the correspondent for the arts in the news. That's really what the job is.'
Described by one BBC source at the time as a 'complete maverick and an eccentric', he had almost no journalistic experience before taking over the role.
In the past, he has performed a one-man show at the Edinburgh Fringe, during which he asked the audience to draw pictures of penises.
The BBC declined to comment.
Branded the board 'hysterical' and compared them to bumbling staff on satire Twenty Twelve
Board members are paid a combined £1.7 million
By Alasdair Glennie
The BBC's own arts editor has called the corporation's Arts Board 'hysterical' – as he confessed it was just like BBC sitcom Twenty Twelve.
The Corporation employs a raft of executives to manage its arts coverage, including its highly paid creative director Alan Yentob.
However, its arts editor Will Gompertz has labelled the board 'hysterical', admitting it has completely failed to produce an 'arts strategy'.
Mr Gompertz, 46, was the media director at the Tate group of galleries before he was poached by the BBC in 2009.
And in damning comments, he revealed that Arts Board members - paid a combined £1.7million - spend much of their time deciding which arts events to avoid.
He also compared their fruitless conversations to BBC2 Olympics satire Twenty Twelve, in which Hugh Bonneville played the hapless leader of the Games' 'deliverance team'.
Appearing on BBC Radio Five Live, Mr Gompertz said: 'I also get to sit on something called the BBC's Arts Board, which is hysterical.
'It's like being on an episode of Twenty Twelve, when people like Alan Yentob and all the rest of them come in.
'We talk about the BBC's arts strategy. And there isn't one, it transpires. It is great fun to talk about it.
'It really is like being in an episode of Twenty Twelve. There are quite a lot of conversations about what arts events people might be able to miss, not go to.'
In his surprisingly frank admission, Mr Gompertz also mocked the Cultural Olympiad, originally designed as a four year programme of cultural activity in preparation for the Olympics.
He said: 'There's been lots of conversations about the Cultural Olympiad. Are people aware of the Cultural Olympiad? No.
'The BBC have been very involved in the Cultural Olympiad. And then it got narrowed down to something called Festival 2012, which has been very good.'
The BBC's Arts Board was created in 2009 to coordinate arts commissioning across its radio, TV and online channels.
Overseen by 'arts co-ordinator' Mark Bell, its members include Mr Yentob, who has built up £6.3million pension pot on top of his total remuneration package of £183,300.
Earlier this month, Mr Yentob claimed £1,216.05 for taxis for the period and a total of £722.81 for discussions about 'projects' and 'BBC films', although executive expenses were down four per cent.
Other key figures on the board include BBC One controller Danny Cohen, who draws a £270,400 pay package, and his BBC2 counterpart Janice Hadlow, paid a total of £235,050.
With the controllers of Radio 3 and Radio 4, director of audio Tim Davie, and Mr Gompertz himself - paid £150,000 a year - the total pay package of the board members exceeds £1.7million.
Describing his own role in the BBC, Mr Gompertz appeared to have an attack of modesty.
He said: 'It really is a fancy title for quite a straightforward job, which is to be the correspondent for the arts in the news. That's really what the job is.'
Described by one BBC source at the time as a 'complete maverick and an eccentric', he had almost no journalistic experience before taking over the role.
In the past, he has performed a one-man show at the Edinburgh Fringe, during which he asked the audience to draw pictures of penises.
The BBC declined to comment.