Another BBC Success Story

 This story – strangely absent, as far as I can make out, from the BBC News website – caught my bleary eye this morning. The BBC's latest laborious attempts to attract a more youthful audience, in an initiative portentously labelled 'lurch to youth', have resulted in the Corporation haemorrhaging what little 'street cred' it had, falling from 43rd to 71st in a league table of things deemed 'cool' by da yoof. It is now considered by this discerning audience less cool than Sainsbury's, Greggs and Ikea – quite a result. I can't say I'm surprised: I remember, back in the days when I was in the biz, getting a visit from a deputation of BBC honchos, eyes agleam with messianic fervour, who were absolutely convinced their latest initiative (I can't remember which one it was) would grab the youth market. I swiftly concluded that these people were (a) clearly mad and (b) on a hiding to nothing. And now, as well as losing da yoof, the Beeb is managing to lose its older viewers too. Trebles all round!
  A detail that struck me about this news story was that the survey findings came courtesy of Beano Brain, 'the consultancy wing of Beano Comics'. Truly the world has gone mad.