The BBC, for all its important contributions to culture worldwide, is in deep trouble. That’s obvious. Some fear the UK’s national broadcaster faces an existential crisis.
The Royal Charter under which the BBC operates is up for renewal by 2027. Being threatened with legal action from the president of the United States is a unique problem. That led to the resignation of the director general Tim Davie, but resignations at the top of the BBC are far from unusual.
In my time working for BBC News, I saw the resignations of five directors general since the year 2000 – Tim Davie now; Greg Dyke, George Entwistle, Mark Thompson and Tony Hall in the recent past.
Every one of these leaders was talented, intelligent and committed to public service broadcasting. Each one faced a variety of intractable problems that led them to leave before the end of their allotted term. The high attrition rate of BBC bosses is, therefore, a hugely serious matter for one of the pillars of Britain’s cultural life and a great exponent of British creativity and talent.
As the world knows, the current BBC mess began with the unprofessional editing of one of US President Donald Trump’s speeches, but the resulting furore goes way beyond previous political rows.
It also leads to questions about how the BBC should be paid for as a result of the very different ways in which we watch television and consume news in the 2020s. Paying a kind of tax – the BBC “licence fee” – nowadays seems increasingly a relic of the BBC’s past and its creation as a public service broadcaster around a century ago. It does not look like a funding model for the future.
Mr Trump is, of course, right to be angry and the rest of us are right to be disappointed at the editing together by the BBC Panorama programme of two broadly unrelated bits of his speech in the lead up to the 2021 Capitol Hill riot. The fact that Mr Trump is attempting to sue the BBC for over a billion dollars is embarrassing, although a familiar part of his political armoury.
Legal experts suggest any lawsuit may be doomed to fail in the courts even if it is attention-grabbing political theatre. Mr Trump cannot sue in Britain because the allegations are more than a year old. He can sue in Florida, but there are questions over whether the film was available to US viewers. Moreover, Florida courts can dismiss lawsuits that limit freedom of speech concerning prominent public figures.
Nevertheless, the BBC is in trouble. The editing mistake is difficult to understand and, frankly, inexcusable. Apologies from the BBC to Mr Trump are, therefore, absolutely necessary and have been offered. Meanwhile, the BBC’s governors need to find a replacement for Tim Davie. That may not be easy, given the attrition rate in what is supposed to be one of the most prestigious jobs in international broadcasting.
At a business conference I attended while the BBC story broke, I was asked – humorously – if I would be joining those multitudes applying for the director general vacancy. I responded that I do not have the qualifications for the post and perhaps any real candidates might prefer a post with more job security.
More seriously, perhaps – at last – a woman candidate will be chosen for the top job. For a hundred years, the BBC has been led by a series of men and its coverage of gender issues has also been hugely problematic. On top of all this, there is the sustained criticism from Nigel Farage’s Reform party and the vociferous hostility of Elon Musk and others on the political right and far right in the US.
The BBC’s royal charter guarantees its independence and describes its core purpose of informing, educating and entertaining the public. The current charter began in 2017 but, by the time it ends, in December 2027, the BBC will have to justify its continuing existence by explaining to the British public and politicians why in an age of almost infinite choice of media access it should continue to exist, why it should be funded by the licence fee and why it remains important as a key part of Britain’s “soft power”.
But the BBC’s critics in Britain also have some explaining to do. Despite its many difficulties, the broadcaster remains Britain’s most trusted news source. It has brand recognition and admiring fans around the world. Reports by the British Council and others often reference the BBC as a vital component of the UK’s soft power.
At a time when the future may be dominated by competition between the US and two aspiring great powers, China and India, the BBC remains a voice for British culture and values.
The current criticism of the BBC therefore needs to be heard and acted upon. But if the BBC were to be neutered or destroyed by politically motivated enemies, it would be sorely missed – and not just in Britain.
