Response

It doesn't tot up to much Your story provided a welcome insight into the current issues facing producers of British children's programming ( The next generation , 27 September). It is now a reality that producers are raising substantial investment to make programmes that broadcasters are no longer fully funding. On a positive note, this demonstrates the UK is exploiting as many forms of revenue generation as possible in order to maximise production investment. That said, the piece stated that the BBC's £10m increase in its annual children's budget was "good news". We view £10m as a modest increase – not befitting the BBC's pronouncement that children's is a priority in its £600m spending revamp. In fact, Ofcom's figures indicate that £10m just helps plug the gap left by the BBC's own reductions in children's spending since 2004. Let's see words put into action before we congratulate the BBC on this. Mike Watts Pact vice-chair and managing director, Novel Entertainment Twitter or twits? Spot on Charles ( Twitter goes down and the world falls silent , 27 September). Living on a remote farm I find Twitter is my gateway to the world. Thanks to tweetdeck I can manage the newstream on all the subjects that interest me. I found out Dairy Farmers of GB was going bust before the National Farmers Union even. We hit the phones to find an alternative supplier to collect our milk. I like the cities analogy, I now visit 20 cities to chat to friends before breakfast … cyberdoyle online • Very few businesses or jobs really require "just-in-time information" – one can note the usefulness (as quoted by cyberdoyle) but it is still primarily an enhancement and embellishment of business and lives. And suggesting Twitter is solely for those able to empathise or "engage with other people in a supportive way" is just nonsense. lorenzo1 online Listing badly I don't agree with the sale of the mag ( Radio Times? That'll be £100m, 27 September ). It's just a small bit of cash now and very likely a much poorer service for listeners and viewers for ever more. How can the BBC make money other than the licence fee income if it is repeatedly asset stripped of anything that becomes popular? PriscillaPrestwich online • Family silver, again. Outside broadcasts, transmitters, studios, TV Centre, wardrobe department etc. Very soon there will be nothing left. Barometer online