From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Board of Governors of the BBC
Board of Governors of the BBC
The Board of Governors of the BBC was the governing that there was “less overt tribalism” among its journal-
body of the British Broadcasting Corporation. It consisted ists. [1]
of twelve people who together regulated the BBC and "Conservative commentators have long criticised the
represented the interests of the public. It existed from BBC for being a hotbed of Left-wingers and an internal
1927 until it was replaced by the BBC Trust on 1 January report from 2007 said it had to make greater efforts to
2007. avoid liberal bias." [1]
The governors were independent of the Director- It has also been suggested that Harold Wilson’s ap-
General and the rest of the BBC’s executive team. They pointment of the former Tory minister Lord Hill as chair-
had no direct say in programme-making, but were never- man of the Board of Governors in 1967 was motivated by
theless accountable to Parliament and to licence fee pay- a desire to undermine the radical, questioning agenda of
ers for the BBC’s actions. Although a ’state broadcaster’, Director-General Sir Hugh Greene - ironically Wilson had
the BBC is theoretically protected from government in- attacked the appointment of Hill as Chairman of the In-
terference due to the statutory independence of its gov- dependent Television Authority by a Conservative gov-
erning body. ernment in 1963.
The Governors’ role was to appoint the Director-Gen- In January 2004 Gavyn Davies, who had been appoint-
eral (and in earlier years, other key BBC staff). They ap- ed chairman of the Board of Governors by the Labour
proved strategy and policy, set objectives, oversaw com- government in 2001, resigned in the wake of the Hutton
plaints, and produced Annual Reports that documented Inquiry. Lord Ryder, previously a Conservative MP and a
the BBC’s performance and compliance each year. member of Margaret Thatcher’s personal staff, replaced
The role of chairman of the Board of Governors, him as Acting Chairman. It has been claimed that Ryder
though a non executive, was one of the most important and other Conservatives on the Board of Governors were
positions in British media. effectively responsible for "forcing out" Director-General
Greg Dyke, who had not initially believed that his offer of
Appointments resignation would be accepted by the Governors.
In May 2004, Michael Grade took over as permanent
Governors were usually appointed from senior positions chairman. He was to be the last permanent chairman of
in various walks of British society. Appointments were the Board of Governors.
part-time positions and lasted for four (formerly five)
years. Four governors were given specific responsibili-
ties: for Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and the Eng-
Chairmen of the Board of
lish regions. Governors
Governors were nominally appointed by the monarch
on the advice of ministers. In practice, governors were • Joseph Albert Pease, 1st Baron Gainford (chairman of
chosen by the government of the day. This has led to the British Broadcasting Company, before
claims of political interference, in particular during the incorporation) (1922)
years of Margaret Thatcher’s premiership. • George Herbert Hyde Villiers, 6th Earl of Clarendon
(first chairman of the British Broadcasting
Corporation) (1927)
Controversy • John Henry Whitley (1930)
The government of Margaret Thatcher appointed a suc- • William Clive Bridgeman, 1st Viscount Bridgeman
cession of governors with the apparent intent of bringing (1935)
the BBC "into line" with government policy. Marmaduke • Ronald Collet Norman (1935)
Hussey was appointed chairman of the Board of Gover- • Sir Allan Powell (1940)
nors apparently with the specific agenda of bringing • Philip Inman, 1st Baron Inman (1947)
down the then-Director-General Alasdair Milne; this gov- • Ernest Simon, 1st Baron Simon of Wythenshawe
ernment also broke the tradition of always having a trade (1947)
union leader on the Board of Governors. • Sir Alexander Cadogan (1952)
BBC director general Mark Thompson said "staff were • Sir Arthur fforde (1957)
“quite mystified” by the rise of Margaret Thatcher but • Sir James Fitzjames Duff (1964)
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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Board of Governors of the BBC
• Norman Craven Brook, 1st Baron Normanbrook • Merfyn Jones (National Governor for Wales)
(1964) • Jeremy Peat (National Governor for Scotland)
• Lord Hill of Luton (1967) • Deborah Bull
• Sir Michael Swann (1973) • Andrew Burns
• George Howard, Baron Howard of Henderskelfe • Dermot Gleeson
(1980) • Angela Sarkis
• Stuart Young (1983) • Richard Tait
• Marmaduke Hussey, Baron Hussey of North Bradley • Note: Michael Grade had left the BBC before the
(1986) dissolution of the board to take up the position of
• Sir Christopher Bland (1996) Executive Chairman at rival broadcaster ITV plc.
• Gavyn Davies (October 2001 - January 28, 2004)
• Lord Ryder (acting chairman) (January 28, 2004 -
May 17, 2004)
References
• Michael Grade (May 17, 2004 - November 28, 2006) [1] ^ "BBC chief Mark Thompson admits ’Left-wing
bias’". London Evening Standard. 2 Sep 2010.
http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/standard/
The last Board of Governors article-23873043-bbc-chief-mark-thompson-
The governors as of the board’s dissolution on 31 Decem- admits-left-wing-bias.do. Retrieved 3 January
ber 2006 were: 2012.
• Anthony Salz (Acting Chairman)
• Ranjit Sondhi (Governor for the English regions)
• Fabian Monds (National Governor for Northern
External links
Ireland) • BBC Annual Reports
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Board_of_Governors_of_the_BBC&oldid=469294816"
Categories:
• BBC people
• BBC Governors
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