Grade expectations
- 28 Nov 06, 09:40 AM
9:46pm - Everything's going well, we've got some good stories and we're confident we're going to tell them well. The phone rings - it's the BBC's former business editor, Jeff Randall, and he's got a rather big scoop: Michael Grade is leaving the BBC to become executive chairman of ITV.
It's a favour - and he's timed it perfectly, giving us just enough space to make sure we can get it on the TV (giving his Daily Telegraph front page a big plug while we're at it), but not enough to tip off his Fleet Street rivals. The place descends into organised chaos - can we get a second source? Can we get our media analyst, Nick Higham, on set in time? The headlines are swiftly re-written. We stand the story up - there is some colourful language from senior BBC figures. Nick Higham is racing in.
10:03pm Nick tells me he is on the Westway - 10 minutes away. We talk through the implications.
10:13pm Cool as a cucumber, Nick Higham walks on set. He gives a brilliantly judged, totally unflustered, analysis of the story. This wasn't one we wanted to get wrong.
Craig Oliver is editor of BBC News at Six and BBC News at Ten
