Blogging the Beeb

Queen sacked Beeb says Telegraph

Yesterday's Sunday Telegraph says that senior BBC figures believed that the Palace sacked the BBC as producer of HM's Christmas Message following the Princess Diana Panorama programme. The article states:

Internal documents obtained by the Sunday Telegraph reveal that BBC bosses were convinced the loss of its exclusive rights to the Queen's Christmas broadcast was directly linked to Martin Bashir's interview with the Princess in 1995.

It goes on:

BBC memos, released under the Freedom of Information Act, show that the corporation did not accept the Palace's explanation that it was bringing ITV on board because it was keen to try out "fresh ideas".

Cor, some scoop, eh?

Shame it was all in the 2003 autobiography written by former BBC TV Managing Director Will Wyatt. In his book, The Fun Factory, Will relates how he met Robert Fellowes and Charles Anson at the Palace in early 1996 to discuss the broadcast. (The Diana Panorama interview went out in late 1995). They told him that they felt that they wanted to test the market and give ITN a chance.

Will says he replied:

I see, Robert....Your motto here is "don't get mad, get even"

Birt could have gone over Diana

Over the weekend The Observer carried extracts from tonight's Arena programme in which John Birt says how close he came to being forced out by Duke Hussey over the Panorama interview with Princess Diana. John is quoted as saying of Hussey:

Having failed at that he tried to get the governors to condemn the way in which I had handled the programme and particularly the fact that I hadn't alerted him as chairman. He was on more fertile territory with that, because in a perfect world I should have informed him. But he struggled even there. And he failed to get what he wanted: a stinging rebuke which, he calculated, would force my resignation.

Some of this is in John's autobiography, and a bit is in Duke Hussey's autobiography as well. I was the BBC's Head of Public Affairs at the time - and though I knew things were tense it was only sometime after I left the BBC that I was told the story as John Birt tells it tonight - and not by him, but by someone else who was in the know.

Trafalgar Day

Speaking of Trafalgar, the Sunday Telegraph tells the BBC to be proud to be British, complaining it is treating the events as a commemoration, not a celebration:

This was the battle that kept the flame of freedom burning in Europe and established our maritime nation as a world power. It laid the foundations for our empire, for our multicultural society and eventually for the good old BBC. Come along, Auntie. Lighten up, be proud to be British - and rejoice!

In fact, the BBC's Trafalgar web pages clearly refer to 'celebrations':

Thousands of people throughout the UK are expected to be involved in this month's Battle of Trafalgar bicentenary celebrations over the anniversary weekend.

Trafalgar Times

The BBC has set out its plans to commemorate the Trafalgar bicentenary.