Labour pledges to strengthen the BBC’s independence and protect funding

Posted on August 27, 2022 by Admin

Party would insulate broadcaster from political pressure, says shadow culture secretary, as Liz Truss prepares to wage war on it

Labour has pledged to strengthen the BBC’s political independence and retain it as a publicly-owned, public service broadcaster at the heart of British life, amid signs that a Tory government led by Liz Truss would wage war on the corporation.

Lucy Powell, the shadow culture secretary, told the Observer she is examining a series of reforms to insulate the BBC from political pressures, including ending “revolving door” appointments of people in politics to top posts in the corporation, and extending the charter renewal period from 10 to 15 or 20 years to reduce pressures on BBC leaders to toe the government line.

Emily Maitlis says ‘active Tory party agent’ shaping BBC news output

Posted on August 24, 2022 by Admin

Former Newsnight presenter says former No 10 communications chief Sir Robbie Gibb on board acting as ‘arbiter of impartiality’

Emily Maitlis has said a BBC board member is an “active agent of the Conservative party” who is shaping the broadcaster’s news output by acting “as the arbiter of BBC impartiality”.

The former Newsnight presenter highlighted the role of Sir Robbie Gibb, who previously worked as Theresa May’s director of communications and helped to found the rightwing GB News channel.

Adultery, accusations and walkouts: when royals do TV interviews

Posted on February 16, 2021 by Admin

Famous past appearances suggest Harry and Meghan should be wary of opening up to Oprah

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are due to give a “wide-ranging” interview with Oprah Winfrey next month, and according to a source the couple will not want to say anything to undermine their love and respect for the Queen. However, when royals face TV interviewers, it doesn’t always go to plan, as previous examples illustrate.

Emily Maitlis: ‘Prince Andrew was unleashed. He wanted to tell me everything’

Posted on December 19, 2019 by Admin

Newsnight was granted a rare audience with the royal ... and after a decade of silence, he was unstoppable. Its presenter shares the secrets of the interview of the century

Series 3, episode 4: The Crown. A BBC van pulls up at Buckingham Palace to record a royal documentary.

As in life, so with television: timing is everything. Had The Crown aired its new series one week earlier … Had the fictional Queen been spotted squirming at the TV crews in her midst … Had the distant memories of a now-banned palace interview been fresher in our minds … It is entirely possible, and more than probable, that the Prince Andrew interview would never have happened.