Accountability & Independence

Accountability & Independence BBC governance under global scrutiny

The independence of the BBC The BBC shall be independent in all matters concerning the content of its output, the times and manner in which this is supplied, and in the management of its affairs. Paragraph (1) is subject to any provision made by or under this Charter or any Framework Agreement or otherwise by law.

BBC Guidelines: accountability The BBC is accountable to its audiences.  Their continuing trust in the BBC is a crucial part of our relationship with them.  We will act in good faith by dealing fairly and openly with them. The BBC Trust is the sovereign body of the BBC, its independent trustees act in the public interest.  It aims to ensure that: the BBC remains independent, resisting pressure and influence from any source the BBC's management delivers public value by providing distinctive services of the highest quality to all the people and all the communities across the United Kingdom the BBC contributes to the standing of the United Kingdom in the world, to the economy and to British culture.  

BBC Trust entrusted with: Ensuring that the BBC's journalism meets the highest standards of accuracy and impartiality to sustain public trust. Commissioning and approving these Editorial Guidelines which, as well as providing a manual of best practice for those making content for the BBC, are also used as a basis for the adjudication of complaints.

The role of Ofcom Ofcom has certain powers to regulate the BBC's licence fee funded television and radio services aimed at audiences in the UK: Protection of under-18s Harm and Offence Avoidance of inciting crime or disorder Responsible approach to religious content Prohibition of use of images of very brief duration Fairness Privacy. In addition, the BBC's commercial services (whether broadcasting to the UK, or from the UK to our international audiences) must comply with the whole of the Ofcom Broadcasting Code.

Where does the biggest threat come from?

Where does the biggest threat come from? Gilligan/Kelly

Where does the biggest threat come from? Gilligan/Kelly Phone-ins

Where does the biggest threat come from? Gilligan/Kelly Phone-ins Digital Media Project

Where does the biggest threat come from? Gilligan/Kelly Phone-ins Digital Media Project Ross/Brand

Where does the biggest threat come from? Gilligan/Kelly Phone-ins Digital Media Project Ross/Brand Jimmy Savile

Where does the biggest threat come from? Gilligan/Kelly Phone-ins Digital Media Project Ross/Brand Jimmy Savile Executive pay-offs

Jimmy Savile controversy BBC World Affairs editor John Simpson: “The BBC's biggest crisis for over 50 years”. This is ammunition not root causes.

The snowball effect Savile affair Lord McAlpine case Entwistle resignation Executive pay-offs

“I was not party to that agreement” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fZLA4U0rGAY

Clear blue waters of governance Former BBC BoG Chairman, Christopher Bland: What the row between the BBC and the Trust has exposed is the fault-line inherent in the present governance structure, which is Parliament’s fault. Establishing the BBC Trust as a separate organisation, in a separate building, chaired by someone called the Chairman of the BBC, while the BBC’s Executive Committee, chaired by the DG, remained the source of day-to-day power and responsibility, was always a recipe for confusion and conflict.

A botched parliamentary job? Old Board of Governors – had the great virtue of unified responsibility and accountability creation of a BBC Board with a mixture of executive and non-executive members, responsible for the BBC’s Charter objectives BBC regulation assigned to Ofcom.

Maria Miller "Ultimately, licence fee payers rely not only upon the right structures and governance being in place but also upon the BBC's executive management using their good judgment. And I think serious questions were raised about that judgment by the scale of the severance payments made."

Theresa May: “BBC a threat” "If the BBC can provide all the locally-significant news, what reason is left for local people to buy a newspaper? That's as dangerous for local politics as it is for local journalism. "The BBC has to think carefully about its presence locally and the impact that has on local democracy.“ "As the local MP I value my ability to raise issues in my local newspaper ... It is fiercely independent and influential, people read it because it tells them what is happening and it would be a sad day if the might of the BBC affected its availability”.

Licence fee cuts by stealth? Absorpsion of BBC World Service and digitisation costs. Roger Mosey: “license fee top slicing”: “More of the license fee could be "top sliced" for projects outside of the corporation, as it already is for the new generation of local TV services and Welsh language channel, S4C”. Local TV licence awards: Comux (Canis Media) Conservative party chairman Grant Shapps: “The current £145.50 annual fee too much without reform”. "They have ended up working in this culture which is buried in the last century, which is 'we are the BBC, we do what we like, we don't have to be too accountable‘ “.

More accountability – to the public Tessa Jowell: "It is the public and the licence fee payers who should be in the driving seat. So the argument would be the BBC should indeed be owned by its licence fee payers. The BBC should become the country's biggest mutual." The argument: To protect the remit of the BBC Trust, which oversees standards. "There is public concern about government involvement threatening the independence of the BBC and there is, I believe, public support for the sort of proposal (of mutualisation) which would strengthen the Trust's hand in relation to the executive”.

Ofcom could easily regulate the BBC Ofcom chief executive, Ed Richards: “It would be comparatively easy […] but that is a very different question to whether we should”. “plurality of provision in the media is a critical idea in a modern democracy“ "I certainly don't think we should be governing the BBC. We need to have an entity that is responsible for the BBC and is the custodian of the licence fee. I don't think that should be the regulator.“ "Ultimately it will depend on the view parliament takes about public service broadcasting. If it wishes to sustain public service broadcasting there needs to be certain things that help sustain it, that you trade for those [PSB] obligations and one of those things historically has been EPG prominence."

The weight of editorial independence “I think we need to distinguish between criticising the BBC for administrative errors (executive payoffs, the Digital Media Project, etc.) and its reporting. On the former, the BBC is guilty. On the latter, the BBC is the best there is and those who criticise its reporting are doing so because they have a political agenda - they do not want less bias (because there is none), but bias in their favour.” (A Daily Mail reader)