Even after making such a basic error – the sort of mistake no editor would accept from a junior reporter, let alone from Panorama – the BBC could have acted quickly. Recognise the blunder, retract it and apologise sincerely.
Instead, the week of dithering has emboldened its many enemies, from the White House and the Reform party to Fleet Street. Those adversaries need no encouragement. They care little for the BBC’s achievements and merits.
Tim Davie went missing in action yet again. The leadership vacuum allowed the threat to grow quickly. That failure to react means the Beeb now faces a $1bn legal menace from Donald Trump, at a time when the future of the licence fee is in question. Its journalism is in jeopardy.
BBC management took a vow of silence. The board appears to be divided or paralysed. Yet executive power doesn’t sit with the board.
Who is the BBC’s editor-in-chief, responsible for editorial leadership at the world’s biggest news broadcaster? It’s supposed to be the director-general. But Davie is a marketing man and has repeatedly shown himself to be under-qualified for the role. Too often he has been slow to make big decisions, allowing crises to build.
The BBC’s newsroom faces scrutiny like no other. It’s a punchbag. Being DG is one of the most challenging jobs in media. Perhaps no individual can cope with the commercial demands of running a huge company while also being the editorial leader, on-point for the toughest decisions. All this, too, while transforming Auntie to survive the tsunami of changes sweeping through global media.
Evidently, Davie has fallen far short of the standard required.
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From the outside, the need for a real BBC editor-in-chief seems obvious. A leader with the authority to act decisively – and prevent the vacuum that caused such damage. Who can protect the BBC’s independence from routine political attacks. Who offers clear accountability for editorial decisions and standards – to the BBC board, the public and to Parliament.
The BBC will always have noisy, determined enemies, including people as cynical as this US President. Tough. Unfortunately that’s just the price of doing business, of being a publicly funded broadcaster and publishing journalism with global impact. Hire accordingly. The best of the BBC is too important to squander.
@olyduff
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