{"id":255077,"date":"2025-11-10T15:20:07","date_gmt":"2025-11-10T15:20:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/255077\/"},"modified":"2025-11-10T15:20:07","modified_gmt":"2025-11-10T15:20:07","slug":"why-the-bbc-is-apologising-over-a-trump-documentary-and-what-happens-next-bbc","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/255077\/","title":{"rendered":"Why the BBC is apologising over a Trump documentary \u2013 and what happens next | BBC"},"content":{"rendered":"

The BBC chair, Samir Shah, has said the corporation would like to apologise for an \u201cerror of judgment\u201d<\/a> over the editing of a speech by Donald Trump for Panorama.<\/p>\n

The apology follows the resignation of two of the corporation\u2019s most senior figures<\/a> on Sunday \u2013 the chief executive of BBC News, Deborah Turness, and the director general, Tim Davie \u2013 who announced their departure after concerns were raised in Michael Prescott\u2019s leaked report that the speech had been selectively edited.<\/p>\n

Now, as the fallout continues over the BBC\u2019s editorial standards and claims that the exit of Turness and Davie is the result of \u201ca campaign by political enemies of the BBC\u201d, the process for finding their successors must soon get under way.<\/p>\n

What has happened?<\/p>\n

The BBC director general, Tim Davie, and head of news, Deborah Turness, resigned on Sunday after accusations that the corporation was failing in its duty of impartiality.<\/p>\n

On Monday afternoon, the BBC chair, Samir Shah, has said the corporation would like to \u201capologise for that error of judgment\u201d over how it edited of the footage of a speech made by Donald Trump and broadcast on Panorama.<\/p>\n

The show is one of a number of examples highlighted by Michael Prescott, a former external adviser to the BBC\u2019s editorial standards committee, who detailed his concerns about the broadcaster\u2019s impartiality in a memo published by the Telegraph.<\/p>\n

Supporters of the BBC have alleged a coordinated effort by rightwing figures to undermine the broadcaster.<\/p>\n

\"Side-by-sideSide-by-side comparison of BBC-edited Trump speech from day of Capitol attack with original \u2013 videoHow is the new director general selected?<\/p>\n

Tim Davie\u2019s replacement as the BBC\u2019s director general will be appointed by the corporation\u2019s board.<\/p>\n

Leading a global workforce, the director general is the BBC\u2019s editorial, operational and creative leader and is responsible for its services across television, radio and online.<\/p>\n

Davie\u2019s successor will be appointed by the BBC board, which is supposed to ensure the corporation delivers its mission and public purposes.<\/p>\n

The board is led by the BBC chair, Samir Shah, and consists of 10 non-executive members, including Shah, and four executive members.<\/p>\n

Four of the non-executive members are appointed as members for each of the UK nations.<\/p>\n

Does the government have any influence?<\/p>\n

There is no direct role for ministers in the selection process, but previous appointments have often been accompanied by reports of the government of the day letting its views be known.<\/p>\n

The director general\u2019s appointment is made under the terms of the BBC\u2019s charter, which is drawn up by the government and sets out the terms and purposes for the corporation\u2019s existence.<\/p>\n

The charter usually lasts for around a decade, with the current one ending on 31 December 2027.<\/p>\n

The government also decides on the BBC\u2019s funding model, for example, the level of the licence fee, which gives it significant leverage over the corporation\u2019s strategic decision-making and operational capacity.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Why does it matter?<\/p>\n

It is just over a year until the BBC charter is renewed. When that happens, there are several issues at play, primarily focusing on the funding model, governance and regulation, impartiality, and the BBC\u2019s overall scope and relevance in a changing media landscape.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The BBC director general plays a highly influential and prominent role in the charter renewal process, primarily as the chief advocate and lead negotiator for the BBC\u2019s vision, strategy, and funding needs with the UK government.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The BBC chair, Samir Shah, has said the corporation would like to apologise for an \u201cerror of judgment\u201d…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":255078,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[49,50,51,47,52,48],"class_list":{"0":"post-255077","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-headlines","8":"tag-headlines","9":"tag-news","10":"tag-top-news","11":"tag-top-stories","12":"tag-topnews","13":"tag-topstories"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/255077","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=255077"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/255077\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/255078"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=255077"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=255077"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=255077"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}