ITV

Tag: Lord Hutton

  • BBC revamps journalism guidelines, will launch journalism institute

    BBC revamps journalism guidelines, will launch journalism institute

    MUMBAI: BBC has announced the revamping of its journalism guidelines and the creation of its own journalism training college as part of its damage control exercises after the bruising battle it had with the British government over its justification for the Iraq invasion.

    BBC director general Mark Thompson is quoted in media reports as saying that the guidelines would be implemented at the earliest.

    Recommendations in the Neil report, an internal review into how to learn the lessons of the Hutton inquiry, include general points like renewed emphasis on core values of accuracy, serving public interest, impartiality, independence and accountability. Announcing the shake-up of its complaints and compliance procedures, the BBC has also asked its journalists to discontinue writing columns in national newspapers.

    “The BBC should also set up a college of journalism, led by an academic, to improve training and standards,” said a report published on the network’s website.

    The BBC’s reputation was sullied after judge Lord Hutton, who led the investigation on the scandal over BBC’s reporting on Britain’s pre-war intelligence about Iraq, harshly criticised the 80-year-old organisation for a May 2003 report that had quoted an anonymous source as saying the government had ‘sexed up’ evidence on Iraqi weapons to justify war.

  • Mark Thompson new BBC director general

    Mark Thompson new BBC director general

    MUMBAI: Veteran television executive Mark Thompson is the new director general of BBC. Thompson, the chief executive of the private Channel 4 television, will replace Greg Dyke, who resigned following the scandal over BBC’s reporting on Britain’s pre-war intelligence about Iraq.

    Lord Hutton, the senior appeals judge who led the investigation had harshly criticised the BBC for a May 2003 report that had quoted an anonymous source as saying the government had ‘sexed up’ evidence on Iraqi weapons to justify war.

    This is a homecoming of sorts for Thompson, who had been with the BBC for 23 years, holding many positions in news and current affairs including director of its television division. After quitting the BBC, Thompson, 46, had joined Channel 4 as chief executive more than two years ago.

    To a question on boosting the staff morale at the BBC in the wake of the Hutton Inquiry, Thompson is quoted as saying the staff could be very confident about the BBC’s future, although there were lessons to be learned from recent months.

    “I worked for the BBC for 23 years and saw any number of crises and changes, journalistic and otherwise,” he said.

    Welcoming Thompson’s appointment, the government’s culture secretary Tessa Jowell is quoted in the media reports as saying, “Mark Thompson is one of our most distinguished public service broadcasters. His experience, skills and enthusiasm will give renewed confidence and direction to the BBC, who now have an outstanding team with Michael Grade as chairman.”

    Speaking on behalf of the BBC’s board of directors, Grade is quoted as saying Thompson was the right person to lead the BBC at this important period in its history.

  • BPG report recommendations shot down by Jowell

    BPG report recommendations shot down by Jowell

    MUMBAI: BBC has received a shot in the arm regarding its uncertainty concerning yesterday’s Broadcasting Policy Group (BPG) report. There were fears that the government might use the report’s charter recommendations to punish the organisation over the recent Iraq dossier, which saw several heads roll last month. The group was asked by the Conservative Party to recommend what should happen when the BBC’s current Royal Charter expires in 2006.

    However UK’s secretary of state for culture, media and sport Tessa Jowell gave the thumbs down to suggestions in the report regarding removing the license fee and getting rid of the Beebs governing board.

    The report had also recommended splitting the BBC into separate units and also introducing subscription charges for BBC television services. Instead of renewing the Royal Charter, the group had suggested that the BBC’s assets be transferred from 2007 to a new public corporation also called the BBC. However it would be modelled on Channel 4. Ownership would be vested in the communications regulator Ofcom. There would be a mixed board of executive and non-executive directors. The BPG is chaired by former television executive David Elstein.

    However a Media Guardian report stated that Jowell felt that the implementation of the Group’s main suggestions were contrary to the vision of a strong and independent BBC. She went on to note that the report was one sided in that it ignored the BBC’s role as a news organisation that constantly strives to maintain accuracy, balance and fairness.

    In the report Eistein had said, “We came to the conclusion that this objective could be achieved only through radical change.” The report of the group had been made against the background of Lord Hutton’s observations on supposed weaknesses in BBC journalism, management and governance. Of course Lord Hutton’s report was seen by many as a white wash that sought to completely exonerate the Prime Minister Tony Blair.

    The group also stated that it took into account claims that the broadcaster had diluted its role as a public service provider in the rush for higher ratings. It also looked into criticism that the Beeb was abusing its privileged status to compete unfairly with commercial rivals. The group stated that dependence on the licence fee left the BBC at the mercy of the government, which sets the level.

    The Group had further noted that the licence fee would in any case become a less reliable source of funding in future because the proliferation of television channels will inevitably reduce the BBC’s audience share. At the same time rapid technological changes would challenge our idea of what constitutes a television set.

    From 2007, the Group recommended that some digitally transmitted BBC television services be gradually funded from subscription. It recommended that the licence fee be correspondingly reduced, perhaps from around 130 to 100 in 2007, and eventually down to perhaps 50. This process would encourage, and help fund, the take-up of digital receiving equipment.

    It also suggested that from 2007 distribution and television programme production be hived off. Once analogue transmissions cease, television broadcasting should also be separated from the rest of the BBC and freed to operate primarily as a pay-TV business.

  • BBC acting DG Mark Byford leading editorial review

    BBC acting DG Mark Byford leading editorial review

    MUMBAI: Last month, there was organisational upheaval at the BBC following the publication of Lord Hutton’s report on the death of weapons expert David Kelly. The report was seen by many as a desperate attempt to save Britain’s PM Tony Blair. Hutton’s report had exonerated the British government almost wholesale of “sexing up” its Iraq weapons dossier with unreliable intelligence.

    The then DG Greg Dyke resigned as did BBC chairman Gavyn Davies. Now the acting DG Mark Byford is leading a review of the editorial lessons to be learned for the broadcaster.

    Byford has formed a small review group to assist him in this task over the next three months. The team will be chaired by Ronald Neil, the former director of BBC News and Current Affairs who worked for the BBC for over 30 years.

    The aim of the review is to examine the editorial issues for the BBC raised by the Hutton report. The committee will identify the lessons to learn and make appropriate recommendations including necessary revisions to the Producers’ Guidelines and to the handling of complaints. The review team will support Mark Byford in the work and the Acting DG hopes to take forward the recommendations to the BBC’s Board of Governors in June.

  • Hutton report may alter BBC functioning

    Hutton report may alter BBC functioning

    MUMBAI: BBC chairman Gavyn Davies, who has stepped down from his post, has been the first casualty of the Lord Hutton report on the BBC. But deeper, far reaching changes are in the offing for the British Broadcasting Corporation and the way it handles its journalism as a result of the events that led to the death of Dr David Kelly.
    One of the first changes to take place is the ban on its main presenters from writing columns on contentious issues, which will remove, among others, John Humphrys from the Sunday Times, and Jeff Randall from the Sunday Telegraph, according to media reports. It has also announced it is strengthening its complaints process and the editorial procedures designed to ensure programmes comply with its guidelines, both of which had come under criticism by some who gave evidence to Lord Hutton.
    Gavyn Davies
    BBC World Service head Mark Byford has been promoted to deputy director general and put in charge of both complaints and compliance procedures. Reporting to him will be a new controller of complaints, heading an enlarged department, and the controller of editorial policy, whose department already deals with programmes before they are broadcast.
    In his report, Hutton has pointed out that, I consider that editorial system which the BBC permits was defective in that (correspondent Andrew) Gilligan was allowed to broadcast his report… without editors having seen a script of what he was going to say and without having considered whether it should be approved. The judge said BBC governors should have properly investigated Downing Street complaints as they defended the Corporation’s independence, reports say.
    Dr David Kelly
    Other changes that could take place in the BBC could also change the way programmes like Today and networks like Radio 5 Live and News 24 go about their business, particularly in their live coverage. BBC director general Greg Dyke had admitted to Lord Hutton in his testimony that there were “lessons to be learned” from the Kelly episode. Kelly allegedly slashed his wrist after being outed as the source of a BBC reporter’s claim that Prime Minister Tony Blair’s team exaggerated the threat posed by Iraq’s weapons to justify war.
    Dyke has since got senior BBC lawyers and editorial figures to review producer guidelines, particularly concerning the use of anonymous sources and how they are described in broadcasts. Dr David Kelly had supposedly killed himself after being named as the suspected source of the BBCs weapons dossier story put out by Andrew Gilligan about the British government’s intelligence dossier.
    Lord Hutton
    Dyke now says senior editorial figures will now consider whether in future all controversial reports should be scripted, instead of being discussed by the reporter and the presenter in what is known in broadcast terms as a “two-way” interview. The dossier story broke in the same format, in a discussion between Gilligan and Humphrys. In his evidence, Gilligan later said that he’d made “a slip of the tongue” in that broadcast and regretted giving the impression he thought the government had lied. “It is something that does happen in live broadcasts, an occupational hazard. It would have been better to have scripted this one.”

  • Full text of Greg Dyke’s statement

    Full text of Greg Dyke’s statement

    MUMBAI: Given below, is the full text of the statement made by the BBC director-general on the Hutton report:
    “Dr Kelly’s death was a tragedy for his family and again we offer our sincere condolences to them.”
    “We note Lord Hutton’s criticisms of the BBC. Many of these relate to mistakes which the BBC has already acknowledged in its submissions to the inquiry and for which we have already expressed regret.

    “Thanks to the process of Lord Hutton’s inquiry we now know more about the evolution of the September dossier.
    “The BBC does accept that certain key allegations reported by Andrew Gilligan on the Today programme on May 29 last year were wrong and we apologise for them.
    “However, we would point out again that at no stage in the last eight months have we accused the prime minister of lying and we have said this publicly on several occasions.
    “The dossier raised issues of great public interest. Dr Kelly was a credible source. Provided his allegations were reported accurately, the public in a modern democracy had a right to be made aware of them. The greater part of the BBC’s coverage of the dossier fulfilled this purpose.
    “We have already taken steps to improve our procedures. A new complaints and compliance structure has been put in place under the deputy director-general. We have a new set of rules for BBC journalists who wish to write for newspapers or magazines and we will be publishing revised editorial guidelines.
    “There are other findings in the report, including those about the dossier, which we will consider carefully. 
    “The BBC governors will be meeting formally tomorrow and will give further consideration to Lord Hutton’s report. No further comment will be made until after that meeting.”