Post by Teddy Bear on Feb 3, 2013 17:06:53 GMT
I will presume that everybody remembers the circumstances behind George Entwistles departure from the BBC as director general after being in that position for only 54 days.
Now the BBC has a dilemma
They're not sure if they should commission a portrait of him, as is the custom for previous serving BBC heads.
The only thing good about this story is that it highlights the stupid and hypocritical mindset within the BBC. They have no problem with their agenda to destroy the traditions and values of our whole society in pursuit of their own glorification. But within their own mini society they want their traditions to go on, even if this particular one showed himself to be totally incompetent, not just the typical corrupt that we have been used to.
Now the BBC has a dilemma
They're not sure if they should commission a portrait of him, as is the custom for previous serving BBC heads.
The only thing good about this story is that it highlights the stupid and hypocritical mindset within the BBC. They have no problem with their agenda to destroy the traditions and values of our whole society in pursuit of their own glorification. But within their own mini society they want their traditions to go on, even if this particular one showed himself to be totally incompetent, not just the typical corrupt that we have been used to.
Every boss has to have a portrait...but what if he lasted only 54 days? Why sacked director-general is the very picture of a BBC dilemma
By Miles Goslett
Senior BBC figures are debating whether former director-general George Entwistle’s controversial 54-day reign as head of the Corporation should be commemorated with an official portrait.
Entwistle was forced to step down in November after a Newsnight report falsely implicated former Conservative Party treasurer Lord McAlpine in a child abuse scandal.
Entwistle is the shortest-serving chief in the BBC’s 90-year history. He was given a £450,000 pay-off – twice the amount specified in his contract – plus other perks including a year’s health insurance and £10,000 for public relations assistance.
Now executives are deciding whether more public money should be spent on the former boss by commissioning a painting of him. The tradition dates back to the Thirties when the first man to hold the position, Lord Reith, sat for a portrait.
It is understood that the matter has been discussed privately by BBC bosses since Entwistle’s departure. The new director-general, Lord Hall, will make a final decision after he starts work on April 2.
Only two former BBC chiefs, Alasdair Milne and Greg Dyke, have left office in anything approaching Entwistle’s awkward circumstances.
Milne, who died last month aged 82, was dismissed in 1987 after five years in the role following heated arguments with the BBC governors. Despite his acrimonious departure, a portrait was commissioned.
And although Mr Dyke’s BBC career was cut short in 2004 after a bitter row with the Government, triggered by Radio 4’s Today programme accusing Tony Blair of ‘sexing up’ the case for the Iraq War, his official portrait was also commissioned. The painting by John Keane was unveiled in 2006.
BBC sources said that Entwistle is regarded as ‘a different kettle of fish’ to Milne or Dyke, causing a ‘conundrum’ for the BBC.
One said: ‘First, George was in the job less than two months. Does the BBC really want to mark his embarrassingly brief stint so formally?
‘Second, and much more tricky for the BBC, is his pay-off generated such anger that the idea of spending thousands more on him by commissioning a portrait seems unwise. And yet he can’t be written out of the history books altogether, Soviet-style.
‘A photograph may be the only answer, unless George wants to foot the bill himself.
Lord McAlpine was left furious after the BBC wrongly connected him with the Jimmy Savile sex scandal
Lord McAlpine was left furious after the BBC wrongly connected him with the Jimmy Savile sex scandal
‘Then again, a photograph would mark him out as different to the others. It’s a genuine conundrum.’
Another source indicated that the BBC’s senior managers could invite Entwistle to turn down the offer of a portrait. ‘That would be the gentlemanly way of dealing with it,’ the source said.
Entwistle was the 15th director-general. Three others – Frederick Ogilvie, Cecil Graves and Robert Foot – do not have portraits because they were overlooked ‘amid the preoccupations of the Second World War and its aftermath’, according to the BBC’s official records. William Haley, who ran the BBC between 1944 and 1952, opted for a bust by Jacob Epstein instead of a portrait.
Entwistle’s predecessor, Mark Thompson, who left last September after eight years, is expected to have a portrait commissioned later this year.
A BBC spokesman said: ‘No decisions have been made regarding director-general portraits.’
- Bosses unsure whether to give traditional honour to George Entwistle
- He was forced to stand down after Lord McAlpine scandal
- Was given £450,000 pay-off and BBC loath to spend more on painting
By Miles Goslett
Senior BBC figures are debating whether former director-general George Entwistle’s controversial 54-day reign as head of the Corporation should be commemorated with an official portrait.
Entwistle was forced to step down in November after a Newsnight report falsely implicated former Conservative Party treasurer Lord McAlpine in a child abuse scandal.
Entwistle is the shortest-serving chief in the BBC’s 90-year history. He was given a £450,000 pay-off – twice the amount specified in his contract – plus other perks including a year’s health insurance and £10,000 for public relations assistance.
Now executives are deciding whether more public money should be spent on the former boss by commissioning a painting of him. The tradition dates back to the Thirties when the first man to hold the position, Lord Reith, sat for a portrait.
It is understood that the matter has been discussed privately by BBC bosses since Entwistle’s departure. The new director-general, Lord Hall, will make a final decision after he starts work on April 2.
Only two former BBC chiefs, Alasdair Milne and Greg Dyke, have left office in anything approaching Entwistle’s awkward circumstances.
Milne, who died last month aged 82, was dismissed in 1987 after five years in the role following heated arguments with the BBC governors. Despite his acrimonious departure, a portrait was commissioned.
And although Mr Dyke’s BBC career was cut short in 2004 after a bitter row with the Government, triggered by Radio 4’s Today programme accusing Tony Blair of ‘sexing up’ the case for the Iraq War, his official portrait was also commissioned. The painting by John Keane was unveiled in 2006.
BBC sources said that Entwistle is regarded as ‘a different kettle of fish’ to Milne or Dyke, causing a ‘conundrum’ for the BBC.
One said: ‘First, George was in the job less than two months. Does the BBC really want to mark his embarrassingly brief stint so formally?
‘Second, and much more tricky for the BBC, is his pay-off generated such anger that the idea of spending thousands more on him by commissioning a portrait seems unwise. And yet he can’t be written out of the history books altogether, Soviet-style.
‘A photograph may be the only answer, unless George wants to foot the bill himself.
Lord McAlpine was left furious after the BBC wrongly connected him with the Jimmy Savile sex scandal
Lord McAlpine was left furious after the BBC wrongly connected him with the Jimmy Savile sex scandal
‘Then again, a photograph would mark him out as different to the others. It’s a genuine conundrum.’
Another source indicated that the BBC’s senior managers could invite Entwistle to turn down the offer of a portrait. ‘That would be the gentlemanly way of dealing with it,’ the source said.
Entwistle was the 15th director-general. Three others – Frederick Ogilvie, Cecil Graves and Robert Foot – do not have portraits because they were overlooked ‘amid the preoccupations of the Second World War and its aftermath’, according to the BBC’s official records. William Haley, who ran the BBC between 1944 and 1952, opted for a bust by Jacob Epstein instead of a portrait.
Entwistle’s predecessor, Mark Thompson, who left last September after eight years, is expected to have a portrait commissioned later this year.
A BBC spokesman said: ‘No decisions have been made regarding director-general portraits.’