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Tim Davie Appointed BBC Director General

(June 2020)

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SP
Steve in Pudsey
Your observation that there has been a lack of diversity is entirely reasonable and well made.

But I think it's a stretch to translate that into valid criticism of the appointment on Tim Davie in the absence of a suitable female or BAME candidate. As Cando has said the head hunters approached several female candidates, it just so happens that the most suitable person for the job who happened to be willing to take it was a white bloke.

Your point is more an observation on how the wider industry hasn't created enough opportunities for women and members of the BAME community to achieve positions where they could be candidates for the DG role.
JamesTV, DavidWhitfield and dosxuk gave kudos
OM
Omnipresent
A profile of Tim Davie by Anne McElvoy in the Evening Standard:

https://www.standard.co.uk/lifestyle/tim-davie-bbc-new-director-general-who-is-he-interview-a4466216.html

Quote:
“Unusually for a BBC manager, he’s very good at noticing small innovations that make a difference. He leaves you feeling a bit more cheerful about the place, when people can feel ground down by the slog and the natural mode is defensive.”

59 days later

OM
Omnipresent
Nicky Morgan and Andrew Neil are reported to be in the running for BBC Chair according to The Sunday Times:

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/edition/news/andrew-neil-and-nicky-morgan-in-frame-for-bbc-chairman-6gtttw89b

Quote:
Boris Johnson is seeking to rebuild bridges with the BBC by appointing as its new chairman a prominent figure from the right, who does not want to “blow up” the national broadcaster.

The prime minister is drawing up a long list of possible leaders, understood to include the former cabinet ministers Nicky Morgan and Amber Rudd and the television interviewer Andrew Neil.

All are seen as credible figures with both the BBC and the Conservative Party.

Johnson has also held preliminary peace talks with Lord Hall, the corporation’s outgoing director-general, after a year of fractious exchanges.
JO
Jonwo
Would Andrew Neil really want the job as chairman? I think it's more likely to go to Nicky Morgan or Amber Rudd although I'm not sure the latter would do it either.
CM
cmthwtv
I would dread to think how Boris is "drawing up" Andrew Neil after the election interview saga Shocked
BL
bluecortina
I think Andrew Neil would be an inspired choice.
HO
House
Neil has actual editorial experience, has run a media organisation and is a well-respected BBC broadcaster who has been capable of both defending and attacking the BBC where he felt it appropriate. Might not be a bad choice, all things told.
AndrewPSSP, Jeffmister and TedJrr gave kudos
TJ
TedJrr
On the subject of BBC govornance, one change that would be appropriate would be to move away from the model where board members, chair, even DG are appointed or have their appoinment influenced by the Government.

It isn't a company so can't have shareholders, nor members like the National Trust, or even as a chartered body have fellows, like universities. The licence fee system is a deliberate consequence of a desire to seperate the BBC from the state, a seperation that feels a little but threatened by having the chair appointed by Government..
Last edited by TedJrr on 9 August 2020 11:28am

21 days later

OM
Omnipresent
The Sunday Times has a preview of what to expect when Tim Davies starts his new role next Tuesday based on conversations with "friends".

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/tim-davie-the-bbcs-new-boss-goes-back-to-the-drawing-board-6n9cslsk3

Quote:
Davie, 53, has not given an interview or made a speech about his plans since his appointment in June, but we have spoken to senior BBC sources, close friends and executives who have worked with him and say he is determined to drive through “huge reform and reset”.

He has two key objectives, they say. He wants the BBC to “reconnect” with a broader audience by shedding its London-metropolitan bias and its “politically correct” culture. He also aims to rid the corporation of its lumbering management, lampooned in its self-parodying spoof documentary W1A.

First, Davie will take a hatchet to BBC management. Friends who worked with him in the private sector — he was at Procter & Gamble and PepsiCo before joining the BBC in 2005 — say he likes small, nimble management teams. They predict he will halve the executive committee to about nine members. Every remaining senior executive will be given ambitious targets. “Tim thinks too many BBC managers earn big money for just drifting around,” warns a colleague.

As the first director-general without a journalistic background since Sir Michael Checkland — who joined the corporation as an accountant and ran it from 1987-92 — Davie will not balk at taking on the behemoth of BBC News, colleagues say. He recognises the era of fake news “must also be the hour of impartiality”, he has told friends. “People want the facts, the truth, proper reporting.”
AN
all new Phil
Music to my ears. He sounds exactly what the BBC needs.
JW
JamesWorldNews
all new Phil posted:
Music to my ears. He sounds exactly what the BBC needs.


I wholeheartedly agree. The key words of "nimble" and "ambitious targets" resonate particularly well.

Interesting take on fake news and impartiality in the very last sentence. Is it a sideways admission that the current BBC News sometimes does not report properly and with truth and facts?

Anyway, looking forward to seeing some real change over time. It's long overdue.
WH
what
I’m reserving judgement until he actually does any of the things he’s promising. See whether he can back up his ambitious thoughts.

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