London calling

IN JULY George Osborne, the chancellor of the exchequer, accused the BBC of becoming “imperial in its ambitions”, before effectively lopping about £650m ($1 billion) off its budget by making the corporation take on the cost of the free television licences that are given to the elderly. The message was clear: in these austere times, do less with less money.

The BBC’s director-general, Lord Hall, seems to have decided that attack is the best form of defence. In the first of four speeches he is due to make setting out the BBC’s case for the renewal next year of its royal charter, on September 7th Lord Hall promised new services and, in an accompanying policy document, proposed 100 more local journalists to be shared with newspapers. Cuts will apparently be announced in due course. But for now, Lord Hall offered a sunny vision of the 93-year-old institution recommitting to its public-service values.