I parlamentari e lo staff della BBC chiedono che Robbie Gibb lasci il consiglio dell’emittente
https://www.theguardian.com/media/2025/nov/11/mps-and-bbc-staff-call-for-robbie-gibb-to-leave-broadcasters-board
di F0urLeafCl0ver
I parlamentari e lo staff della BBC chiedono che Robbie Gibb lasci il consiglio dell’emittente
https://www.theguardian.com/media/2025/nov/11/mps-and-bbc-staff-call-for-robbie-gibb-to-leave-broadcasters-board
di F0urLeafCl0ver
4 commenti
I love the politics of it all. We’ve forgotten the *actual* things they’ve done wrong (no Panorama resignations?) and are going for conspiracies
I’m all for this if it means he releases some new tunes. I love the Bee Gees.
It’s probably just a coincidence, but I wrote to Starmer a couple of months back, one of the questions was “why on earth are you leaving tory ideologues in place at the BBC, allowing them to shape the narrative against you?”. So I’m really pleased at this recent turn of events. The other points I mentioned:
* what happened to Levesson 2? Why would you allow the media, owned by billionaires ideologically opposed to your success, to keep misrepresenting your positions and successes?
* you have a large majority, do something bold to show the working class that you are fighting in their corner
* reduce the complexity of your messaging, tired / drained people do not have the energy to read policy articles
* fire your ‘spin doctor’, employ someone with actual working class life experience who can connect your vision to the voters
I suppose I am meant to be happy at the clear-out of the Tory-era senior staff at the BBC. There was a concerted campaign by the Tory right, including the PM Johnson, to politically humble the BBC for perceived slights and make it more right-wing friendly, or just do away with it altogether.
And my friends at the BBC will undoubtedly be happy if some progressive or apparently left-wing person becomes the new DG, after the appointment of some left-leaning members of the Board.
But all of this really shows that despite a number of shakeups of the governing structure, the last one in 2017, the BBC is still seen as susceptible to direct political influence from the government of the day. And that’s not a good thing even if it’s by “your side”.
Robbie Gibb wasn’t even a political appointee per se – he was chosen by the existing BBC Board, not appointed as a non-executive member by the government.
There’s 14 members of the Board, 5 appointed by the Secretary of State, and 9 chosen by the Board itself. That is meant to protect the BBC from undue influence.
I’m not sure what structure would pacify the press (probably none). And I also think it’s impossible to have a BBC Board (or DG) without anyone who has any connections to political parties.
What I am certain about is that a lot of the chatter is driven by forces external to the UK, for whom the BBC represents a serious soft-power threat internationally. And it’s working – polling shows that support and trust in the BBC is falling. The public see each failing or mistake as, not the unfortunate likelihood of a large organisation of independent journalists, but some proof of conspiratorial corruption against whichever side they support.
The British love to lament the passing of better days; I think we’ll all end up regretting the diminution of the BBC if its opponents win their goal of having it dismantled.