Media Brief

I'm the BBC's media correspondent and this is my brief selection of what's going on.

The Guardian says BBC Director General Mark Thompson told staff he was raising the target for cuts at the corporation from 16% to 20% over four years. The BBC had already announced it would have to cut 16% of its budget to meet the cost of additional responsibilities handed to it in the licence fee settlement in October, including funding the World Service.

The Financial Times adds Mark Thompson also announced the formation of a £400m fund for spending on special projects identified over the next few years.

The Daily Telegraph says Mark Thompson has put himself on a collision course with staff and unions at the corporation.

The Independent reports the Press Complaints Commission is investigating the undercover stings carried out by reporters from the Daily Telegraph at the surgeries of Liberal Democrat MPs. The Business Secretary Vince Cable was recorded telling two female Telegraph journalists that he was "at war" with Rupert Murdoch. The president of the Liberal Democrats, Tim Farron, claimed these were 'fishing expeditions.' The Telegraph says they were in the public interest.

Robert Peston, the BBC's business editor, says he is "as sure as I can be" that Ofcom has made an unambiguous recommendation that NewsCorp's plan to acquire all of British Sky Broadcasting should be referred to the Competition Commission. He asks why the Culture Secretary Jeremy Hunt hasn't simply published the report and announced an inquiry. Ofcom and the Department would not comment.

The BBC's newspaper review says Labour's victory in the Oldham East and Saddleworth by-election fills many of the later editions of the papers. The Independent calls it an "emphatic victory" for Labour, while the Guardian says the result is a blow to the Lib Dems and a boost for Ed Miliband.

Links in full

• Guardian | BBC seeks extra £400m in savings
• Financial Times | BBC chief asks for staff help
• Telegraph | BBC faces hundreds of job losses as cuts bite
• Independent | Lib Dems ask PCC to investigate undercover stings
• BBC | BSkyB News Corp bid: Ofcom calls for Competition review
• BBC | Newspapers review

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