LONDON (AP) — The head of the BBC and the British broadcaster’s high information govt each resigned Sunday after criticism of the way in which the group edited a speech by U.S. President Donald Trump.
The BBC stated Director-General Tim Davie and information CEO Deborah Turness had each determined to go away the company.
Britain’s public broadcaster has been criticized for enhancing a speech Trump made on Jan. 6, 2021, earlier than protesters attacked the Capitol in Washington.
Critics stated that the way in which the speech was edited for a BBC documentary final 12 months was deceptive and lower out a piece the place Trump stated that he wished supporters to show peacefully.
In a letter to employees, Davie stated quitting the job after 5 years “is entirely my decision.”
“Overall the BBC is delivering well, but there have been some mistakes made and as director-general I have to take ultimate responsibility,” Davie stated.
He stated that he was “working through exact timings with the Board to allow for an orderly transition to a successor over the coming months.”
Turness stated that the controversy in regards to the Trump documentary “has reached a stage where it is causing damage to the BBC — an institution that I love. As the CEO of BBC News and Current Affairs, the buck stops with me.”
“In public life leaders need to be fully accountable, and that is why I am stepping down,” she stated in a word to employees. “While mistakes have been made, I want to be absolutely clear recent allegations that BBC News is institutionally biased are wrong.”
Pressure on the broadcaster’s high executives has been rising for the reason that Daily Telegraph newspaper printed elements of a file complied by Michael Prescott, who had been employed to advise the BBC on requirements and tips.
As nicely because the Trump edit, it criticized the BBC’s protection of transgender points and raised considerations of anti-Israel bias within the BBC’s Arabic service.
The BBC faces larger scrutiny than different broadcasters — and criticism from its business rivals — due to its standing as a nationwide establishment funded via an annual license charge of 174.50 kilos ($230) paid by all households with a tv.
It is also certain by the phrases of its constitution to be neutral in its output, and critics are fast to level out once they assume it has failed.
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/top-bbc-execs-resign-editing-trump-speech_n_6910de98e4b004594276e74c