He reputational damage to the BBC after the scandal over the modification of a speech by the president of the United States, Donald Trumpstill kicking weeks later. The head of the corporation, Samir Shahacknowledged this Monday that the entity should have addressed this issue long before it came to light and has committed to making changes to ensure a much faster response to any suspicion of bias in the future. “We should have insisted more at that time and having investigated it in detail,” he assured.
Shah has been questioned by members of the House of Commons Culture committee, along with other prominent members of the corporation. Among them Michael Prescottthe former independent advisor who denounced the network’s alleged information bias on several issues, including the debate on the rights of trans people or the figure of Trump. The internal document drafted by Prescott, later leaked to the press, led to the resignation of the corporation’s CEO, Tim Davie, and the head of news, Deborah Turnessopening an institutional crisis that is still open.
The former advisor had remained silent until now, something that had raised expectations for his intervention before the deputies this Monday. But far from attacking the BBC’s alleged bias, Prescott has made a defense of the corporation and has denied that it is institutionally biased. “My disagreement with the BBC refers to the rigor with which it takes measures in the field of editorial standards,” said the journalist. The problem, he stressed, lies in the difficulties What does the corporation have to recognize? your own mistakes and in the slowness in taking action to correct them.
Conflicting opinions
The scandal over the modification of Trump’s speech created two conflicting opinions: on the one hand, those who consider that the BBC has a left-wing ideological bias and, on the other, those who believe that the entity is being attacked by representatives of the more radical sectors of the political spectrum, both inside and outside the United Kingdom, to weaken its prestige and win the information battle. Representatives of the second group have focused on Prescott and his links with Robbie Gibbsnon-executive member of the BBC board and head of communications for the Conservative Government during the term of Theresa Maywho have been accused of plotting a “blow” against the management.
But both Prescott and Gibbs, another of those appearing this Monday, have denied having no interest in harming the institution nor in achieving the fall of the resigned Davie and Turness. own Prescott has been defined as a center man and has defended Davie’s management before the committee, while Gibbs has been described as “ridiculous” the accusations. “I want to be defined mainly by my commitment to the BBC, not by the two years I worked for Theresa May,” he said. “I have friends of all political stripes. I am impartial to the core”.
Uncertain future
The conflicting opinions in the BBC scandal are a reflection of the disparate points of view that the British have from the corporation. According to a recent survey published by the YouGov population center, a 31% of the population in the United Kingdom consider that the entity is biased towards leftist ideaswhile a 19% points out that the bias is towards right-wing opinions.
Shah has opened the door to realize changes in organizational structure of the BBC to prevent episodes of this type from happening in the future, but the reputational damage is increasing, as is the public distrust towards its contents. This loss of confidence has occurred at a decisive moment for the future of the corporation, which has experienced a descent in the last years of his incomecoming mainly from the quotas of 174 pounds annually paid by households. He Labor government has announced that will review this model of financing in a context of “revolution in the media landscape” that has “polarized and fragmented” the national debate.
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