The resignations of two top executives at the BBC, in part over a misleading edit of a Donald Trump speech, have catapulted the UK’s most important creative and journalistic organisation into one of the most serious crises in its history. A gleeful US president has threatened to sue the broadcaster for $1bn, and is celebrating the “firing” of “very dishonest people” from what his press secretary calls a “leftist propaganda machine”.
The BBC has many strengths: polling shows it retains broad public trust, and its journalism — underpinned by a policy of impartiality — is often a beacon. But it is far from perfect. A leaked memo last week made accusations of failings in its coverage of Trump, the Gaza conflict and transgender issues that ought to have been swiftly addressed.
The failure of the BBC chair and board to make any credible response for a week left Tim Davie, the director-general, and head of news Deborah Turness apparently feeling they had no choice but to stand down. Their departures hand a victory to the BBC’s opponents. They give the impression that the BBC has caved in to a concerted campaign of pressure from rightwing media and political forces on both sides of the Atlantic.