Bloggers vs. BBC Reporters

Every day, I bring you news from Brooklyn and the rest of the world. That is the lot of the blogger, slaving away alone on the computer to bring you news and entertainment. And if I need to replace a lightbulb, I take care of that too. (Come to think of it, I need a new one over my kitchen counter. I'll have to take care of that today.) Thank God I am not working for the B.B.C., because I would be sitting in the dark until a specialist comes to take care of the job. Just read the article below and you will understand what I mean. Suffice it to say that bloggers just seem like a more versatile breed. We write and do maintanance, and cooking and gardening and pay the bills and do the laundry and remember your birthdays and clean the house and........


Daily Mail, England
Barmy BBC ban on staff changing lightbulbs
By DAN NEWLING -
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/news.html?in_article_id=444549&in_page_id=1770

Stop! BBC staff are not trusted to change lightbulbs

How many BBC staff does it take to change a lightbulb?
Just the one, it seems - but it must be a safetyaccredited workman called out at £10 a visit.
The corporation's stringent health and safety regulations apparently ban the average employee from performing the simple task themselves.
The ludicrous process was brought to light by a staff member in the BBC's in-house magazine, Ariel.
"I called up to ask for a new lightbulb for my desk lamp and was told this would cost £10," said Louise Wordsworth, a learning project manager.
"On telling them I'd buy and replace the bulb myself (bought for the bargain price of £1 for two bulbs) I was told that it was against health and safety regulations."
The corporation has faced criticism for its complicated internal-market system, first introduced in the 1990s by then-director general John Birt.
Under the system, internal jobs such as changing a lightbulb or fixing a computer are outsourced to separate departments-which then issue invoices accordingly.
The result is a Kaftaesque bureaucracy in which the simple can become very complicated - and very expensive.
In 2005 it was revealed that the outsourced property management firm Land Securities Trillium charged the BBC an astonishing £2,500 to erect nine shelves.
According to furious BBC staff members, the same firm charged £1,000 to erect a sign and £5,500 to install an air conditioning unit worth just £2,000.
Last year, when the second 'i' in the BBC Television Centre sign in West London broke, it took more than a month to fix.
The corporation's own facilities management company, plus two outside contractors, spent thousands of pounds of licence-fee payers' money on the task.
It is thought to have cost £1,100 every time one of the contractors conducted an assessment of the problem.
The profligate spending comes despite the BBC receiving a lowerthanexpected licence-fee settlement this year. In February it was announced that the licence fee will go up by £4, which is less than the rate of inflation.
The corporation is already in the process of making some 4,000 redundancies.
It is expected that the effective cut in its income will mean that it has to make more.
A spokesman for the BBC claimed that Mrs Wordsworth had been given the £10 cost of changing a lightbulb in error.
She added: "BBC staff are permitted to change lightbulbs if they want, however they should follow the appropriate safety precautions, such as ensuring that the light is switched off at the time."