“you cannot help thinking that Davie’s departure was less that of a director-general who had lost the faith of the board than of a DG who had lost faith in the board.”

Stephen Armstrong on the BBC, in the @theobserveruk.bsky.social

observer.co.uk/news/nationa...

“A process of intimidation that the BBC’s supporters have long feared has been playing out behind closed doors is now unfolding in plain sight. Lisa Nandy […] has not helped. For months, she has made it clear that she has misgivings about Davie’s leadership.”
observer.co.uk/opinion-and-...

Zadie Smith gave the most extraordinary endorsement of ‘Flesh’ here, and Dua Lipa interviewed him the other week… (am saving his books for when I can really binge.)

www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/...

I’m guessing you’re familiar with this seam of work?

demos.co.uk/research/epi...

This is the other quote from @lewisgoodall.com’s excellent, dismaying piece that stands out to me…

bsky.app/profile/rola...

And for those readers of @telegraphnews.bsky.social@dailymail.co.uk, fear not, @smidgeproject.bsky.social is here for you:

www.smidgeproject.eu

Related: “Davie’s in-tray on day one included a letter signed by 15 Conservative MPs which made the now standard accusations about the BBC’s bias & disrespect for national traditions, but also singled out two ‘former Labour activists’, @lewisgoodall.com & Rianna Croxford, for special criticism.” 👀

And this would enable a longer-term, or even permanent charter, removing the threat of funding etc from the key organisation underpinning and defending our right to in across the whole of society.

I think we need to design a way to take this away from politics (the RW nightmare) - perhaps part of the Charter Review could look at externalising review of the BBC into an independent institution like the IPIN proposed by Cairncross, able to look across public, private, nonprofit news.

I initially thought David Yelland confused things with his interview on Today claiming but not substantiating a coup - but… I guess his line will cut through and may allow the RW political interference boil to be lanced?

The slow & fast right-wing attacks on the BBC are plain for all to see, & their self-interested weaponisation of impartiality is a predictable & disingenuous tactic. It damages the long-term information environment of the UK, and it damages how secure we are.

Now the UK wonders about its busses

www.ft.com/content/07ec...

Plus ça change…

www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/...