TELEVISION - March 2, 1993

He’ll Have to Pay Now: John Birt, the new head of the powerful British Broadcasting Corp., came under criticism from British politicians Monday and was forced to join the BBC staff after an embarrassing newspaper disclosure Sunday that he had been working as a free-lancer as a way of paying lower income taxes on his $200,000 salary. Birt, who became director-general in January, had been paid through a private company, John Birt Productions Ltd., a system he had used since joining the BBC in 1987.