Andrew Jones: Performers' deals worry public more

However, I think the public are much more concerned about the salaries of performers and those earning multi-million-pound deals, such as Jonathan Ross in the past, than those of senior staff at the BBC.

The UK government is conflating the issue of exorbitant packages for talent with the pay of senior staff as a way of putting pressure on the BBC to cut its pay bill. The BBC has always benchmarked itself against other broadcasting organisations such as ITV, Channel 4 and Sky. Senior staff at the BBC are generally paid less than their counterparts at the other channels. The difference is that there are far more senior managers at the BBC than at any of these other broadcasters.

I think at the heart of this is an agenda to bring the BBC into line with other public sector organisations. The BBC sits in the uncomfortable position of being perceived as a public service organisation in the same way as a local authority or the NHS, when in reality it is competing for programmes and talent against other broadcasters, many of whom have a considerable amount of money to throw at talent and senior executives.

What has changed in recent years is that ITV, in particular, has gone through a ruthless series of cash-cutting measures that mean many staff are on a fraction of the income of those in similar jobs at the BBC.

The BBC has always argued it needs to pay large salaries to retain key executive talent, who can easily leave to join commercial competitors.

The reality is that argument is overstated, given the fact the BBC has consistently been one of the most attractive employers among graduates who aspire to work in the media.

l Andrew Jones is head of journalism at Robert Gordon University in Aberdeen and a former BBC Scotland senior manager.