1.
Dundee-headquartered media group DC Thomson (DCT) has been renowned throughout its 116-year history for the judicious handling of its financial affairs – especially its astute investment policy and track record of profitable acquisitions and diversifications. An outstanding example of that investment astuteness has emerged in the group's latest financial figures, to the tune of some £350m. I repeat, £350m.

DCT devoted two columns of editorial space in its daily newspaper, The Press and Journal (P&J), to report on its newly-filed accounts under an eye-catching three-deck headline: Media group shrugs off impact of COVID-19 to post profits of £339m. That appears to be an incredulous pre-tax profit figure considering the P&J report on these accounts – for the year ending 31 March 2021 – reveals that DCT's revenue fell to £160.2m, a significant £20.2m drop from £180.4m the previous year.

So how come a headline of a pre-tax profit of £339m? Well now, this is where we discover just how well that astute investment policy can pay dividends, delivered in two low-key sentences in the P&J's news story. These two sentences explain all, revealing: 'However, the rebound of the stock market led to an investment gain of £350m. The company's pre-tax profits for 2021 were £338.7m'.

DCT publishes five newspapers: P&J and Evening Express in Aberdeen, The Courier and Evening Telegraph in Dundee, and The Sunday Post and a sizeable portfolio of comics and magazines. Additional ancillary companies contribute to the revenue stream. The group, which still proudly describes itself as 'a family firm', emphasises that it has also 'diversified into new media, digital technology, retail and television interests'.

Chairman Christopher Thomson declares: 'Despite the challenges of the first pandemic year, the picture that our financial results shows is one of resilience, strength and stability. This is testament to the hard work of our colleagues across the business and we are seeing good revenue recovery. We have confidence that our subscriber and membership strategies are the right ones and are already seeing good engagement and growth'.

And the chairman adds: 'The strategy built during this challenging period now gives the business a platform for transformational growth. In the first six months of this year [2021] to 30 September 2021, the business has recovered significant revenue over the same period last year [2020]'.

The news story then reverts to a groupspeak statement telling us it has 1,600 employees, and digital revenues and subscriptions helped mitigate the fall in advertising and events revenue and, significantly, 'continue to significantly increase'. It adds: 'Meanwhile its [the group] transformation programme gathered pace. Its vast comic archive – with assets such as Bananaman and Dennis the Menace – is set to be made into films and television series through a new production company, Emanata Studios'.

In December, DCT took a bold step into the future by appointing Rebecca Miskin as the first-ever chief executive officer in its history. Miskin, 56, who joined the group as chief strategy and transformation officer in 2020, is charged with overseeing the group's entire extensive media portfolio.

2.
After close on 24 years with the BBC's press office, latterly as senior head of communications, Roy Templeton, has retired after a media career spanning 45 years – the first 21 years in newspapers.

Roy, 62, who grew up in Dalry, Ayrshire, joined his local paper, the Ardrossan & Saltcoats Herald, straight from school in 1977. He then moved to the Lennox Herald, where, along with fellow reporter, Martin Hannan, he shared a Weekly Journalist of the Year award for a series of articles on the Trident missile controversy. Incidentally, Martin has just left the staff of The National newspaper in Glasgow but will continue to work for it on a freelance basis.

Roy took time out from journalism to take a four-year politics and international relations degree at Aberdeen University while still working for various Scottish newspapers in his spare time and on holidays, and returned full-time to journalism as an industry/politics correspondent on the Greenock Telegraph.

There he was also able to indulge his love of horse racing by penning a racing column for the Greenock Telegraph, and happily confesses to attending the Cheltenham Festival for each of the past 33 years. He also found time to work casual shifts for several titles including The Scotsman, Daily Record and the Scottish Daily Mail.

He joined BBC Scotland's press office team in 1998 – handling the news and sport portfolio. And there, early on, he had a brief encounter of the most amusing kind. Roy, a gregarious people person with a well-developed sense of humour, recalls: 'I had been banned from Cappielow by the Morton FC chairman, Hugh Scott, for stories I wrote in the Greenock Telegraph which didn't reflect too kindly on his stewardship of the club. A few months later, much to Scott's utter bemusement, I encountered him in my new press officer capacity in the BBC Scotland Green Room when he turned up to be interviewed by Kirsty Wark'.



Roy subsequently became head of press/communications at BBC Scotland and also worked as chief press officer in the BBC's main press office in London. He served under six BBC director-generals and four BBC Scotland controllers/directors. In Scotland, he worked along with a number of heads of news including Ken Cargill, Blair Jenkins, Atholl Duncan, John Boothman and Gary Smith.

Roy, who has lived in Beauly, near Inverness, for the past 10 years, splitting his work schedule between Inverness, Glasgow and London, has posted an au revoir message on Meta (Facebook) which has drawn a positive avalanche of interesting responses wishing him well in the future.

He writes: 'If you want to work in the media, the BBC, which, like most media organisations isn't perfect, and which displays some bureaucratic tendencies that drive many of us slightly more bonkers than we were in the first place, is still a great place in which to work. Its journalism gets most of the attention: rightly, but that often does a disservice to all the fantastic programme makers who work outwith the BBC News department but get tarred with the same brush – the ever-circling sharks with vested interests nibble away at a publicly-funded organisation that tries its best to provide output to which audiences want to see and listen'.

He adds, firmly tongue in cheek: 'My final day, as you would expect, was spent as usual undertaking rigorous research in our newspapers while also managing to keep my GP happy by keeping my liquid intake as high as possible!'

Roy, who was successfully treated for mouth cancer three years ago, is not too sure how he is going to spend his retirement. He currently sits on the board of the Highland Hospice and the development and foundation committees of the University of the Highlands and Islands, and tells me: 'I might do some ad hoc media work if the right opportunity comes along. I still miss writing which I didn't do much of latterly apart from bloody corrections to inaccuracies in newspapers. However, along with my wife, Carol, I tend to our four kune kuna rare breed hairy pigs – I'm their society's official PR guru; some 50 hens; and three dogs, which takes up a couple of hours a day as it is. We'll see. I don't want to walk away completely from the media scene'.


He fondly recalls that his final story while working as chief press officer in London was politely telling David Attenborough, who was having his photograph taken at his London home for a profile by the Daily Mail's Andrew Pierce, that the parrots the famed broadcaster said were flying above them in his back garden were actually parakeets.

'In true Attenborough fashion, he very politely told me: Yes my boy, you are quite correct – they are parakeets! He then sent me a lovely handwritten letter of thanks for overseeing his interview and followed it up with another letter when I sent him clippings from the P&J when he was awarded an honorary degree a year or so later from Aberdeen University. A class act amongst all the chancers in showbiz!'

I leave you with a memorable farewell written message Roy received from a BBC Scotland newsroom colleague: 'Hi Roy, you're one of the unsung heroes at the madhouse that is BBC Scotland – a shadowy fixer who quietly clears up other people's mess. Harvey Keitel's character in Pulp Fiction springs to mind, although you're better looking*. *Clearly a lie'. For once, the super-cool, svelte Templeton man was stumped to come up with a suitable riposte!

3.
The BBC has appointed ITN's chief executive officer, Deborah Turness, as its new chief executive for news and current affairs, replacing Fran Unsworth, who has retired. Her salary is £400,000 – £60,000 more than Unsworth was earning although Turness will almost certainly be taking a pay cut compared with her salary at ITN.

Solihull-born Turness, 54, who was educated at the University of Bordeaux and Surrey University, is taking on one of the most powerful jobs in British journalism, heading a division of 6,000 people. She has been CEO at ITN only since April 2021. Previously she had been president of NBC News International from 2013 to 2020 – the first woman to head a US network news division. An NBC insider described her as 'very tabloidy' with an 'in-your-face Brit news style'. Before heading to that demanding job in the US, she had firmly established her journalistic credentials in the UK by being both the youngest and first woman editor of ITV News.



Turness was chosen ahead of more controversial internal candidates as BBC director-general Tim Davie was said to have been determined to hire externally. The Scottish Daily Mail, in a somewhat naughty diary piece, pointed out: 'But someone give a consoling hug to Jonathan Munro, who left ITV News after he was passed over for the job as editor to become deputy dawg at BBC News. Just when it seemed he was in with a serious chance of replacing Fran, his old boss Deborah swoops in ahead of him'.

However, Tim Davie is very happy with his new recruit, saying: 'Deborah brings a wealth of experience, insight, first-class editorial judgement, and a strong track record of delivery. She is a passionate advocate for the power of impartial journalism and a great believer in the BBC and the role we play, in the UK and globally'.

Turness, who is married to the Cabinet Office's director of communications for security and intelligence, John Toker, said of her appointment: 'In the UK and around the world there has never been a greater need for the BBC's powerful brand of impartial, trusted journalism. It is a great privilege to be asked to lead and grow BBC News at a time of accelerated digital growth and innovation, when its content is reaching more global consumers on more platforms than ever before'.

Press Gazette commented: 'The use of the chief executive job title for Turness marks a departure, with Unsworth having held the job director of news and current affairs. The BBC said that the title of CEO reflects the BBC's ambition to continue to build the BBC's global news brand and continue to grow its news services, which are now reaching a record 456 million people worldwide'.

And it pointed out: 'Turness takes over at a turbulent time: Unsworth's period at the helm of BBC News has seen a major restructuring involving the loss of hundreds of jobs and a push to increase the broadcaster's presence outside London. The corporation also finds itself a battleground in the culture war, with scuffles over the impartiality of its leaders, broadsides from the Culture Secretary [Nadine Dorries] and intense scrutiny of how it covers social issues'.

The Times has also reported that UK Government ministers have already rejected pleas from the BBC to increase the license fee in line with inflation – which would mean a significant cut to the BBC budget.

4.
The UK Government's Culture Secretary, Nadine Dorries, may be poised to overhaul the structure of media regulator Ofcom following reported concerns of bias in favour of the BBC.

The Scottish Daily Express reported: 'The Culture Secretary will examine the regulator's role as part of an upcoming review into the corporation's complaints process. Officials have raised concerns that 10 out of the 14 members of Ofcom's Content Board are ex-BBC employees. The regulator is the ultimate authority to which complaints can be escalated. In the past two years, only one complaint about the corporation was investigated by Ofcom – out of 418 referred to it by the BBC. This compares to the 830,632 viewer complaints made in total to the BBC over the same period'.

Ian Paisley, the DUP MP for North Antrim, has accused the BBC of 'marking their own homework', and claims that the low number of complaints investigated by Ofcom shows that the complaint procedure 'lacks all credibility'.

He added: 'Hundreds of thousands of complaints made – and only one of them gets through the net. This is not a transparent or credible system and the government has a duty to licence-fee payers to fix it'.

Ofcom hit back: 'Nobody should doubt we act with complete independence. Industry experience is vital to strong regulation, and our Content Board is made up of experts from a range of commercial, media and telecoms backgrounds, including newspapers, Channel 4 , Sky, tech platforms and the BBC'.

A UK Government source told the Scottish Daily Express: 'Shortly the government will undertake a mid-term review as outlined in the BBC Charter… the review is the appropriate milestone to consider whether the current regulatory arrangements for the BBC are working effectively and whether reforms are necessary'.

5.
An interesting mention in the Ephraim Hardcastle diary in the Scottish Daily Mail on Scarborough-born broadcaster Selina Scott, who began her television career at Grampian Television after entering journalism at The Sunday Post.

Fleet Street veteran John McEntee, who writes the diary, told us: 'Selina Scott, announcing her swansong TV appearance on BBC4, delivers a rocket to the sisterhood, accusing women TV executives of being less helpful in her career than their male counterparts. I have no desire to sound disgruntled, says Selina. Men have helped me enormously in my career, more so than women. The 70-year-old adds: Nor do I have a need to see my mug on television any more. Come back, Selina, all is forgiven'.

One man to whom Selina most certainly owes much is Ted Brocklebank, who, while head of news and current affairs at Grampian Television, carefully nurtured and directed her fledgling career before she went on to fame and celebrity status on national television.

Ted went on to become a regional MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife from 2003-2011. His son, Jonathan, is on the editorial staff of the Scottish Daily Mail.

6.
Interesting developments at UK television channel GB News which began simulcasting a DAB radio service in early January. Launching the radio service were the new breakfast team of Eamonn Holmes, who had been controversially dropped from ITV's This Morning show after 15 years – save for occasional stints as holiday cover. His co-presenter at GB News is Isabel Webster.

The news of Holmes's arrival came as it was revealed former BBC News presenter, Simon McCoy, was leaving GB News for 'personal reasons'. Press Gazette quoted Holmes as saying he had 'admired GB News from the beginning for its clever mix of punchy debate but delivered with warmth and even some fun'.

Press Gazette added that chief executive Angelos Frangopoulos says there will also be a 'huge extra investment' in GB News's digital service in 2022, pointing out: 'With radio, we are turning traditional media on its head because everyone will be able to continue with the same channel whether they are at home, travelling, or at work. We set out to innovate and shake up news media and that's what we are doing: whether it's on mass reach television and DAB radio, online, apps, live on YouTube, or digital platforms, GB News will be wherever audiences want us to be'.

Stephen Dixon is joining GB News after 21 years at Sky and will host the weekend breakfast programme with former ITV's Good Morning Britain host Anne Diamond.

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