[A-List] UK state: the BBC

["Michael Keaney" <michael.keaney@xxxxxx>]

If there is one thing we could ever thank "Lord" John Birt for, it is for
increasing the likelihood of making Greg Dyke's memoirs more interesting
than they might otherwise have been. Otherwise this is yet more confirmation
of Birt's unassailable identification with the interests of the state -- not
for nothing was he imposed by Thatcher in the 1980s, first as deputy
director general and appearing to have more power than his nominal head,
Michael Checkland, and thereafter as DG, imposing precisely all the
cretinous methods upon BBC news and current affairs that have landed the BBC
into the present mess. It was Birt, after all, who pushed through the
"rolling news" format and the idiotic "going live" segments in news
broadcasts in which reporters at the scene were asked inane questions by
studio-bound anchors who received back the same information, peppered with
ums and ers, that they had just introduced the story with to the viewer. It
was precisely via that "going live" procedure that Gilligan made his fateful
report, begging the question of how BBC editors could insist upon Gilligan
getting clearance for what he said if he was supposed to give his report off
the cuff. The question becomes one of self-censorship, and the ideological
predisposition of the reporters themselves. Birt, the original pioneer of
the "mission to explain" type of tv journalism that was supported by the
Thatcherites, ought to be the one answering questions here, not Dyke or
Davies, who, unlike many a toady of the Birt stripe, actually defended their
employee, rather than hung him out to dry.

Birt, of course, might be upset that one of Dyke's innovations as DG was a
"cut the crap" initiative, in which all the stifling bureaucracy imposed by
Birt was subjected to criticism and, where demonstrated to be surplus to
requirements, ditched. Birt's opinion of his own abilities as a manager and
theorist of management is second only to his personal identification with
the state interest. Like Tony, he is a true conservative. He is a useful
bellweather of that state interest as it evolves over time, and his defence
of Blair is indicative of how long we must yet endure the leadership of
Tony, although there are ominous signs that Tony's tenure is reaching its
end, and sooner than had been planned originally.

-----

Birt attacks governors over Iraq report errors

Matt Wells and Patrick Wintour
Thursday February 5, 2004
The Guardian

The BBC's board of governors will meet in emergency session today to discuss
the crisis that has engulfed the corporation, in the wake of a savage
onslaught from the former director general Lord Birt.

In an astonishingly strong attack on the team that succeeded him at the BBC,
Lord Birt, now a Downing Street adviser, last night accused the governors of
endorsing slipshod journalism and accused the corporation of "blind defence
and sophistry".

Greg Dyke, who was forced out as director general after the Hutton report
was published last week, declined to respond to Lord Birt's remarks. But the
Guardian has learned that he is in talks with publishers about writing a
book of his four years at the corporation, during which he has undone many
of Lord Birt's hated management structures.

Speaking in a debate on the Hutton inquiry in the Lords, Lord Birt suggested
indirectly that he might have some sympathy for changes to the way the BBC
is regulated; he said the governors had failed in their duties and brought
into question the whole regulatory structure.

Claiming the BBC had suffered the worst setback in its history, Lord Birt
said: "At the root of this crisis is a slipshod piece of journalism and, let
us be clear, it was not 'mostly right'. The central thrust of the story was
unfounded.

"But let us also be clear. The subject of the reporter's inquiry, the
government's dossier, was entirely legitimate. It was the treatment of the
story that was deeply unsatisfactory."

He claimed the BBC was damaged above all by its failure to respond properly
after the story was broadcast. "When the coverage was challenged, it should
have been investigated rigorously by BBC executives but, transfixed by
outside attack, they did not.

"Rather, we had blind defence and sophistry. We heard the story being
supported on the grounds that it was sufficient to report a source, provided
that the source was reported accurately, whether or not the story was true."

Lord Birt went on to attack the governors of failing to investigate whether
Andrew Gilligan's story was correct. "They failed for too long to act as the
BBC regulators and in the process they have brought into question the BBC's
1920s system of governance."

He said the Iraq dossier story "should not have happened and it should not
have been defended", and claimed there were failings at every level. "From
top to bottom, a series of grievous errors were made and it was those errors
that damaged the BBC."

The BBC could still recover "but some are in denial, understandably shocked,
bewildered, confused".

Contacted by the Guardian last night, Mr Dyke declined to respond to the
criticisms levelled at his regime, deciding not to make any further public
comment on the affair for the time being. But it is understood that he is in
talks with a number of publishers to sell his account of the last four years
at the top of the BBC, probably for a six-figure sum.

The account will probably not appear for a year, because Mr Dyke did not
keep a diary during his period as director general. "He wasn't exactly an
assiduous taker of notes," one friend said last night.

The book follows a tradition of score-settling among former director
generals. Lord Birt's memoirs, A Harder Path, appeared in 2002. While he was
at the BBC, Mr Dyke was always charitable to his predecessor, but he may
prefer to let his true feelings out in print.

Today the governors will gather on the third floor of Broadcasting House to
discuss the events of the past week. Mark Byford, the acting director
general, is expected to brief them on the details of an internal "process"
he has set up to decide what lessons need to be learned, whether individuals
should face action, and what the BBC's full response to the Hutton report
should be.

They are also likely to hear details of the process for selecting a new
chairman and director general. Lord Ryder, the acting chairman, has said he
is not standing for the post. The government wants to appoint a new chairman
by April. Adverts will appear in the Sunday newspapers this week, and a
parallel process to recruit a new director general will also get under way.