Radio 4 Feedback 21/11/ 2014 - Mohit Bakaya

[charmbrights]

To: [e-mail]

Subject: BBC's contempt for listeners

Why do you bother to put listeners' complaints to BBC staff?

The latest demonstration of the BBC staff's contempt for listeners was demonstrated in your interview in today's (21.xi.14) programme with Mohit Bakaya. You listed many listeners' disapproval of short programmes, and the curtailing of "You and Yours" for the next four years.

His response was that it had been decided by him and he was happy with it (given all his family connections he has a big pull in the BBC) and so his ideas will win, no matter what the listeners think.

Such responses appearing so frequently, whenever you question anyone, bring your programme into the class of sycophantic rubbish.

--
Scornfully yours,

[Teddy Bear]

You're right about his connections Charm, I just pulled this from the Telegraph

BBC in cronyism row over paying £1.2 million in fees to family members
The BBC has paid £1.2 million in fees in the last year to companies owned by close relatives of senior executives in new allegations of cronyism, the Daily Telegraph can disclose.

By Andrew Pierce and Heidi Blake

18 Jul 2009

The lion's share was taken by Samir Shah, a non executive director of the corporation, whose production company Juniper Communications was paid £715,000 last year. Mr Shah, who owns 70 per cent of Juniper, is paid £35,000 as a member of the BBC executive board which oversees the corporation's management and directs its editorial output.

The payments to Juniper will also further enrich the family of Jana Bennett, the BBC head of Vision, who is tipped to be the first woman director general of the corporation. Miss Bennett's husband Richard Clemmow owns 10 per cent of Juniper. Last year Miss Bennett was paid £535,000 by the BBC.

Menna Richards, the Controller of BBC Wales, approved payments of £147,372 to Torpedo a production company in Cardiff partly owned by her younger sister Ceri.

Ms Richards, whose journalist husband was also paid £49,000 by BBC Wales, took over in February 2000 a few months before her sister's company was set up. Last year Torpedo was given 13 commissions by BBC Wales.

Laura Parfitt, whose husband Andy is the controller of Radio 1, won £73,000 of radio commissions from the BBC for her White Pebble Media company which she owns. One was from Radio 1. The company has done more than 20 productions for the BBC in the last two years.

Sarah Lancashire, the actress wife of Peter Salmon, the £400,000 director of the north of England operations, earned £185,000 from the BBC last year. Miss Lancashire starred in a sitcom, All the Small Things, which was panned by the critics.

The BBC insisted that all the contracts were awarded on merit and that there was no favouritism. A spokesman said: It is inevitable in a business such as the TV and radio industry that there will be occasions when members of the same family work in related parts of the industry.

"The BBC's rigorous conflict of interest policy recognises this and lays down strict procedures to prevent an actual conflict of interest arising. Executives with a close relationship to someone in a company we are doing significant business with may not play any role in the decision making process related to the award of any such business including commercial sum agreed."

Among the commissions won by Juniper Communications is a new Radio 4 series the Generation Gap. Mr Shah's brother Mohit Bakaya is a commissioning editor on Radio 4. Mr Shah, the former head of BBC Westminster, also has a contract for two regional Sunday politics shows. He produced the Undercover Diplomat on BBC 2 in which Jonathan Powell, who was Tony Blair's chief of staff, talked about the Northern Ireland peace process.

Mr Shah, a friend of Lord Mandelson, the Business Secretary, and Lord Birt, the former director general of the BBC, bought Juniper in 1997 from Michael Wills a government minister.

[charmbrights]

More than that - the Daily Mail (also 2009) said:

The BBC Director and his family business: Samir Shah's wife, sister and brother also employed by Auntie

For Samir Shah, a non-executive director of the corporation, the BBC provides a lucrative income not simply for him but also his wife, and provides senior jobs for his brother and sister.

Forget the £35,000 he is paid as a member of the BBC executive board, which oversees the corporation's management and directs its editorial output.

Far more relevant is Dr Shah's status as chief executive and major shareholder of Juniper Communications, the company paid more than £2million by the BBC in the past three years.

He owns 70 per cent of the independent production company, his wife Belkis holds 20 per cent and the remaining 10 per cent is owned by BBC head of vision Jana Bennett's husband Richard Clemmow.

Dr Shah, a former head of political programmes and head of current affairs at the BBC, declares his holdings in Juniper on the BBC's Register of Interests, along with details of interests of close family members.

His brother Mohit Bakaya is a senior commissioning editor for BBC Radio 4, responsible for arts, science, religion, sport, politics, business and current affairs documentaries.

He helped launched Radio 4's arts show Front Row and has been tipped as a future Radio 4 controller.

Mr Shah's sister Monisha Shah is director for emerging territories for BBC Worldwide, the broadcaster's commercial arm.