It’s not often you get to grill your boss about your pay on public radio but due to “the unique way the BBC is funded” that’s exactly what happened to Mishal Husain this morning.
The Today programme presenter interviewed BBC Director-General, Lord Tony Hall, ahead of the broadcaster publishing a list of 96 stars earning more than £150,000 a year later today.
Hall has already acknowledged a gender pay gap something obviously of interest to Husain who presents the Radio 4 show alongside others including James Naughtie and John Humphrys.
Two-thirds of those earning more than £150,000 are men.
The list of top earners will underline how the Beeb exists in a market “even more competitive than ever” when faced with established rivals such as ITV and emerging broadcasters including Netflix, Director General Lord Tony Hall has said.
The breakdown of top talent is likely to include presenters such as Gary Lineker, Graham Norton, and Fiona Bruce, and is being released for the first time under the terms of the BBC’s new 11-year royal charter negotiated with David Cameron’s Conservative government.
The BBC will be at pains to argue it represents value for money, pointing to the overall ‘talent bill’ being down by more than £4 million to below £194 million.