Director-general of the BBC Mark Thompson tells some of the stars who work for the corporation that their pay deals are coming down. An agent speaking up for them is not happy:
And now they are taking it out on the middle ranks – people at the top of their game earning £100,000 to £250,000 who have commitments and mortgages like everyone else.
They have the talent over a barrel. The person hiring can do what they want, and currently there is little demand for anyone's services anywhere else. An entertainment star might threaten to go to ITV, but not in the present climate.
Ouch! Only £100,000 to £250,000. But what exactly is the beef here? Presumably, the previous pay deals were done on the basis of what the 'talent' and their agents thought they could get, given the market. So too, now. And if it's about something more than that - like justice or equality or desert - then... what's the beef?