Sunday morning reading

A little light reading to accompanying your bacon, eggs and sausages this morning...

A couple of weeks ago, ITV accused the BBC of using licence-payers money to rip off TV programmes from its commercially-funded rivals in an “aggressive” pursuit of higher ratings in a submission to the Commons Culture Media and Sport Committee:

The BBC’s pursuit of audience share regardless of distinctiveness or innovation has been evident where the BBC has rushed to commission or produce almost identical programmes to those by ITV, and then has scheduled them against ITV’s planned transmissions.

Now it's Classic FM's turn to make the identical complaint to the Commons Culture Media and Sport Committee, according to The Sunday Telegraph. The station claims the BBC has copied its most successful innovations and made major programme changes to erode the gap between them and grab audiences:

Given Classic FM’s success in building audiences for classical music radio, twenty years later, the BBC now appears to have decided to ape its commercial competitor, abandoning much of the distinctiveness in peak-time hours in the process. Once again it appears Radio 3 is being encouraged to use its public funding to chase ratings.

For those with a taste for BBC-related scandals though, it's surely The Mail on Sunday that's going to grab your attention this morning. There's certainly no love lost between the MoS and the BBC, as you can see from these headlines:

(1) Another bully at the BBC: MoS reveals senior editor who left his radio star wife for talkshow host bullied staff and faces probe over sexual harassment and expenses 

Mark Sandell editor of World Have Your Say and partner of Radio 5 Live presenter Victoria Derbyshire, also faces claims of sexual harassment against a female employee. He left his wife Fi Glover in 2002 for the radio host. Last night, the BBC also confirmed that his expenses claims were being scrutinised. 

(2) Ranting Rod made my life hell... so sack him: Victim of BBC bully Rod McKenzie speaks out about 'climate of fear and paranoia' created by editor

An anonymous victim of the former BBC Newsbeat editor speaks out in this frank account of working life under Mr McKenzie.

(3) BBC accused of spending £4million on hotels and rail fares to get staff to new base in Salford

New figures obtained under Freedom of Information requests expose dramatic increases in the BBC’s spending since Salford opened in 2011.