BBC Deputy Director-General Rhodri Talfan-Davies said the broadcaster is in a “much stronger place” after an editing error in its investigative program Panorama prompted a $10 billion defamation lawsuit from President Donald Trump. Speaking at a Broadcasting Press Guild lunch on Tuesday, he identified both the edit and the BBC’s slow response as problems in its handling of the episode.
Talfan-Davies said a BBC review found that the edit gave a mistaken impression of what Trump had said. He said he did not believe the edit was deliberate, but acknowledged that the broadcaster should have acted sooner, explained what had happened transparently and apologized.
The BBC has since reformed its editorial standards committee and created the deputy director-general role, which Talfan-Davies said is intended to help the organization respond quickly to difficult situations. The broadcaster has also introduced “Final Gate” reviews for its most contentious programs. Before transmission, key editorial, policy and compliance staff examine a program’s risks line by line, he said.
Talfan-Davies cautioned that the new processes cannot guarantee there will be no future problems, particularly given the BBC’s investigative work. However, he said the changes made over the past 12 months had improved the broadcaster’s controls.
On the lawsuit, he said the next key step is a Florida court’s decision on whether it has jurisdiction to hear the case. Talfan-Davies said the BBC considers its argument against the case being heard in a U.S. court strong, but would await the judge’s decision.
He also rejected accusations of left-wing bias at the BBC, saying his experience of its newsrooms was of robust discussion and open-mindedness. He added that the broadcaster should continue reviewing its editorial performance and said he was discussing ways to strengthen that work with Director-General Matt Brittin.
Sources: Variety.