Well that’s done. Mr Thompson (Director General BBC) and Mr Smith (Chief Executive BBC Worldwide) have left the building. They spent today here at LP Towers out in Footscray. Once I got over the picture of the two of the most influential and powerful people in world media in Footscray it was good to see them getting the latest news on what Lonely Planet is up to, what we’re planning next and how our relationship stands right now.
And relationship is the right word. Over the last couple of years it’s fair to say that both Mark and John have come in for a barrage of complaints and concerns from other media outlets. As Mark described the journey so far – a bit ‘bumpy’. But here’s the bit that made me happy. One of the first things John said, quite passionately, when he stood up in front of the whole company was “Lonely Planet is not for sale”. He emphatically stated he had no thoughts of selling Lonely Planet and that Lonely Planet was incredibly important to BBC WorldWide. That was a great boost to the gathered throng who’ve grown tired of the rumours and rumblings out of the UK that the BBC was being forced to get rid of LP. Then what topped it for us was Mark standing there saying exactly the same thing.
So am I confident about the future of LP? Damn right.
