With looming job cuts and an ongoing pay dispute, there has not been much to smile about for BBC journalists working in “the pit” – their pet name for the newsroom deep in the belly of New Broadcasting House.
On Monday afternoon, however, they were greeted by a grinning figure conducting a tour of the news floor. She was Rachel Jupp, the BBC’s newly appointed director of news and current affairs. Jupp engaged in a series of polite if brief conversations with her new troops.
