Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Preface
- 1 Arrival and departure
- 2 An unexpected opportunity
- 3 First impressions of the BBC
- 4 The coronation of John Birt
- 5 Personal experiences of a governor
- 6 The governance of the BBC
- 7 The impact of Birt
- 8 The arrival of Greg Dyke
- 9 Bowled Gilligan, stumped Hutton
- 10 A clouded future
- Index
Preface
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Preface
- 1 Arrival and departure
- 2 An unexpected opportunity
- 3 First impressions of the BBC
- 4 The coronation of John Birt
- 5 Personal experiences of a governor
- 6 The governance of the BBC
- 7 The impact of Birt
- 8 The arrival of Greg Dyke
- 9 Bowled Gilligan, stumped Hutton
- 10 A clouded future
- Index
Summary
It is hardly surprising that many books have been published about that unique national institution and treasure, the BBC. One thinks of the painstaking and invaluable historical work of Asa Briggs; of the books produced in relatively recent times by such protagonists as Duke Hussey, John Birt, Greg Dyke and Will Wyatt; of the analytical insights offered by Georgina Born or the polemical approach adopted by Chris Horrie and Steve Clarke in Fuzzy Monsters.
What, then, are the reasons, other than narcissistic self-importance, for my decision to offer the perspective and the views which follow? I hope to offer a distinctive point of view at a particularly sensitive time. Of the large number of men and women who have served on the Board of the BBC I was amongst those fortunate enough to be offered a second term. This enabled me to form judgements over a relatively long period. It takes time to get a reliable feeling for so complex an organisation. Too often one's term comes to an end just as one achieves some degree of confidence in understanding systems, personalities and events. I was, as it happens, the only Governor to serve throughout the time from Birt's accession to the Director Generalship until the choice of his successor, Greg Dyke. I was thus witness both to that significant period of change and upheaval at the BBC termed ‘Birtism’ and to the appointment of a most able but flawed successor about whom I had profound misgivings.
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- The BBC at the Watershed , pp. vii - xPublisher: Liverpool University PressPrint publication year: 2008