Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ

I'm the Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ's media correspondent and this is my brief selection of what's going on in the industry.

The on its front page that the Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ has been accused of planning "the death of local radio", as it "prepares to replace almost all its local programming with the national station Radio 5 Live". Quoting the NUJ, it claims that staff at the Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ's 40 local radio stations will be briefed today on the plans. This was denied late last night by a Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ spokesperson, who said the idea was one of many put forward at the Delivering Quality First sessions: "It is not true that any decisions have been made so there are no plans to inform staff of any changes tomorrow.... The Delivering Quality First sessions are designed to provoke discussion amongst staff about the way the Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ works and any decisions coming out of the process would be subject to approval by the Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Trust."

The cost-cutting at the Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ will provoke fierce protests when the public see programmes cancelled and channels closed, the incoming Chairman of the Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Trust has warned MPs. "In a dire assessment of the financial challenges", according to The Times, Lord Patten of Barnes said he and Mark Thompson, the Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ's Director-General, would become hugely unpopular.

Lord Patten told MPs yesterday that if he was confirmed as the new chairman of the Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ he would expect to be unpopular. The he and predicted that "there will be all hell let loose" as the corporation is forced to cut spending on programming.

Lord Patten would give up the Tory whip but remain a Conservative Party member if confirmed as Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Trust chairman. Questioned by culture, media and sport committee MPs, he said he would quit a BP advisory board only if it came to be seen as a conflict of interest, reports the Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ.

Prospective Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ chairman Lord Patten last night criticised the corporation's 'swagger' and its bosses' apparent belief that they should be earning as much as bankers. The the former Tory minister and governor of Hong Kong told MPs considering his appointment that it was wrong to pay executives 'as if they were at Barclays'.

"a fearful Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ must regain its nerve" under its new chairman.

The Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ's newspaper review says as Colonel Gaddafi's forces intensify their onslaught against Libyan rebels, Deborah Haynes of the Times reports from Zawiya, 30 miles from Tripoli.