In one loose phrase in front of the Culture Select Committee this morning, BBC DG Tim Davie showed how a marketer shouldn't be at the top of the organisation.
Tim, as ever, brightened up when asked about the performance of his beloved BBC Studios - and described BBC News as a 'franchise'.
BBC News is not Kentucky Fried Chicken. It gets what strength it has left from an established core of experienced journalists, seeped in a set of editorial values and principles, who set agendas and standards - and core running orders. That strength is already being sapped by a vainglorious attempt to 'win' America by being more American, now to be repeated by regionalisation of the World Service and further hollowing out of the centre.
Somebody needs to put him right.
As someone who spent many years working at the BBC, including a brief sojourn under Tim Davie, I can confirm that the man certainly knows how to throw a great party. As to whether that qualifies him to lead the BBC as its editor in chief, I’m less certain. The BBC’s journalism is a cornerstone of the corporation’s structure. It’s vital that ‘News concentrates on its core values of editorial independence, journalistic integrity and impartiality. BBC journalism does not need to be ‘verified’, it needs to be trusted. It was once and it must be again.
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