— The Independent is not for sale, the O'Reillys say, but its finances will be under pressure. On Fleet Street estimates circle that the title and its Sunday sister will lose anywhere between £14 million and double that this year. What is known is that The Indy and the profitable Belfast Telegraph made a £4.3 million operating profit in 2007, according to accounts released yesterday. The sharp downturn will wipe that out. Meanwhile, according to Cazenove, advertising is down 10 per cent at News International, owner of The Times and The Sun, in the quarter to September. The Indy could be down 20 per cent, as its smaller size makes it less attractive to advertisers.

— Lucian Grainge, the chief executive of Universal Music outside the US, was honoured by U2, Take That, the male half of Abba, Girls Aloud and others on Monday night at the Music Industry Trust Awards. That triggered all the usual speculation about when he will take the top job in New York. With the incumbent Doug Morris (also in London to honour Grainge) telling people that its only a matter of time, the question is when. Gamblers might want to bet on 2010 — and that Max Hole, who runs marketing for Grainge, will take over for his colleague.

— That said, it was nice to see Lucian Grainge in a long, late-night conversation with Simon Cowell, who works with Sony. However, Cowell moving over to Universal would have to be banned by the European Commission on competition grounds.

— Lesley Douglas, the former controller of Radio 2, wanted to quit on Monday last week when the Brand and Ross affair broke, but was initially talked out of it as the BBC scrambled to find out what happened, one insider suggests. She went on Thursday, but had agreed to quit before the BBC Trust meeting that afternoon, not after. Those, like Chris Evans, who hope for her reinstatement, are not taking on board that she does not want to return.

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