Paxman and Humphrys row over cuts

BBC News heavyweights Jeremy Paxman and John Humphrys have been arguing over funding cuts at the corporation in the pages of its in-house magazine.

Humphrys, who presents Radio 4's flagship morning show Today, last week told Ariel he thought budgets at Newsnight and other television programmes should be slashed before that of his programme.

He declared: "The Today programme is vitally important to the BBC and its licence payers. It might even - God forbid! - be more important than television programmes such as Newsnight or even late-night chat shows aimed at the yoof audience.

"Both Today and Newsnight must have an adequate budget but when the chips are down, Today matters more. In my experience, and I've worked in both, there's a lot more fat in television - if fat is the right word - than there is in radio."

This week Paxman, who fronts the BBC Two current evening show, had his say in a letter to the magazine.

He argued: "Well, hold the front page! John Humphrys thinks his programme shouldn't have its budget cut. That's not even up there with Dog Bites Man.

"Perhaps the Greatest Living Welshman would like to consider how clever it is for us all to start fighting like rats in a sack because this organisation apparently finds it impossible to live on an assured income of £3.5bn a year.

"Might it be wiser to ask that senior management make some strategic judgments about what we're for?"

Both have previously agreed that cuts should not come from news output at all.