Tim Davie, the director general of the BBC, claims he has not backed down in the face of outrage over Gary Lineker’s suspension.
After a controversy regarding impartiality erupted when Lineker criticized the government’s asylum policy in a tweet, he stated he took “proportionate action.”
He added:
“We believe we acted appropriately. I believe I made the proper decision.”
As experts and commentators walked out in solidarity, the suspension disrupted schedules.
As a deal was made to bring Lineker back to the air, he thanked Davie through Twitter and recognized that it is “difficult to make everyone happy.”
On Monday, Davie also announced an independent review of social media policy, a move that was supported by Lineker.
In an interview with the BBC, the director general stated:
“What we’ve decided, and I’ve spent time talking to Gary and we’ve had a lot of conversation about, is that Gary will adhere to the editorial guidelines until the review report is published, and that’s where we stand.”
I questioned Davie about how he could have been so out of touch with his own organization, staff, and programs that he did not predict the impending chaos.
Davie replied:
“Clearly, they were placed in a really tough situation.
“I believe that, if you speak with individuals throughout the BBC, you will find that they are all quite passionate about our status as an unbiased broadcaster.
“I want to fight for a BBC that facilitates civilized discourse and free speech.”
Davie stated that the decision to remove Lineker from the broadcast was always intended to buy time until the two parties could reach a deal on his political tweets and that this has now been accomplished.
He noted that Lineker had “agreed to adhere to the instructions while the independent review is conducted.”
The word “advice” indicates that this is about Davie’s 2020 social media guidance for the BBC.
Back then, it was stated that “high-profile presenters,” including those who are not actively involved in news and current affairs, have an “extra obligation” to avoid appearing to take sides on controversial political issues.
As with any guidance, the difficulty will lie in its interpretation.
‘Impossible job’
Nonetheless, it appears that all parties have agreed to attempt to calm the situation while an impartial examiner evaluates the regulations.
In a series of tweets, Lineker expressed his gratitude that he and the BBC “have found our way through this.”
Lineker added:
“I would like to thank Tim Davie for his patience throughout this trying time.”
“Keeping everyone satisfied is an almost impossible task, particularly in terms of fairness.”
I am thrilled that we will continue to battle together. The disruption of programming has apparently surprised BBC executives as well.
In the end, Match of the Day was broadcast as a 20-minute highlight reel with no punditry, commentary, or opening tune; yet, viewership increased by nearly 500,000 to 2.58 million.
Yet, the removal of other radio and television programs from the schedules and their drastic abridgment is a clear indication that many inside the BBC believe Lineker has been treated unfairly.
BBC Two’s Sunday afternoon Women’s Super League broadcast proceeded without studio analysis and had to rely on international feed commentary, while Radio 5 Live was obliged to fill scheduling gaps for a second consecutive day with pre-recorded programming.
Match of the Day 2 followed the much-reduced structure of the main program, airing for only 15 minutes and lacking the customary analysts and host, Mark Chapman.
The show began similarly to Saturday’s Match of the Day, with a continuity presenter apologizing for the absence of commentary, followed by the words “Premier League Highlights” without the traditional theme tune and opening titles.
There are also those who are outraged that a highly compensated BBC star has not been disciplined for calling the home secretary’s statement on a crucial matter of public policy “beyond awful” and comparing the language used to outline the government’s asylum plan to “that used by Nazi Germany in the 1930s.”
Nor has Lineker apologized for tweets that the BBC claims violated its guidelines.
It has bought the BBC some time, but until the conclusions of the study are released, millions of people will be closely monitoring Gary Lineker’s tweets.
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