Baroness Wheatcroft lands 'Today' in hot water

It's a very niche thing perhaps but I do like checking out the BBC's Corrections and Clarifications page. 

I was never into stamp collecting (unlike my sister) or trainspotting (like my school friends), but I now, finally, recognise the thrill of such nerdy things.  

It's a BBC page that isn't easy to find, and very few know about it existence, but it's interesting nonetheless. 

Here's one of its latest gems:

Monday 18th November 2019: Today, BBC Radio 4, 4 November 2019 

In an item about the possible sale of the Daily Telegraph and the Sunday Telegraph, it was claimed the Telegraph is loss making. In fact the Telegraph Media Group made a pre-tax profit of £900,000 on turnover of £271million in 2018. 

The Telegraph points out that while its paid-for circulation is 310,586 it also has 400,000 subscribers.

On checking it out, it turns out that the 'fake news' claim that the Telegraph is "a loss-making  asset" came from Patience Wheatcroft, the ultra-anti-Brexit baroness - though Justin Webb breezily went along with her claims, reinforcing them rather than challenging them, and, later, rubbed salt into the wounds by adding that the paper's circulation is "low".

Today could do with a reality checker. (Maybe someone at the Telegraph? Or Steve Bannon?)

*******

P.S. Baroness Patience was the guest chosen by Today to discuss the news that Steve Bannon has been thinking of buying the Telegraph group. She regards him as "a dangerous character". Justin teed up the segment by calling Mr Bannon a "darling of the alt-right, accused by some of being a white nationalist", rather reinforcing her point. 

The BBC's forever blowing bubbles, pretty bubbles in the air.