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Britain
BBC chairman quits over Hutton
2004-01-28
BBC chairman Gavyn Davies has resigned in the wake of Lord Hutton's criticisms of the corporation's reports.
G'bye. See ya! Best of luck in your new career in the food service industry...
Mr Davies told the corporation's governors of his decision as they met at 1700 GMT. It comes after Lord Hutton said the suggestion in BBC reports that the government "sexed up" its dossier on Iraq's weapons with unreliable intelligence was "unfounded". And he criticised "defective" BBC editorial processes over defence correspondent Andrew Gilligan's broadcasts of the claims on the Today programme.
No problem with the Professor and Maryanne, thank Gawd!
Announcing his resignation, Mr Davies said the people at the top of organisations should accept responsibility for their actions. "I have been brought up to believe that you cannot choose your own referee, and that the referee's decision is final," he said. He would be writing to the prime minister to tender his resignation with immediate effect.
Posted by:Fred Pruitt

#13  Wow, Planet Dan!... Unionized, Report from the Bar, Journalists! Who'da thunk!... My Surprise Meter's jammed at 7.3... Still doing a Happy Dance of Gilligan's demise and Marianne's sudden, newfound Availability!
Posted by: Jack Deth   2004-1-29 12:13:08 AM  

#12  For true poetic justice, force the BBC executives to live on Tristan da Cunha for a few years. Place doesn't have an airfield, the water's chancy, and most of what is eaten has to be imported. Not to mention the climate's not exactly salubrious, and it's a LOOONNNGG way to a theater or pub. If they survive, they can ask for a job at Fox or Sky News. "Ask", not "get".

My older model surprise meter only registered a 3.3. Guess it doesn't consider what happened actually the result of "cause and effect", but as "politics as usual".
Posted by: Old Patriot   2004-1-28 9:07:22 PM  

#11  I got a better idea: We don;t send ANYONE to prison, and the BBC sells out to the highest bidder. Genteel justice at its finest. We win, the BBC wins, and the Brit taxpayer wins.
Posted by: badanov   2004-1-28 7:51:56 PM  

#10  I will calibrate, assuming you have the Rantburg S1 Model with the turned aluminum wafer sink while I must make do with last year's Turkish built MB-3.
Aris has your Sundial/Surprise Meter twitched? (I like to get two data inputs).
Posted by: Shipman   2004-1-28 6:52:10 PM  

#9  Shipman, my digital surprise meter scored it as 7.8994 :-)
Posted by: Steve White   2004-1-28 6:03:17 PM  

#8  These changes are merely cosmetic. What needs to happen is the privatization of the BBC and the repeal of the BBC tax. If Blair puts forth the motion, I suspect he will get a majority to endorse it (composed of Tories and Laborites).
Posted by: Zhang Fei   2004-1-28 4:55:18 PM  

#7  PlanetDan:

Here is evidence of the rallying round, which is extremely predictable among *those* type of people (you know, "journalists")
Posted by: Carl in N.H   2004-1-28 3:39:35 PM  

#6  lets send the fucker and all his buddies specially that Greg Dyke fella off for a very long vacation at Gauntanamo Bay! they'd fit in well
Posted by: Jon Shep U.K   2004-1-28 3:31:10 PM  

#5  Let's see if everyone agrees on me: this guy has diverted a tax-payer funded entity for supporting his own private cause. I for one, think that he should be sentenced to refund the tax-payer for the cost of every single minute (broadacsting included) where the BBC has benn making propaganda instead of providing information. That includes his salaries for all these years of course. Plus interest. If he cannot pay then he should go to the most sordid prison we can find: watch the "Midnight Express" movie or reread "Gulag Archipielago" for ideas.
Posted by: JFM   2004-1-28 3:09:27 PM  

#4  Carl! Mine too... a solid 7.9!
Posted by: Shipman   2004-1-28 2:51:58 PM  

#3  Yet, I'll bet the BBC staff is rallying 'round him, making excuses and convincing themselves that the error is minimal; that they in fact are being targeted and victimized. That it really wasn't that big a deal. Groupthink at its best.

And, I'm just as sure no one at the beeb is considering that mebbe they haven't been too fair in other coverage. Like the poooooor, helpless paleovictims versus the Joooooooos.

The BBC used to be the worlds best news agency. Oh how the mighty have fallen.
Posted by: PlanetDan   2004-1-28 2:43:47 PM  

#2  Hey ! My surprise meter still works !
Posted by: Carl in N.H   2004-1-28 2:33:24 PM  

#1  HA HA,this just makes the day even better,i'm grinning from ear to ear!
Posted by: Jon Shep U.K   2004-1-28 2:28:18 PM  

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