After criticism of Panorama’s editing of speeches by US President Donald Trump, the broadcaster’s director general Tim Davie and news chief Deborah Turness have resigned, the BBC reports.
Davie has been in the job for five years and has faced increasing pressure. The Telegraph published a leaked internal communications document in early November showing that Panorama had combined two of Trump’s speeches to make it appear that he had directly called for rebellion and insurrection, which led to the riots at the Capitol in January 2021.
Trump has already praised the decision, and British political leaders have expressed hope that the resignation will usher in change.
The resignation of a director general and head of news has never been the first time a broadcaster has resigned simultaneously. Announcing his decision on the evening of 9 November, Davie said that, like all public organisations, the BBC is not perfect and must always be open, transparent and accountable. He added that, while it was not the only reason, the debate over BBC News had reinforced his decision to leave.
Tournesol said the Panorama scandal had reached a point where it was damaging to the BBC and added that the row would end with her departure.
“In public life leaders need to be fully accountable, and that is why I am stepping down.
While mistakes have been made, I want to be absolutely clear recent allegations that BBC News is institutionally biased are wrong,” the now-former news director said.
The Telegraph’s material also raises concerns that too little is being done to address what it says is the BBC’s Arabic-language coverage of the war in Gaza.
In a speech on the 6th of January 2021, Trump said: “We’re going to walk down to the Capitol, and we’re going to cheer on our brave senators and congressmen and women.” In the Panorama material, the US president says: “We’re going to walk down to the Capitol… and I’ll be there with you. And we fight. We fight like hell.” The two combined speech fragments actually look like a 50-minute address. The leaked internal communications have put the BBC under fire, with the White House already saying that the broadcaster is publishing 100% fake news.
Trump has said BBC staff are leaving or being fired after being caught altering his ideal speech.
He also said the incident was an attempt to influence the election and was a blow to democracy.
BBC chairman Samir Shah is expected to make a written statement to the parliamentary committee on the 10th of November. Speaking about the departure of the management, Shah said it was a sad day for the BBC. The broadcaster’s board respected his decision and he understood the pressure the director-general was feeling, both personally and professionally.
The leaked internal communications were written by Michael Prescott, an independent adviser to the broadcaster’s editorial board who left in June. Among other allegations, concerns were raised about the BBC’s coverage of transgender issues, saying journalists were censoring and promoting pro-transgender content.
The BBC has faced criticism and complaints from various ideological camps in recent times, with the war in Gaza among the sore points. Lady Caroline Dineage, chairwoman of the British parliament’s Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee, said the broadcaster’s image had been tarnished by a seemingly continuous stream of crises and missteps.
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