How many BBC journalists earn more than £197,689 a year?
We could be about to find out, according to the Daily Telegraph. It reports today that the Conservatives would force the BBC to reveal the names of all staff earning more than the Prime Minister shortly after entering office.
It reports that journalists/presenters Jeremy Paxman and Fiona Bruce are on £1m a year and £500,000 a year respectively.
Paxman’s reported stipend does sound on the high side, but wouldn’t Sky News offer him the same in a flash if the BBC didn’t?
The Conservatives say pay cuts would form a key part of the licence fee negotiation in 2012.
And it must be said that current BBC salaries probably don’t reflect the relative job security BBC employees enjoy.
To trot out a well-used line, it is an optimistic journalist pretty well anywhere in the commercial sector who is ironing five shirts on a Sunday night.
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