The BBC’s choice for new director general is a giant ‘up yours’ to the British public
People were quick to point out some important information about the new director general of the BBC, Tim Davie. Most notably, the fact that he was once an election candidate – for the Conservative Party.
For anyone hoping the BBC pick would accentuate the broadcaster’s supposedly impartial credentials, it serves as a giant ‘up yours’.
Looks like Tim Davie had a couple of unsuccessful runs at becoming a Conservative councillor. pic.twitter.com/4mAT8NjeYj
— Adam Bienkov (@AdamBienkov) June 5, 2020
The Guardian has also reported that Davie was once “deputy chairman of the Hammersmith and Fulham Conservative party”. The National, meanwhile, confirmed that he “stood as a councillor for The Conservative Party in Hammersmith in 1993 and 1994”.
Read on...
Tom Mills – author of The BBC: Myth of a Public Service – also pointed out that ‘journalism’ doesn’t exactly seem to be Davie’s area of expertise:
New BBC Director General Tim Davie: private school, Cambridge, corporate sector (marketing at Pepsi). Background is purely commercial. No experience in journalism.
— Tom Mills (@ta_mills) June 5, 2020
Before his new role, Davie ran BBC Studios, the arm of the corporation that focuses on selling BBC content abroad. As the Independent reported:
He joined the BBC in 2005 and has worked in the marketing and audio divisions. Before that he worked for PepsiCo and Procter and Gamble.
New BBC DG Tim Davie (a former deputy chair of his local Conservative party) is seen as a ‘safe’ choice. Whilst Davie has the support of the staff, his lack of editorial credentials make his appointment imo a very high risk choice. The BBC’s biggest vulnerability is editorial
— emily bell (@emilybell) June 5, 2020
Seriously, BBC, are you not even trying to hide your bias anymore?!?
The evidence has long been adding up that the BBC has a thoroughly ‘pro-establishment’ mindset. Most recently, the supposedly ‘public’ broadcaster played a prominent role in the brutal propaganda offensive from the establishment media that helped to sink Jeremy Corbyn’s Labour Party and boost Boris Johnson’s Conservatives in the 2019 election. This meant painting Corbyn’s moderate, sensible policies as somehow extreme or off the wall. The BBC‘s pro-establishment bias is sometimes subtle. But with Corbyn, it went into overdrive.
Although the revolving door between the BBC and the Conservative Party has long been clear, the BBC doesn’t appear to be trying to even hide it anymore.
This is a very worrying development for anyone who relies on the BBC to provide them with impartial information.
Featured image via Foreign Office, Conservatives, and Flrn
We know everyone is suffering under the Tories - but the Canary is a vital weapon in our fight back, and we need your support
The Canary Workers’ Co-op knows life is hard. The Tories are waging a class war against us we’re all having to fight. But like trade unions and community organising, truly independent working-class media is a vital weapon in our armoury.
The Canary doesn’t have the budget of the corporate media. In fact, our income is over 1,000 times less than the Guardian’s. What we do have is a radical agenda that disrupts power and amplifies marginalised communities. But we can only do this with our readers’ support.
So please, help us continue to spread messages of resistance and hope. Even the smallest donation would mean the world to us.
-
Show Comments
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to leave a comment.Join the conversationPlease read our comment moderation policy here.
Just to say here it is SIMPLE now as a license fee payer in U.K.
B.B.C. are possibly breaking the laws around the license fee we public pay
It states in the small print.
(ALL the rich B.B.C. broad members never read including Tim Davie I bet)
You can charge the license fee ONLY if you do not advertise on any B.B.C,
programs or advertise your own B.B.C produces like P.C./internet programs/
app/like news or public outlets B.B.C. now could be possibly breaking this rule
by advertising, at end of news programs/ weather/plus over. B.B.C programs now.
It also says in small print B.B.C cannot benefit OR be allowed to benefit from,
any adverts when charging a license fee to the public advertising must be paid for by B.B.C broad members income ONLY- not ‘license fee money’ that is used for new programs that the B.B.C is still lacking on delivering to us public now in 2020’time frame
So, to Boris/ plus all Tory party members in LONDON including Tim Davie.
New chief of B.B.C- STOP the license fees altogether now.
Or STOP all your adverts on B.B.C APP or other thing B.B.C run now.
let us public decide where we wish to spend the license fees cash now Boris.
Not rich board members of the B.B.C or rich funder of Tory Govt
that could be benefiting from B.B.C use now. In advertising their produces
as well in their adverts live on B.B.C. T.V.
Boris can you tell us public why should we public pay for B.B.C Advertising bills?
for their stuff because that is what is happening now Boris under new B.B.C Chief plans now. Of action ongoing now ask him?? Tim Davie is also possibly a X Tory Cllr and Tory party, funder Boris will he be allowed to possibly get away with license fee breaches of law, just because he supports plus possibly funds Tory party Boris yes or no?
For all journalists herein writing the articles about BBC bias – could you please also mention the anti-SNP bias we have to endure in Scotland? It is an utter disgrace what we have to put up with up here; from blatant lies on the News to obviously unrepresentative audiences on QT (with plants). The BBC’s hatchet job on Corbyn was not unexpected – when Labour starts challenging the government meaningfully they will pull out the stops once again to stop them UNLESS Labour return to an acceptable political position as in Blairism. For news about the world I now go to Australian TV and European TV Channels and for news about the UK and NI I go to Raidió Teilifís Éireann as so much goes unreported over here.