By Variety | Created at 2024-11-05 15:01:15 | Updated at 2024-11-05 23:16:02
10 hours ago
BBC chair Samir Shah has vowed to tackle “unacceptable behavior” at the broadcaster following the Huw Edwards scandal.
Edwards, who was until last year the BBC’s most high-profile and highly-paid news anchor, went on medical leave after being outed in a scandal involving allegedly paying a teenager for photographs. This year he was convicted of making indecent images of children in a separate incident, which saw him narrowly escape a prison sentence.
The BBC has also been tainted by other #MeToo-style scandals over the years allegedly perpetrated by some of its talent including Jimmy Savile, Russell Brand, Rolf Harris and DJ Tim Westwood.
While Shah, who stepped into the role of BBC chair eight months ago, did not directly name Edwards, in a speech today at the Leeds Conservatoire on the future of U.K. public service broadcasting he acknowledged “there have been and are concerns about in the BBC.”
“I, and the BBC Board, take this matter very seriously and are determined to root out abuses of power,” he said. “We have seen significant progress in recent years – and certainly much better since I began my career in television 30 years ago. Nevertheless, there continues to be a sense that powerful people ‘get away with it’; that people who have had the courage to complain are left dangling; that more visible action needs to be taken when someone is found to have crossed a line.”
“And, frankly, for everything to be done a great deal quicker. We clearly need to do more. And the Workplace Culture Review currently underway will, I believe, help us move rapidly forward.”
The BBC recently announced an external review into its workplace culture.
Shah also stressed he was committed to journalistic impartiality, particularly when it comes to difficult topics such as the Middle East. “Now more than ever, in this deeply polarising story, we need to double down on the defining qualities of impartial journalism: accuracy, seeking truth and the importance of hearing all sides of opinion, with respect and courtesy,” he said.
In September the BBC’s former director of television Danny Cohen compiled a 60-page report tallying repeated failures in the broadcaster’s reporting of the recent war in Gaza.
Shah also used his speech to warn about the importance of local content, although he admitted he is a fan of U.S. streaming shows “Slow Horses” and “Stranger Things.”
“My leisure time has been infinitely enriched by the options now available to me,” he said.
“But you know, it is also a double-edged sword. Because the focus of big international players is a global market, which, inevitably, does not prioritise local stories.”
Shah said he plans to work with his colleagues at other public service broadcasters to implement regulations such as prominence for the PSBs on smart TVs as well as lobby the government to “loosen the reins on our commercial activities.”
The BBC is funded by the U.K. public, who must pay an obligatory license fee if they watch live broadcasts on any network or streamer on any device. The license fee goes entirely to the BBC.
