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Murdoch, Peston in Edinburgh bust-up EDINBURGH NEWS: News Corp topper James Murdoch had a blazing row with BBC business editor Robert Peston at a post-MacTaggart dinner in Edinburgh last night, with Peston incensed by Murdoch's attacks on the Beeb, C21 has learnt. The pair were involved in a very heated, expletive-laden face-to-face exchange, according to several sources, with Peston angry at Murdoch's accusation that the BBC was acting like a "patrician." Peston apparently told Murdoch, "If you want to see angry, I'll show you fucking angry," slamming his fist on the table. A BBC spokesman told C21 that the dinner, also attended by Newsnight presenter Kirsty Wark and BBC chairman Sir Michael Lyons, was a "private" matter. He added that Murdoch and Peston "have known each other for a long time. They don't agree on everything." The bust-up came after Murdoch attacked the BBC with a strongly-worded MacTaggart speech on Friday night. Rupert Murdoch's son accused the Beeb of being "too dominant," among plenty of other things. "There is a land-grab, pure and simple, going on... spearheaded by the BBC. Being funded by a universal hypothecated tax, the BBC feels empowered and obliged to try and offer something for everyone, even in areas well-served by the market," he said. The BBC Trust was quick to respond to the speech, with chairman Sir Michael Lyons saying in a statement: “British broadcasting is admired around the world. Its diversity of broadcasters and their variety of funding is a strength and not a weakness. "But there are current problems and they need to be addressed. Our starting point is what is in the interests of the public and the BBC agrees with James Murdoch's analysis that we need to trust them. And the public tell us that they, in turn, trust the BBC and value the wide range of services we provide. "The BBC has no choice but to serve all audiences, but that doesn't mean that it can or should seek to squeeze out other providers. We have to be careful not to reduce the whole of broadcasting to some simple economic transactions. The BBC's public purposes stress the importance of the well-tested principles of educating and informing, and an impartial contribution to debate in the UK. "As to the BBC Trust, let me underline that it is here to strengthen the BBC for the benefit of licence fee payers, not to emasculate it on behalf of commercial interests.” Delivering the Richard Dunn Memorial Lecture today, Peston told Edinburgh festival delegates he understood "why James Murdoch has argued that the BBC's online news service looks like state-subsidised unfair competition,” but questioned whether “a wholly liberalised commercial news market would ensure that everyone has access to the kind of news and financial information they need and deserve”. He added: "There is a debate about two kinds of fairness - there is the fairness of ensuring a level playing field for players in a commercial market. And there is the fairness of the distribution of information and knowledge to all who need it." The row between Murdoch and Peston underlines the tension between the BBC and its critics at present, with the Corporation increasingly under fire from accusations that it is too powerful - particularly when commercial rivals are struggling. However, in a Meet The Controller session today, Stuart Murphy, head of Sky1, 2 and 3, told delegates that he did not agree with Murdoch Jr's claim that the Beeb was stifling creativity. When asked whether he agreed with Murdoch's assessment of the BBC, Murphy said: "I don't, actually. The BBC's a creative place and Sky's also a creative place." Adam Benzine 29 Aug 2009 © C21 Media 2009 
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