The BBC is in a British Broadcasting Crisis. The UK’s public broadcaster has had a bruising few years, which have escalated, over the last few weeks, into seemingly non-stop scandal. It’s been lambasted by the political left and right alike, prompting calls for resignations from senior management, including that of the director general. And it has only itself to blame.
In late June, there was uproar over the BBC’s livestreaming of the Glastonbury set by punk duo Bob Vylan, who led a chant against the Israeli military. Then there was the bungling of its response – apologies, condemnations, hasty changes to protocol. One Gaza documentary was found to have breached editorial guidelines, with another, about doctors in Gaza, being pulled from transmission. Alongside this, there is the endlessly unfurling debacle that is MasterChef, which has culminated in both its presenters being fired – first Gregg Wallace, who is accused of unwanted groping, indecent exposure and suggestive comments towards his co-workers, and then, yesterday, his co-host John Torode, following an allegation that he used racist language.
