• BBC chief George Entwistle resigns amid Newsnight child abuse report scandal
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[url]http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-20284124[/url] [quote=BBC News][B]The BBC's director general, George Entwistle, has resigned in the wake of the Newsnight child abuse broadcast.[/B] In a statement given outside New Broadcasting House, Mr Entwistle said: "I have decided that the honourable thing to do is to step down." Earlier, Mr Entwistle said the Newsnight report, which wrongly implicated ex-senior Tory Lord McAlpine should never have been broadcast. Mr Entwistle took up the post of director general on 17 September. In his statement, he said: "In the light of the fact that the director general is also the editor-in-chief and ultimately responsible for all content, and in the light of the unacceptable journalistic standards of the Newsnight film broadcast on Friday 2 November, I have decided that the honourable thing to do is to step down from the post of director general." [B]'Great honour'[/B] He said that when he was appointed to the role, he was confident BBC trustees had chosen the best candidate for the post and the "right person to tackle the challenges and opportunities ahead". "However the wholly exceptional events of the past few weeks have led me to conclude that the BBC should appoint a new leader," he said. "To have been the director general of the BBC even for a short period, and in the most challenging of circumstances, has been a great honour. "While there is understandable public concern over a number of issues well covered in the media - which I'm confident will be addressed by the review process - we must not lose sight of the fact that the BBC is full of people of the greatest talent and the highest integrity. "That's what will continue to make it the finest broadcaster in the world." BBC Trust chairman Chris Patten, who made a statement following Mr Entwistle's resignation, said: "This is undoubtedly one of the saddest evenings of my public life." Tim Davie, who is currently the BBC's director of audio and music, has been made acting director general.[/quote] BBC News lost their shit, never seen a breaking news message this big before [img]http://puu.sh/1oHuV[/img] For those who don't know the background: On the 2 November, Newsnight [url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-20277732]broadcast a report[/url] in which they claimed a former senior politician had sexually abused children. It quickly turned out that they based the report almost solely on a single person's claims, and those claims turned out to be false. It's another serious blow to Newsnight after they infamously shelved a report on Jimmy Savile's sexual abuse last year, and all Newsnight investigations have been suspended because of it.
Geez, I remember when he took up the position just a couple of months ago. I seriously hope the BBC can get their shit together and move on from this quickly.
Must suck to report on oneself.
Is it his fault? Did he authorize the broadcast?
[QUOTE=Occlusion;38398837]Is it his fault? Did he authorize the broadcast?[/QUOTE] The DG doesn't have that power afaik, but he was criticised for his response to both this and the Savile scandal. When he was questioned by the Media Select Committee he didn't know the answers to some of their questions for example Honestly though it must have been very stressful to have all this shit kick off when he was just settling in to the job [editline]10th November 2012[/editline] [quote]He said that when he was appointed to the role, he was confident BBC trustees had chosen the best candidate for the post and the "right person to tackle the challenges and opportunities ahead". "However the wholly exceptional events of the past few weeks have led me to conclude that the BBC should appoint a new leader," he said.[/quote] This part makes me feel he might have resigned because he was like "well fuck this" as opposed to any wrongdoing
Wow
[QUOTE=Elfy;38398887]Wow[/QUOTE] [t]http://imgkk.com/i/5-bu.jpg[/t]
I feel kinda bad for him. He took the position in one of the hardest situations imaginable - by focusing on the Saville allegations, this managed to slip under the radar without much notice.
[QUOTE=Occlusion;38398837]Is it his fault? Did he authorize the broadcast?[/QUOTE] As DG you're also Editor-in-Chief. I really like how impartial the BBC has been during this whole thing. Never nice to investigate and report on your own organisation, but the integrity involved is huge.
I [B]love[/B] how the BBC reports on itself, its like reading another news company reporting it. Really shows how fair and impartial they are.
I've heard that people are calling for the BBC to be shut down. What a mess.
[QUOTE=jaykray;38401109]I've heard that people are calling for the BBC to be shut down. What a mess.[/QUOTE] Really? I haven't seen that. Thank god it won't happen
[QUOTE=smurfy;38401498]Really? I haven't seen that. Thank god it won't happen[/QUOTE] Daily Mail readers lol
[QUOTE=jaykray;38401553]Daily Mail readers lol[/QUOTE] Should have known...
Call me stupid but I don't quite see the big deal about this new Newsnight Scandal. They did not name anyone on the show in question nor did they 'leak' any names. The reason this scandal exists is because people were speculating about who it was on the internet. Is it really fair to go after Newsnight when it is people on twitter etc. who caused this? Not verifying a name which they never intended to release is hardly a serious misdemeanour.
[QUOTE=Mythman;38402470]Call me stupid but I don't quite see the big deal about this new Newsnight Scandal. They did not name anyone on the show in question nor did they 'leak' any names. The reason this scandal exists is because people were speculating about who it was on the internet. Is it really fair to go after Newsnight when it is people on twitter etc. who caused this? Not verifying a name which they never intended to release is hardly a serious misdemeanour.[/QUOTE] I [I]think[/I] the problem is that the guy told people at Newsnight that it was Lord McAlpine (as he was advised by the police in the 90s) and its somehow got out.
damn he was the best bassist The Who ever had
So, there was a bit of a paedophile coverup in the BBC, and the current leader has resigned [sp]yes, I know it was actually because of the false allegations[/sp]. Here's looking at you, Vatican.
One of the reasons he's resigned is because of an interview he did on the Today programme with John Humphrys. An employee of the BBC criticised the Director General and contributed to the loss of his job. I find that crazy. If the employee of many other companies did the same to their boss, they'd be clearing their desks in no time. for example: [video=youtube;_0nN_snrOtk]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_0nN_snrOtk[/video]
It looks like the BBC is only going to get [i]more[/i] impartial after this, as BBC Trust chairman Lord Patten [url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-20286198]has called[/url] for decision-making to be devolved more so that the BBC can be 'more self-critical' in the future, as part of a 'thorough, radical, structural overhaul' of the BBC
As if the BBC is not already self-critical enough :)
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