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Subscribe to RSSAfter being accused of covering up former BBC star Jimmy Savile's sexual abuse, the BBC falsely reported that a Margaret Thatcher-era politician had sexually abused children, leading to the resignation of the network's chief and the arrest of a former producer. NBC's Michelle Kosinski reports.
LONDON -- The two most senior figures at BBC News “stepped aside” Monday, as the public broadcaster revealed that the corporation’s outgoing director general will get his full year’s salary of $715,000 despite resigning under pressure after 54 days in the post.
The chairman of the broadcaster's governing body described revelations about the BBC’s multiple missteps in reporting a historic child sex abuse scandal in Britain as a “ghastly mess” and said the BBC needed a “radical overhaul.”
"The basis for the BBC's position in this country is the trust that people have in it," Chris Patten, a one-time senior figure in Cameron's Conservative Party and the last British governor of Hong Kong, told the BBC. "If the BBC loses that, it's over."
The widening scandal also had implications on the other side of the Atlantic: Mark Thompson, until recently the man in charge of the organization, takes over as CEO of The New York Times on Monday.
Thompson's successor as Director General, George Entwistle, resigned Saturday -- taking the blame for an editorial blunder in which flagship BBC program “Newsnight” aired false child sex abuse allegations against a former politician.
On Monday, Helen Boaden, the BBC’s director of news and current affairs, and her deputy Steve Mitchell, “stepped aside,” the BBC’s media correspondent Torin Douglas reported.
The BBC's press office said it could not yet confirm the report but the BBC said on its own news website that there would be an announcement later in the day.
The BBC faces police and other investigations into claims that hundreds of people, some as young as 12, were sexually abused over the course of decades by one of their top personalities, the late Jimmy Savile.
It is also facing awkward questions over how the same "Newsnight" program chose not to air a report last year that investigated complaints against Savile.
Payout
The BBC's governing body confirmed that Entwistle would get a payout of $715,000. It said the settlement took into consideration that Entwistle would continue working on BBC business, including two inquiries in the child abuse scandal.
The U.K. government quickly signaled its displeasure at the payout, with minister Maria Miller saying: "This is a large amount of money, and tough to justify considering the circumstances of Mr. Entwistle's departure."
BBC Director General George Entwistle resigned on Saturday as the BBC spiraled further into scandal over its coverage of two separate sex abuse cases – one, a cover up, and the other, a possible wrongful accusation. NBC's Keir Simmons reports.
John Whittingdale, chairman of the House of Commons committee on culture, media and sport, said he was surprised by the settlement and has sought an explanation.
Sweeping child abuse scandal shakes BBC and other UK institutions
“My immediate reaction is that it cannot be justified but I will want to hear exactly why they think it is appropriate. ... I think almost everybody hearing this news will say 'how can somebody who has had to leave in these circumstances, as a result of a serious failure, nevertheless get a whole year's salary,'” Whittingdale said.
Opposition politician Harriet Harman said the payout “looked like a reward for failure,” according to a BBC report.
The BBC said Entistle's contract stipulated that he receive six months' salary, but that sum was doubled in order to ensure a speedy departure and transition.
Former minister David Mellor has criticized Entwistle as having the "leadership skills of Winnie the Pooh," according to The Telegraph.
Incoming New York Times chief in spotlight
Thompson, the new CEO of the New York Times, said he did not know about the nature of the investigation by "Newsnight" into Savile, and had no involvement in the decision to drop the report, which occurred while he was director general.
BBC Director General George Entwistle resigned Saturday after the network wrongly implicated a 90-year-old politician in a child sex-abuse scandal. NBC's Michelle Kosinski reports.
He later said he had a "chance meeting" with a journalist who mentioned the Newsnight investigation into Savile, but said he had not been told any of the details or the scale of the problem.
Complete Europe coverage on NBCNews.com
Entwistle's departure and his acceptance of responsibility for editorial decisions as director general, adds pressure to any evaluation of Thompson's role at the BBC and whether he was ultimately accountable for the shelving of the Savile report.
Thompson did not immediately respond to a request for comment regarding Entwistle's resignation. Earlier, he declined to be interviewed about his plans for the New York Times, Reuters reported.
'Auntie'
The BBC, celebrating its 90th anniversary, is affectionately known in Britain as "Auntie," and respected around much of the world.
But with 22,000 staff working at eight national TV channels, 50 radio stations and an extensive Internet operation, critics say it is hampered by a complex and overly bureaucratic and hierarchical management structure.
Complete World coverage on NBCNews.com
Funded by an annual license fee levied on all TV viewers, the BBC has also long been resented by its commercial rivals, who argue it has an unfair advantage and distorts the market.
Rupert Murdoch's Sun tabloid gleefully reported Entwistle's departure with the headline "Bye Bye Chump."
Murdoch, whose own News Corp. is at the center of a recent phone-hacking scandal, was watching from afar.
“BBC mess gives Cameron golden opportunity properly to reorganize great public broadcaster,” he wrote on Twitter on Sunday.
Reuters and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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Why people are sick of corporations and their executives..... do you know what I'd get after 75 days? I'd still be on probation and get zip... we have to work for 6 months before we are able to get anything!....
This is a government funded corporation. Even government subsidized organizations have their own bit of corruption. After working in a large corporation for some time I can tell you that, just because a corporation is large, that doesn't mean they are the brightest at the top.
BBC "rewards" child abuse???????????? Shouldn't this "person" be rewarded with JAIL??? Oh, this is Britain................stop wondering why/how this once great country is going down a rat hole of history.
So much for journalistic integrity.
NC1234 - He wasn't leaving because of the child abuse. He's only been there 54 days and nothing to do with that. He's leaving because of the false allegations one of there news shows was making. It's a pretty poorly written article that doesn't explain things very well. I had to go read a different article to get a sense of what they were trying to say.
Are all these BBC folks Catholic? They sure act like it...............
Skup, you are on the money. On first reading it appears there was all this child sex abuse going on, which is not at all the case.
It's about time someone got in trouble for either publishing false accusations, or making them in the first place. Beloved figure Jimmy Savile never abused anyone!
Yes, yes, yes. If the people were to wake up and lose trust in the government funded and spewed propaganda, it would be all over.
Hey wake up! BBC is owned by the government. Like in the US, you can moom someone in public every morning and your union will protect you. In fact, you'll get a huge parting gift and a pension for the rest of your life that everybody else will have to pay for.
As big a fan as I am of free speech, I still find comfort in knowing that somewhere in the world, journalists can lose their job over false allegations.
Very comforting to see the corporate insanity isn't limited to one country. This is a systemic disease and until we stop rewarding failure with gobs of money the only lesson we are teaching the young is to take the money and run.
Humans as a whole - are a smutty little bunch.
Doesn't seem to matter how much schooling, money are "faith" many of us have...we continue to embarrass ourselves.
Allen-2635884
The point is that these people are not Catholic priests. Elmo's puppeteer is now charged with child abuse. Abuse is wide spread through society and not related to Church or religious activities. The Los Angeles school system is being sued for hiding abuse by teachers and protecting them because of their union contracts. Put away your prejudice and let's look at how to protect our kids.
Propaganda is right. The BBC doesn't necessarily support the party in power, but its fawning coverage of the British monarchy is a disgrace. Then it protects a pedophile (Savile) in its midst for years. This institution should long ago have been broken up.
There are a lot of sick wealthy people. Children were allowed to be abused for years - ALL FOR THE SAKE OF MONEY!!! The same as at Penn State. People covered it up, tried to convince the children they weren't being abused or even that it didn't happen just so they could save face with the institution they worked for - the institution that was making them wealthy. That does not work. Had it all be brought out in the open in the beginning, it would have only been one man who was investigated and sent to jail. Now, with BBC as with Penn State, it's the whole shebang that goes up in smoke! I am not wealthy so I know exactly what I would do if I saw someone sexually abusing a child - I'd confront them shouting in hopes other people would come to see what was going on and call the police immediately. For some reason we all think the wealthy make the best leaders of a country, but history shows they only care about themselves and protecting their wealth ALL else comes second or just doesn't even matter. So don't think they care about you when you vote them into office. If they are creating policies that favor the wealthy, don't listen to the excuses how doing it will also benefit the middle class and the poor, because it it a lie. After 30 years of tax cuts for the wealthy all we've seen are jobs going overseas and loss of health and other benefits that corporations used to provide for their employees while those on the top receive $50,000 an hour. When it comes to the wealthy, if a child (or several children) must suffer to protect their assets, then that is what will happen!
Small change to most outgoing CEO's in America with thier golden parchutes. People should think that when you have a ceo who is makig ten million a year then when its company opens the door ten million in profits have to be set aside before the company makes a penny just to pay the CEO! Now you know why everything in the world costs more is given to you less than it was before and is of lesser quality all so some fat cat can hoard money in an off shore account and invest little of it in furthering capitalism.
@breadex - ya, what this guy got paid is about 2 days work for many U.S. CEO's.
Hmmmm, seems all the pomp and braggadocio the Liberal British media were directing at the News Corp. “scandal” has caught up with them. When will people learn that journalism has long left the ranks of honesty and professionalism?
The media has become nothing more than opinion with partisan editorials and sensationalism masquerading for journalism.
Their only goal is to promote their biased agenda and to possibly benefit themselves with a Pulitzer moment. Objectivity in journalism left decades ago and has been replaced with ideological bias on both sides of the political spectrum.
Since the days of Murrow, Huntley, Brinkley and Cronkite journalism or even basic reporting has been politically influenced, distorted and convoluted. Subjective interpolation of virtually every topic is impossible to avoid.
As most Americans have been dumbed down so much over the past 40 years they don’t even realize they are being further indoctrinated into ideological narratives. When most reporting and literature is written at an 8th grade level, as most Americans can only comprehend this level, it’s easy to see the power subjectivism holds.
Journalism has also been severely handicapped by our irrational acceptance of political correctness. Today certain words, or even suggestions, are considered unacceptable or even censored. The possibility of honest information is no longer the goal, just ratings and subscription volumes.
Our First Amendment guarantees freedom of the press. Today that means nothing more than the ability to promote an agenda or ideology. The press has been kidnapped and is held hostage by subjectivism. The unwashed masses, who are oblivious to this deception, just continue to be led down the path of least resistance. They wouldn’t know the truth if it hit them upside the head.
As the world allows the Fourth Estate to collude against the Fifth Estate, the common man and woman don’t stand a chance of being allowed real news or information. Today you can read almost any article or listen to any report and realize that anything past the first 2-3 paragraphs or first minute of reporting is opinion or editorial.
Journalism has become an embarrassment. Instead of being a benefit to society the press has contributed to its demise. As long as we allow this continue our nation will continue to divide along ideological spectrums rather unite under beneficial policies. In todays 24 hour information cycle, the press has a social and moral obligation to provide factual unbiased information.
I doubt we’ll see that anytime soon.
This is just another example of poor and false reporting from a network that has no ethics. Our news agencies from all over the world have been a disappointment in reporting on any issue with fair and balanced coverages yet alone truthful. We have to really dig to find the truth now a days and then we are not sure if it is the truth! The government has too much control or no control over what is printed without facts.
Private enterprise has its failings as we all know. However, whatever failings private enterprise has, government enterprises are much worse. The core reason for this is that entities will not tend to investigate themselves. So the closer an enterprise is to being governmental or government subsidized the more corruption. The worst polluters are government organizations. The worst rights abusers are government organizations. The most bureaucratic and least efficient are government organizations. There is a huge amount of evidence on this....all you have to do is compare socialistic systems to private ones throughout history and look at the results.
For those not old enough please compare East and West Germany, North and South Korea, and even the USA and Europe before we tried to start copying their socialist systems. Of course governments control statistics and have huge propaganda engines which deny the truth of this with monumental distortions. Ultimately, you have an elite government cadre and their friends that benefits from the socialistic control of institutions. The more control of the economy by government the more there is to corrupt and leach off. The bureaucrats are happy conspirators because they are paid to insulate the truths about the corrupt elite from the population. Welcome to 1984.
Whether it's power in government or power in the private sector, power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely.
The different between private and government funded is that you can fire the guys at government funded. Can you say the same with private?
@ Debi
Excellent reminder. It's sad that people hear that saying but yet never really give any thought to it.
$715K after 54 days? DISGUSTING!!!
And to think his name is not Romney or Trump!
I agree with your comment Anti369!!!! This guy should step up and donate a huge chunk of the $715K to charity!!!!
When I was growing up in America in the 1950's the BBC was one of the most staid and respected news sources in the world. I guess such things as "truth" and "accuracy" are now as old fashioned as actually working for one's paycheck!
well now the UK is following the USA's lead of paying executives for doing nothing...what a screwed up world unless your rich....
This equates to 1656 an hour. This guy should be ashamed and anyone who agreed to pay him that is a moron. I guess corporate greed and corruption isn't just an American phenomenon.
WOW I wish I could quit my job and get paid for the whole year.
Nothing amazes me anymore. I dont know how these execs sleep at night, knowing what crooks they are.
They sleep well in their multimillion dollar mansions while people are homeless.
Yeah ... They probably have a dozen paid staffers around 24-7 just to keep telling them what wonderful, upstanding people they are.
What else reported by the BBC has been wrong, biased, slanted or just a plain, flat-out lie?
Well Denny, a lot of people are asking that same question about Fox News here in the US. Most informed people know that Fox flat out lies quite a bit, but it is hard to believe that the BBC would do it. Kind of like all the priests molesting little boys, who would have thought that?
fitting the former boss of the BBC is going to be the new boss at the New York Times. neither institutions give a crap about the truth as long as they can push an agenda.
I'll be watching to see what the NY Times actually does. You don't know what they're going to do, or what the involvement of the "former boss" was. You're just hurling accusations without any evidence (which, ironically, is exactly what the BBC is accused to doing).
i'm not trying to predict the future here. just look up the name jayson blair to see how much the New York Times cares about the truth.
I don't have to. I already know the story. He was operating on his own and the Times fired him as soon as they became aware of what he was doing.
At Faux News, they give someone a raise for the most compelling lie.
That story shows that your post is a lie too. But then, the election showed what we can expect from RWNJ's ... but it doesn't work anymore .... LOSER!
as soon as they became aware. are you really that stupid.
1+ year before he was fired editors were circulating memos that stated he needed to be fired immediately. they let him go after other media outlets openly questioned him blatantly stealing a chick in Texas's story and passing it off as his own.
Liar!!
.... (a long, detail by detail explanation of how the Times investigated Blair follows)
The Times cleaned their own house and did it up front and in public view!! They are the outstanding example of journalistic integrity in America!!
Show me where Faux News has ever even acknowledged their constant stream of bile and lies!!
"In April 2002, the Blair problem was so severe that Metropolitan Editor Jonathan Landman wrote in a memo, "We have to stop Jayson from writing for the Times. Right now.""
instead of firing him they promoted him.
but you are right they fired him as soon as they were aware. it takes a special idiot to believe that
Liar!
I provided a source for my quotes. You did not.
Even if your quote is accurate, it doesn't say WHY Landman was against Blair. Blair was always controversial and unpopular in some circles in the Times. Your quote DOES NOT say that the Times knew that he was plagerizing back then.
Blair was fired for a lapse of journalistic ethics ... nothing else. The clowns at Faux News gave up any pretense of ethics long ago and now worship at the temple of money.
I can tell you don't have much higher education. Wiki is not a source.
it is also clear you haven't read the story. his lapse of journalistic eithics started on day 1 and continued on. however he was rewarded for the journalistic ethics lapses instead of punished.
he was put on the Beltway Sniper case where he made such outrageous claims that the defense lawyers for the snipers and prosecutors held a press conference just to say that he was a liar.
what did that earn Blair, as you guessed a promotion. it was not until he blatantly stole a story from a chick, who had interned with him at the Times, before Blair was fired.
You should probably read up more on the story, as you have no idea what you are talking about.
I'll match my engineering degree against whatever you have any day. And you STILL didn't provide a source ... or say ANYTHING other than that Blair was controversial while he was still at the Times.
The HALF TRUTH is one of the most effective RWNJ lie techniques.
i'm not the one stating half truths. i am just giving you the facts.
You haven't posted one verifiable fact yet! Just accusations ... like the one about Wiki ... I suppose the 21 reference notes on their article isn't enough for you.
You're just pissed because you got caught in a lie and now you're doing the RWNJ squeal.
One of the best e-fights I have read in some time. Well typed to both!!
I know I had fun!
In the UK as in the U.S. it doesn't matter what kind of job the CEO'S do, good or bad they still get their pay PLUS Bonus. The ordinary worker gets a size twelve in the Ass and a quick exit out the door. I think they call it "Equality".
The BBC should change its name to FOX.
Good one!
remote broke?
Britain is becoming obsessed with pedophilia. It preoccupies most television news stories; accusations seem to be sufficient to start a witch hunt. It's that bad you can't take photos anywhere these days without someone getting in your face and asking what you are doing. Parents are not even allowed to take pictures of their kids at school sports events. They are totally paranoid. I don't know if Jimmy Saville was guilty of any crime or not but to lay charges against this guy; a knighted and renown celebrity, after he is dead in my opinion is disgusting.
Britain needs to grow up and stop being so psychotic.
Are all network executives held to the same standards, or only the ones we don't like or who aren't one of us?
Remember the media uproar and condemnation of the David Letterman sex scandal? Being sarcastic. He was joking about it the next show.
Exobitant payouts for less than two months work is the absurdity of a business world that has no sense. This kind of "non-normal" behavior is why people have lost faith in business board of directors. Sheer foolishness! The board ought to be fired--no compensation for any of them either.
The state of journalism is quite appalling. No reputable journalist would allow the reporting of unfounded allegations. How is it that even in the most well funded reporting companies there is this kind of incompetency?
Thompson claims he didn't know anything about Savile or an investigation during his tenure as the head of Auntie BBC. Give me a break!! He must be delusional or lying. Either way he is certainly unacceptable as CEO of the New York Times. Send this grandiose Brit back to the UK and those other irritating smug chooms, Simon Cowell, Piers Morgan and that aging showgirl, Sharon Osbourne and her weirdo family, should also be sent packing.
But of course he is going to say that. He may not have, bet this guy only showed up at the office to collect his pay check. I'm with you Wumba-3, he had to be blind.
Being there for so short a time,and he gets a whole years pay? Thats really a shame! It happens all the time,though. Here in America,people are being fired,or laid off all the time,but get nothing. If CEO's or other upper management get fired,or accused of something,they get everything. Its just not right that people who do the actual work,get peanuts for pay,and hardly any benefits lose their jobs and get nothing.
That's chump change. Duke Energy merged with a company and paid the other CEO millions for one days work then fired him.
Exactly right. One BIG benefit of having public funding for things is that we can have public punishment too. When the big banks and insurance companies were raping us in 2008, we had to bend over and take it. "Private Companies" ya know. NOBODY at Goldman Sachs suffered one tiny iota.
We'll see how Entwhistle actually comes out of this after a week or so.
I would like to apply for the Chief of BBC. I promise not to cause any problems for 60 days. Sound like BBC is the place to be in charge if you want to make a ton of money in a hurry. The British have a hard time with telling the truth about every thing that goes on in their gloomy, rainy nation. England is a dictatorship that is run by the wealthy in much the same way a democracy is ran.. The the US we have a democracy that is ran by 1% of the population for the benefit of the 1%.
Big fail @ BBC. The former CEO thought he could get out in time to take over the struggling NY Times, a job no one else wanted. Send him packing.
And he's like Winnie the Pooh in another way. He LOVES to have his hand in the honey pot!
Let's see I"ll be investigated........I'll say I had an affair. Works in the US.
RWNJ's will believe anything that feeds their fantasies ... regardless of how unlikely or unproven it is.
The good side of that is that a majority of Americans still have some respect for evidence ... loser !
All that money and in a year he might trade it all for a glass of fresh water.