More Heads Expected To Roll at the BBC Over 'Crowngate' Scandal

By Chris Georg
14:34, October 8th 2007
83 votes
Vote this story
More Heads Expected To Roll at the BBC Over 'Crowngate' Scandal

As the "Crowngate" scandal at the British Broadcasting Corp. grows larger with the boss of the BBC One Television having lost his job, pressure piles up on those who are left.

Following the resignation of two senior British television executives, the controller of the BBC1 channel, Peter Fincham, and Stephen Lambert, chief creative officer of RDF Media PLC, the independent company that produced a documentary in which Queen Elizabeth II is wrongly portrayed as storming out of a photo shoot with Annie Leibovitz, BBC Vision director, Jana Bennett, described as the most powerful woman at the BBC, is also expected to take responsibility for the mishap as it was her job to supervise all BBC content.

The inquiry into the affair by Will Wyatt, a former senior executive at the broadcaster concluded that Bennett was "lacking in curiosity" when problems emerged, Daily Mail reports.
 
She was also found not to have read an email version of an apology agreed with Buckingham Palace, the night before it was released.

"The channel controller did brief his director and then sent her an email copy of the statement but there was a misunderstanding between them about what the problem actually was," the Wyatt report read.
 
"The director believes the controller acted responsibly in ringing and emailing her, nevertheless she was left thinking the issue was the way the controller introduced the clip at the press launch.

"Certainly she was unaware that DVDs of the footage had been distributed and as she did not realize that the agreed statement had been emailed to her that evening, she did not read it."

Although according to the BBC Fincham resigned voluntarily, some reports claimed he was actually made a scapegoat in order to protect Bennett’s position who was his superior.

Fincham said he informed Bennett immediately after he discovered the editing error in the documentary’s trailer showing the Queen walking out of the photo shoot "in a huff," while Bennett claimed she found out much later that the footage had been edited in the wrong sequence. By then, the Queen’s supposed tantrum had already made it on the first page of the newspapers, The Observer reports.

Just hours after his dismissal, Roly Keating, the BBC Two controller, took over the position and he is now rumored to be replacing Fincham permanently.
 



© 2007 - 2008 - eFluxMedia
dotclear

Other News in

The Dishonest Mayor

The Dishonest Mayor

The mayor of Birmingham, Alabama, was arrested by the FBI Monday, on federal charges including conspiracy, bribery, fraud, money laundering and filing false income tax returns. Mayor Larry Langford...

Driving While Talking On The Phone Not Safe

A study published by the Journal of Experiential Psychology: Applied demonstrates that driving while talking on the phone, even if using a hands free device, is not safe at all. The study even states...

Bush's AIDS fight gets PEACE award; White House in red

Washington - As most Americans were beginning to think about hanging their Christmas decorations, the White House first paused to mark another anniversary - the 20th World AIDS Day - with a giant red...

CNN pitches newspaper wire to US editors

Los Angeles - Coming off an election season that was a financial and ratings success, cable news pioneer CNN convened a meeting of top newspaper editors Monday to outline its plans for a news wire...

Barker and DJ AM to Perform on New Year’s Eve Gig

Barker and DJ AM to Perform on New Year’s Eve Gig

After a successful recovery from the terrible plane crash they were involved in, DJ AM and drummer Travis Barker will reportedly return to the stage and perform this New Year’s Eve.This would be the...

dotclear
Latest videos in Specials
Naked Brothers Band Rock Out...
No Thanksgiving Day Off for...
Climate change affecting...
Famous QE2 liner nears Dubai
Jurors Hint at Partial...

dotclear
Specials You are here: Specials
» Specials   
E-mail To A Friend Print RSS Text size: Decrease font size Increase font size
dotclear
dotclear
dotclear
Most Popular in Specials
Venus, Jupiter, The Moon: What A Trio In The SkyVenus, Jupiter, The Moon: What A Trio In The Sky

» read full story
dotclear

Interested In This Topic?

News Alert will keep you informed. Find out more.
dotclear
Photos Gallery
dotclear
Today's Latest News
The Dishonest MayorThe Dishonest Mayor

» read full story
dotclear