New comedies on BBC Television are each to have a trainee writing position in future, with a £150,000 apprenticeship fund set up by the Corporation. Writers are being selected for the new opportunity by BBC Head of Comedy Jon Plowman.

  Salford Media City has emerged as the leading contender for the site of the BBC's Manchester expansion plans. BBC governors chose Salford Quays after months of discussion. The BBC will now enter into exclusive discussions with Salford MediaCity as the "leading bidder in principle" after it fought off a rival bid from central Manchester to house the media centre

  Actors Colin Firth and Robert Carlyle will star in a BBC drama marking the 40th anniversary of Ken Loach's film Cathy Come Home.  Nighty Night's Julia Davis and Anne-Marie Duff of Shameless also star. The drama will present the stories of several characters who find themselves living in temporary housing.

Ruth Pitt, a key architect behind the BBC’s move to increase production outside London has quit the corporation, saying she has become frustrated by “resistance” to the plans. The creative director for the BBC's “Out of London” development, Pitt is reported to have told Broadcast magazine that she was not prepared to “tread water” until attitudes in…

  A leaked document shows the BBC is planning to introduce a system of uniform rates for freelancers right across the corporation, standardising rates of pay for craft freelancers across all departments. A new central purchasing unit will then supply these departments with freelance staff.

  BBC Film Network, an interactive showcase for new British filmmakers, has launched a high-resolution film download service.The site, at www.bbc.co.uk/filmnetwork, will make selected short films available as downloads for free as a trial period of 12 months.

  According to Mark Thompson, Director General, The BBC risks "losing a generation forever" if it fails to adopt radical and wide-ranging programming and content plans unveiled today, designed to satisfy and retain existing audiences and reach out to develop new ones. His remarks follow on quickly Media Secretary Tessa Jowell's remarks that the BBC will not get the licence…

  The government is to cut the BBC's controversial demand for a £180-a year-licence fee. Media secretary Tessa Jowell said the BBC bid was part of a negotiation. She also said for the first time, that the corporation will not get the settlement it has asked for.

  Children's TV programme Newsround, still the only dedicated daily news service for children in the UK, is to go large with a spin off documentary series called Newsround Investigates. The programmes take an in-depth look at issues affecting children’s lives, starting in May.

  The BBC has commissioned 30 single dramas in an ambitious attempt to document life over the last three decades. Fifteen 60-minute scripts will be commissioned from in-house producers with another fifteen scripts from independent producers. The deals are worth around £25m.

  The BBC is to screen a drama to mark the 40th anniversary of the screening of Ken Loach's film Cathy Come Home. The new drama will centre on a London hostel and will be made for a season celebrating the powerful 1966 film, which led to a national debate about homelessness.