That's because they have real news on the World Service and junk food news elsewhere on BBC. You don't believe me? Well, yesterday I solemnly sat down and took notes on the 8am news bulletin, to see just how serious a news service it was Here are, in brief, the 13 items covered in 10 minutes 1. There is only one flaw in John Birt's plan to make the World Service get all its news from a central news service He has got it the wrong way round All BBC news should be drawn from the World Service. Mr Ford is not over-fond of unions, and his organisation is facing some union negotiators who want to smash capitalism.Not a formula for industrial peace.History of a damaging disputeThe central issue in the dispute between unions and management at London Underground is the interpretation of a deal which resulted in industrial action last year.The unions believe that productivity improvements over the last 12 months should trigger a one-hour reduction in the working week.Management argues that the wording of the agreement requires a commitment to fresh efficiency measures.

The unions want to continue talks at conciliation service Acas, but London Underground has called for a suspension of the action pending binding arbitration - a course of action supported by the Labour Party.Apart from today's 24-hour strike and another scheduled for Monday, six further strike days are planned for: Wednesday, 7 August; Tuesday, 13 August; Friday, 23 August; Tuesday, 27 August; Thursday, 5 September; and Monday, 9 September.. When she says it is the final offer, she means it."However, there is an eminence grise on management's side. Ms Burfutt will sometimes make it clear to unions that while she might well go along with a particular suggestion, her board would not. Chairing that board is Peter Ford, who joined London Transport from P&O where he was among the "hawks" who insisted that the then National Union of Seamen, now part of the RMT, should be derecognised. There is no doubting her toughness, indeed "abrasiveness", according to some.Management sources however argue that the politics of the RMT does not help - "some of them are on another planet" - and neither does the unions' dinosaur negotiating style."They are difficult people to negotiate with Ann prides herself on her honesty. "She is either the most subtle, far-sighted negotiator or the most inept," said one RMT man.

Unlike her predecessor, she cannot retire to the pub after a prolonged and expletive-ridden meeting for a bout of male-bonding over a pint.Union officials are baffled by her style. After one recent session she remarked that she had been "faced by seven angry men". Thus a significant part of the communication problem may well be her gender and the "maleness" of the union officials. In a late-night hearing a judge declared the union's strike ballot unlawful on what Mr Adams saw as a technicality One who was present said: "Lew went ballistic. If Ann Burfutt had been a man, Lew would have hit him."On Tuesday, Mr Adams characterised management as "sick and incompetent", while London Underground accused him of "thumbing through the playground book of insults".It is clear that Ms Burfutt, a former personnel manager at Islington Council who joined London Transport in 1993, is ill- at-ease with the union negotiators. Even Jimmy Knapp, the traditionalist but avuncular general secretary of the RMT who is an opponent of the SLP, has been unable to find a single point of contact with Ms Burfutt.As for Lew Adams, general secretary of Aslef and a leftist member of the Labour Party, there have been occasions when his professional irritation has finally spilled over into blind rage.Last year, at another time of industrial unrest on the tube system, Ms Burfutt insisted on taking Aslef to the High Court. SLP members see the dispute as part of the class struggle and for some of them conviviality with the "boss class" is tantamount to supping with the devil.Yet the divide is not only polticial.