Patten resigns

[Honoured Guest]

The harshness of your judgement, and the ease with which you express it, suggests to me that you have never held a position in which your actions and decisions will be held up to public scrutiny.

For which, much thanks.

"My judgement" is in line with most media reporting at the time that Entwistle imploded and then negotiated his irregular pay-off and resignation with Lord Patten.

I'd be interested to read anyone else's view of the Entwistle disaster and Patten's part in it.

[amateur51]

"My judgement" is in line with most media reporting at the time that Entwistle imploded and then negotiated his irregular pay-off and resignation with Lord Patten.

I'd be interested to read anyone else's view of the Entwistle disaster and Patten's part in it.

Hide behind the judgement of Quentin Letts if you must. I've not read anyone else's judgement on Patten's performancer since it has been revealed that he has a life-threatening illness - your contribution and judgment is unique in so many ways.

How was Patten to know that George Entwhistle would implode, as you imply?

[Honoured Guest]

How was Patten to know that George Entwhistle would implode, as you imply?

My reasoning is in #14.

[amateur51]

My reasoning is in #14.

Ah speculation and opinion, not the facts that I thought you were offering

[Honoured Guest]

Ah speculation and opinion, not the facts that I thought you were offering

Entwistle stated this in public interview. It seems reasonable to assume that he would have stated how he intended to act as D-G during the selection process for the post.

[amateur51]

Entwistle stated this in public interview. It seems reasonable to assume that he would have stated how he intended to act as D-G during the selection process for the post.

What you're describing, and vilifying, is an approach which says "Tell me what's going on - you're in charge of this but I want to know. And if I think I need to, I will intervene. Otherwise, I 'll let you get on with it". Is that so unreasonable?

[Honoured Guest]

I quite agree that the approach you outline is reasonable, and on paper I might marginally prefer it to Tony Hall's personal influence on his senior managers' decisions, such as his pushing of the new BBC arts strategy.

But Entwistle, by his own admission, was more remote than the approach you outline. He apparently didn't want to know, and so senior managers were tentatively telling him things when they encountered him at events, because he had arranged no formal way of communicating such things. And he was deliberately ignoring what they told him, because he considered that it would be wrong for the D-G to interfere. Ironically, he was preoccupied with working hard on devising policies and processes for how the BBC would deal with such matters!!

[amateur51]

I quite agree that the approach you outline is reasonable, and on paper I might marginally prefer it to Tony Hall's personal influence on his senior managers' decisions, such as his pushing of the new BBC arts strategy.

But Entwistle, by his own admission, was more remote than the approach you outline. He apparently didn't want to know, and so senior managers were tentatively telling him things when they encountered him at events, because he had arranged no formal way of communicating such things. And he was deliberately ignoring what they told him, because he considered that it would be wrong for the D-G to interfere. Ironically, he was preoccupied with working hard on devising policies and processes for how the BBC would deal with such matters!!

The best laid plans, etc.

[french frank]

His interview would have revealed his manner of tackling the D-G role to the appointment panel (unless he were utterly duplicitous at interview, or the panel were utterly incompetent) and so the Chair of the BBC Trust was culpable in the Entwistle fiasco.

From the minutes of the BBC Trust meeting, 4 July 2012.

“100 DIRECTOR-GENERAL APPOINTMENT

100.1 The Chairman welcomed all Trust members to the meeting, noting that David Liddiment was unable to join the meeting due to a personal appointment that had delayed his arrival.

100.2 The Chairman reported the considerations of the interview panel for the post of Director-General which had met the previous day and interviewed candidates for the role. The interview panel had consisted of the Chairman; the Vice Chairman; the chairs of the Audience and Performance Committee (David Liddiment), the Finance Committee (Anthony Fry), and the Editorial Standards Committee (Alison Hastings); and the Trust member for Wales (Elan Closs Stephens).

100.3 The Chairman noted the considerable strengths of all the candidates interviewed for the role, which had been discussed in depth by the interview panel and by other Trust members.

100.4 The unanimous recommendation of the interview panel was that George Entwistle should be offered the role of Director-General"

In those circumstances, was it culpable to accept this unanimous recommendation? Was it Lord Patten's responsibility to veto it?

[aka Calum Da Jazbo]

one must suppose that no one could see the Saville storm coming and that Entwistle would be so inept at handling it .....

[Serial_Apologist]

The protocols of company board loyalty:

See no evil
Hear no evil
Speak no weevil

[teamsaint]

The top management must have known that Saville and the others would surface sooner or later.
All the very strong rumours had been in the public domain for a good while.

As for the new "arts strategy", so far it just looks like a sop to the broadsheets. No money of any substance, and no obvious commitment to new programming.

[Serial_Apologist]

The top management must have known that Saville and the others would surface sooner or later.
All the very strong rumours had been in the public domain for a good while.

As for the new "arts strategy", so far it just looks like a sop to the broadsheets. No money of any substance, and no obvious commitment to new programming.

My assessment too.

[aeolium]

Not sure where to post this, but this is the latest of Charlotte Higgins' articles on the state of the BBC, here looking back at previous D-Gs:

http://www.theguardian.com/media/2014/may/15/bbc-director-generals-reith-birt-dyke

It recalls the all too forgettable accountant-like Checkland and the sadly too-hard-to-forget ghastliness of Birt. For me, no-one came close to Hugh Carleton Greene for imaginative leadership or to Thompson for tawdry commercialism and nest-feathering.

[aka Calum Da Jazbo]

no-one came close to Hugh Carleton Greene for imaginative leadership or to Thompson for tawdry commercialism and nest-feathering.

absolutely!