The resignations of BBC director-general Tim Davie and director of news Deborah Turness dominated the headlines of British newspapers on Monday, with commentary describing the state of the public service as its “biggest crisis in a decade”, reports Anadolu.
Davie and Turness left the two top leadership positions amid the controversy surrounding the Panorama documentary, which was accused of misleadingly editing a speech by US President Donald Trump to make it appear that he was calling on his supporters to attack the Capitol.
The Daily Mail ran the headline “BBC chiefs resign in disgrace”, quoting Davie as saying “mistakes were made and as director-general I must bear the ultimate responsibility.”
The Daily Telegraph called the resignations “the BBC’s biggest crisis in more than a decade”, while Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch said it was right that BBC bosses had “finally taken responsibility”.
The Guardian reported that employees inside the corporation described the atmosphere as “shock and disillusionment”, while one source said: “It feels like a coup has been staged.” Now the search begins to fill two of the most important positions in the British media.
The Times described Davie’s resignation as “death by a thousand cuts”, saying the former director had also come under pressure over the BBC’s coverage of the situation in Gaza.
The Financial Times headlined the article “Outrage over Trump documentary”, writing that the BBC is expected to apologize for the Panorama episode on Monday.
The Sun focused on Trump’s reaction, quoting his post on Truth Social: “Top BBC including TIM DAVIE the boss are all leaving/SACKED because they were caught ‘reworking’ my excellent (PERFECT!) January 6 speech.”
The former controller of BBC One, Peter Fincham, said the resignations represented a “sad day for the BBC.” He praised Davie’s achievements but pointed out that the corporation suffers from a “bunker mentality” in crises.
Turness told reporters outside BBC headquarters that she rejected claims of bias.
– I submitted my resignation, because the ultimate responsibility rests with me. But I want to be clear: BBC News is not institutionally biased. Our journalists are hard-working people who strive for impartiality, and I stand behind their journalism – she said.
(Vijesti.ba)
