Being a senior BBC executive has never been a guaranteed route to national affection, but the past few weeks have been particularly bruising for director-general Tim Davie and his leadership team. The Gary Lineker affair didn’t please anyone – the presenter’s supporters railed against what they saw as a politically inspired move against him, while advocates of impartiality felt that the BBC caved in when they came to an interim settlement. Then choirs worldwide, and the classical music community in the UK, rose in protest at the decision to axe the BBC Singers just before their centenary; a decision now wisely ‘paused’. Around the country, the BBC’s local radio and regional television staff have been on strike in protest at cuts to their services.
Many BBC rows blow up unexpectedly, but there is an expectation inside the corporation that another brouhaha is inevitable next month when the BBC News Channel is fully merged with its global television operation.
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