29 January 2004

Government coup? It is a black day for British broadcasting, when an incident is blown out of all proportion and leads to a leadership vacuum at the BBC. I was amazed at the way in which the BBC Governors were so quick to accept Greg Dyke's resignation, and with a 2-1 majority. The apology broadcast by the Governors was grovelling in the extreme. The new Acting Director General Byford said himself that a DG's job has become far too complicated for one person. He really is being given a baptism of fire. Personally, I believe the Hutton report will go down in history as part of a whitewash campaign. A good day to bury bad news. Viewers/listeners abroad must be wondering what on earth all the fuss is about. It also shows the knife edge that journalists trend between editorial independence and government control. Look at the lessons of Italy, where a major dispute is going on at RAI news over the censoring of news stories likely to embarrass the government. 11:50:13 PM    comment [] Headlines While it is now Byford's Broadcasting Corporation in the UK, headlines in the US are rather more below the belt... With Congress playing close attention, federal regulators are proposing a record $755,000 fine against the nation's largest radio chain for airing a sexually explicit radio show. The Federal Communications Commission, whose chairman recently urged that penalties be increased for indecent programming, said four Clear Channel stations -- all in Florida -- aired various episodes of "Bubba the Love Sponge" a total of 26 times. The fine proposed Tuesday would be the single largest ever for indecency. 11:46:14 PM    comment []

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