Date: 20 Jul 2006 16:37 Subject: It's deja vu all over again Security: Public

The BBC has decided to party like it's 1996.

The BBC today confirmed it is to stage a huge re-organisation, merging its commissioning and production departments and putting new media at the core of all content development.
...
"We need a BBC ready for digital, for 360-degree multi-platform content creation, which brings different kinds of creativity together -- in technology as well as content -- to deliver what we need in this converging world," said BBC director-general Mark Thompson, unveiling the plan to staff.

"360-degree content creation, delivering for our linear television channels but also for all the new on-demand and web-based platforms, needs to become practical reality rather than just rhetoric and this new grouping will enable us to do that," he said.

The jargon! It burns! How it thrills my nostalgic heart to be assured that 360-degree content creation will become practical reality rather than just rhetoric. Any moment now he'll tell me that the Web is revolutionizing media and the BBC is proud to be leading the vanguard of that revolution. Old media are linear -- new media are planar! Let me know when you get to three dimensions, because that would be cool. P.S. I want an aircar.

Buried deep within the article is "Other changes include confirmation that Alan Yentob's role as director of drama, entertainment and children's will end, although he will be handed the task of making creativity a greater focus across the BBC network." Ah, yes, the ever-popular project you hand a departing exec while he job-hunts to take advantage of his valuable skills.

All I ask is that they not revamp Doctor Who into a children's comedy. Oh, and force Rowan Atkinson and Ben Elton to do more Blackadder.

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