Does the BBC’s Internal Culture Need to Change?

A debate has ensued about whether the BBC is in touch with its audiences and, if not, whether can be explained in part by the cultural divide between the people working for the Corporation and those that characterise its audiences. The corporate culture of the BBC has been accused of creating an organisational climate in which poor decision-making has occurred especially during times of crisis and scandal. One part of the question about the BBC’s culture centres on the premise that the Corporation and many of the people working within it are out of touch with the public’s tastes and interests. Another part addresses a number of major incidents, including the Martin Bashir interview with Princess Diana, the ‘sexed-up’ dossier story, the Jimmy Savile affair, false accusations against Lord Ashcroft and Sir Cliff Richard, and the way these were handled by the BBC’s management. The chapter covers the findings of inquiries stemming from these incidents, including those conducted by Lord Hutton, Nick Pollard, Dame Janet Smith, and the Dyson, MacQuarrie, and Serota reviews. These inquiries collectively excused the BBC’s management of some decisions but also indicated the need to corporate culture reform. Collectively, these inquiries and reviews indicated weaknesses in the BBC’s line management and internal decision-making in relation to critical incidents. On some occasions, such weakness strayed into failures to act in respect of incidents involving popular performers, followed by management cover-ups. This objective underlined the need to take a broader approach to senior-level appointments that were too often filled by internal candidates and external candidates that spent most of their early careers at the BBC. This state of affairs left the BBC vulnerable to groupthink, which often underpinned poor decision-making or an inability to act appropriately where needed.