2007
BBC agenda 2007
|
2007 |
|
BBC agenda 2007 |
| 2007 Sections
|
Top
BBC article Chairman predicts a smaller BBC
BBC chairman Sir Michael Lyons has said the corporation will be smaller and more "distinctive" five years from now. In an interview on BBC One's
Andrew Marr Show, he said he also wanted the BBC to continue to
contribute to the "very nature of the country". + 25 August 2007 Telegraph
Telegraph article Jeremy Paxman likens BBC to Stalin's Russia
Last Updated: 9:32am BST 25/08/2007
Jeremy Paxman said working with the
BBC was like living in Stalin's Russia last night as he launched a
scathing attack on his employer. The Newsnight presenter accused the corporation of staking its future on "one five-year plan, one resoundingly empty slogan after another". He said management initiatives such as One BBC, Making it Happen and Creative Futures all "blur into one great vacuous blur". "I can't even recall what the current one is," Paxman said during the landmark MacTaggart lecture at the Edinburgh television festival. "Rather like Stalin's Russia, they
express a belief that the system will go on forever." 18 August 2007 Mail on Sunday
BBC forced to removed 'bastard' slur about Jesus from its website
Last updated at 22:17pm on 18th August 2007
The BBC has been forced to remove statements from its website referring to Jesus as a 'bastard'. It is the latest in a string of offensive comments that BBC editors have allowed members of the public to post. The remarks have been allowed to remain for weeks, despite complaints from religious groups. It has led to claims that the BBC is allowing its output to be hijacked by extremists while censoring anti-Muslim sentiment. The remarks about Jesus were left as part of a discussion of the death of the Archbishop of Paris. The debate had descended into an argument about the merits of Christians, Jews and Muslims when a writer, known as 'colonelartist', posted: "Are you a christian? You do know that jesus had to hide all his short life he lived in those promised land because his tribesmen used to call him fatherless, ridiculed him for being a B-A-S-T-A-R-D...' He added: "Jesus...was also persecuted because the jews would never accept as their Messiah a person whose father was missing...' The comments were allowed to remain for a week despite complaints. But after The Mail on Sunday contacted senior BBC officials, they were deleted. Colonelartist is a regular contributor to the BBC site. He has also written: "The jews in much remembered concentration camps had even better qualitity of freedom that these palestinians have...' One website user wanted to see if BBC editors were allowing these offensive remarks to remain while blocking others. He wrote: "No one can surpass the Muslims for denial of their role in Terrorism and Suicide bombing." The remarks were almost immediately deleted.
Full Mail on Sunday article 15 August 2007 Daily Mail
BBC apology as Blue Peter star Konnie shares 'Tory-bashing' stage with MayorLast updated at 10:24am on 15th August 2007 The BBC issued a humiliating apology today after Blue Peter presenter Konnie Huq shared a "Tory-bashing" platform with Ken Livingstone. Huq, 31, was accused of threatening the corporation's impartiality when she appeared at a media event with the London Mayor. And in a further blow to the corporation's credibility, it emerged that Huq had defied Blue Peter executives to attend the launch of the cycling campaign which Tories claimed was used by the Mayor to accuse the Tories of following "pro-car" policies. BBC deputy director-general Mark Byford apologised to Tory activists who were furious that the Blue Peter name had been used by Labour. In a letter, Mr Byford said: "The BBC had turned this down on the grounds that it would be unsuitable for her and Blue Peter. "It was felt that the BBC and the programme should not be linked with anything that might be construed as campaigning." Brian Coleman, Conservative member and deputy chairman of the London Assembly, said: "The launch became a political rant. "It is unforgivable for the BBC to allow the Blue Peter name to be lent to a political event. "But when a presenter does so without their permission you wonder what is going on at the BBC." But the presenter's agent, Jonathan Shalit, said: "This was an entirely non-political event about helping to get Londoners cycling and that is why I recommended that Konnie take part.+ 07 August 2007 Metro BBC pays out nearly £20m in bonuses
The BBC paid out nearly £20 million in staff bonuses last year, it has been revealed. Director-general Mark Thompson and members of the executive board waived their bonuses. But other employees received bumper payouts to reward "exceptional performance", The Sun revealed. The Corporation handed out £19,429,853 during the period from July 2006 to June 2007. Most bonuses were paid last August. Nearly half the BBC's 23,000 employees received bonuses and the average amount was £1,805. But one employee received £100,739 and others took home five-figure sums.+ 03 August 2007 Guardian article
Lords criticise Lyons appointment
Owen Gibson, media
correspondent
An influential Lords committee has criticised the way the BBC chairman, Sir Michael Lyons, was appointed and concluded that government ministers have too much control over the recruitment process. Although the procedure followed the Nolan rules for public appointments, the Lords communications
committee said it was still far too opaque and open to influence by ministers. The appointment of Sir Michael drew criticism from some who felt him to be too close to the soon-to-be prime minister, Gordon Brown Following inquiries by the committee, it emerged that a selection panel - chaired by a civil servant - shortlisted four candidates. Ministers were then able to add another name to the list before all five were interviewed by the panel. The panel then put forward four of the five for potential appointment, recommending one more highly than the others. It is not known whether their preferred candidate was Sir Michael. "What is clear is that this process gives ministers considerable opportunity to influence the selection," said the report.+ Full article; http://politics.guardian.co.uk/media/story/0,,2140558,00.html 02 August 2007 The BBC spinline says; "Scotland and London 'to lose MEP'". The reality says England to lose 5 MEPs. BBC article;
Full article;
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/6925876.stm 22 July 2007
Sunday Herald article
BBC apologises in row over 'mistake' in SNP survey By John Bynorth THE BBC has suffered another credibility blow after admitting that it made up a Newsnight survey suggesting that most of Britain and Scotland's leading businesses were not in favour of independence. Presenter Jeremy Paxman had told SNP leader Alex Salmond that 'not one' of 50 firms, made up of 25 in Britain and 25 north of the border, supported the party's independence policy on a TV special shown before the Holyrood elections in May. The Sunday Herald has discovered the BBC has since apologised after a viewer complained the 'straw poll' was mis-represented by Paxman because only a handful of companies replied to the survey.
Details of the latest mistake emerged only days after a number of corporation staff were told to 'step back' from their duties over their involvement in a fake phone-in scandal affecting six programmes, including BBC Scotland's Children In Need Appeal. The BBC's head of editorial complaints, Fraser Steel, responding to the complaint by viewer Chris Hegarty conceded that only seven of the 50 firms approached for their views on independence had replied. He added that contrary to Paxman's claims, a majority had declined to express a view 'one way or the other, two had declared 'neutrality' and one leading business said 'it didn't care.' Steel added that as a result of the mistake, the programme's editor and 'senior management' were spoken to about 'the importance of clarity and transparency' when reporting the outcome of so-called 'snapshots' and straw polls. Details of the latest deception to affect the BBC emerged after the corporation's director general, Mark Thompson, announced that phone contests were suspended on Thursday after a review found staff or their friends had been allowed to 'win' competitions.+ Full article; http://www.sundayherald.com/news/heraldnews/display.var.1563445.0.0.php |
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||