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Tony Hall appointed new BBC chief

The BBC Trust has appointed Tony Hall, currently CEO of the Royal Opera House, as the new director general of the BBC, following the departure of George Entwistle.

Here’s the Trust’s announcement:

Lord Hall is currently Chief Executive of the Royal Opera House, was Chairman of the board for the Cultural Olympiad and was head of BBC News and Current Affairs from 1996 to 2001. He was a digital pioneer, launching BBC News Online, as well as Radio 5 Live, BBC News 24 and BBC Parliament. At present he is Deputy Chairman of Channel 4.

Lord Hall is expected to start in early March and in the interim period Tim Davie will remain as Acting Director-General.

Announcing the appointment, which was unanimously agreed by Trustees at a meeting this morning, BBC Trust Chairman Lord Patten said:

“While there are still very serious questions to be answered by the on-going inquiries, it is in the interests of licence fee payers that the BBC now starts to refocus on its main purpose – making great programmes that audiences love and trust.

“In doing this it will need to take a long, hard look at the way it operates and put in place the changes required to ensure it lives up to the standards that the public expects. Tony Hall is the right person to lead this and I am delighted that he is taking on this role. For its part I want to make sure that the Trust gives Tony Hall whatever help and support he needs to re-build the BBC’s management around him.

“Tony Hall has been an insider and is a currently an outsider. As an ex-BBC man he understands how the Corporation’s culture and behaviour make it, at its best, the greatest broadcaster in the world. And from his vantage point outside the BBC, he understands the sometimes justified criticisms of the Corporation – that it can be inward looking and on occasions too institutional.

“But perhaps most importantly, given where we now find ourselves, his background in news will prove invaluable as the BBC looks to rebuild both its reputation in this area and the trust of audiences.”

 

Lord Hall will take up the post on a salary of £450,000 per year, the same amount controversially given to Entwistle as a pay-off after just 54 days in the job.

In his short time as director general, Entwistle was rocked by two major scandals. Investigations were launched into the abuse scandal surrounding former presenter Jimmy Savile during time at the corporation, before the Newsnight report made false allegations against a former Conservative Party politician.

Entwistle, who was previously director of the Vision production arm at the BBC, subsequently resigned, stating his position had become untenable.

Davie was named as acting director general until a permanent replacement could be found, delaying his move to replace John Smith as CEO of BBC Worldwide.

Referring to the scandals that have rocked the BBC, Lord Patten said today: “While there are still very serious questions to be answered by the on-going inquiries, it is in the interests of licence fee payers that the BBC now starts to refocus on its main purpose – making great programmes that audiences love and trust.

“In doing this it will need to take a long, hard look at the way it operates and put in place the changes required to ensure it lives up to the standards that the public expects. Tony Hall is the right person to lead this.”

Lord Hall was handpicked by the BBC Trust to become the BBC’s 16th director general, in a clear departure from the drawn-out process used to identify Entwistle as former director general Mark Thompson’s replacement. Furthermore, Lord Hall didn’t apply for the role after Thompson announced he was stepping down.

“We might have considered going through the whole lengthy recruitment process again with a new round of advertisements and another global hunt for candidates,” Lord Patten added. “But I believe the approach we have taken is ultimately in the interests of the BBC and, most importantly, licence fee payers as we have got the best candidate and he will help the organisation quickly get back on an even keel.”

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