Post by Teddy Bear on Jan 5, 2015 0:30:57 GMT
While it's no surprise that the BBC have got it in for the Royals, it's one of the last bastions of British identity that the BBC want to replace with their own non-British identity. But there's a few things inside this story that I find very fishy and makes me wonder what really is going on here.
The BBC had made a documentary about how Charles had rebuilt his public image following Diana's death. You can pretty much figure out the BBC motive for making such a documentary which can only be 'revealing' again something along the lines of 'that because Charles was a bastard it led to Diana's death, and how has he tried to extricate himself since', which for the BBC should put him back to where he was back then. I know I could make a lot of documentaries about BBC transgressions and their attempts to make themselves appear as 'lessons learned' and all better now are absolute bullshit. Anyway for now royal pressure has put this documentary on hold.
I should say from the outset I don't give a shit about Charles or Diana, and the only thing I like about Royalty is they gave a certain quality to Britain, although it has been waning for a long time. But for negativity, they are not even close to that of the BBC for Britain.
So let's have a look at the background of some of the key figures involved in this documentary.
Steve Hewlett: Steve Hewlett was editor of Panorama in 1995 when it shocked the palace by broadcasting a Martin Bashir interview with Princess Diana in which she confessed to adultery. He's the same man who is responsible for the current documentary that has been put on hold, 'Reinventing the Royals'.
So his intent seems fairly clear.
Sally Osman: Sally Osman, was the BBC’s PR chief at the time of the “Queengate” scandal. Here's a reminder of what happened there
Osman also has this in her history:
A charmed life. What's more is that in April 2013 she becomes the Prince of Wales's new communications chief. If I didn't know any better I would think that the palace preferred having her on 'their side' and were 'keeping their enemies even closer'. However, reading the story below today it appears that she had been moved to work mainly for Prince William and the Queen, and I don't know exactly when and why that happened.
Did I mention that Ms Osman is said to be an old friend of Steve Hewlett?
I'll leave it to you to try and work out just what is going on in the story below now you're knowing the above facts.
The BBC had made a documentary about how Charles had rebuilt his public image following Diana's death. You can pretty much figure out the BBC motive for making such a documentary which can only be 'revealing' again something along the lines of 'that because Charles was a bastard it led to Diana's death, and how has he tried to extricate himself since', which for the BBC should put him back to where he was back then. I know I could make a lot of documentaries about BBC transgressions and their attempts to make themselves appear as 'lessons learned' and all better now are absolute bullshit. Anyway for now royal pressure has put this documentary on hold.
I should say from the outset I don't give a shit about Charles or Diana, and the only thing I like about Royalty is they gave a certain quality to Britain, although it has been waning for a long time. But for negativity, they are not even close to that of the BBC for Britain.
So let's have a look at the background of some of the key figures involved in this documentary.
Steve Hewlett: Steve Hewlett was editor of Panorama in 1995 when it shocked the palace by broadcasting a Martin Bashir interview with Princess Diana in which she confessed to adultery. He's the same man who is responsible for the current documentary that has been put on hold, 'Reinventing the Royals'.
So his intent seems fairly clear.
Sally Osman: Sally Osman, was the BBC’s PR chief at the time of the “Queengate” scandal. Here's a reminder of what happened there
The BBC became embroiled in a row with Buckingham Palace after a trailer for a documentary called A Year With The Queen was edited to make it look as though the monarch had stormed out of a photoshoot with Annie Leibovitz. In fact, she had been walking into it. The incident led to the resignation of Peter Fincham, the then controller of BBC1, and Jane Fletcher, who was head of publicity, as well as an apology to the Queen from the BBC. However Ms Osman, who was Ms Fletcher’s boss at the time, emerged unscathed from the fiasco, as did the then director-general, Mark Thompson.
Osman worked at the BBC for eight years under Greg Dyke and then Mark Thompson. Osman's role was scrutinised by the Hutton inquiry into the death of government scientist David Kelly, after Kelly was named as the source of allegations reported by the BBC that the government had exaggerated the threat of Saddam Hussein's weapons of mass destruction. In evidence to the inquiry she admitted that a press release defending Andrew Gilligan's report had wrongly suggested it might be based on "a senior intelligence source" in an apparent effort to head off a row with the government. She admitted it was a mistake and went on to handle the resignations of chairman Gavyn Davies and director general Greg Dyke.
Did I mention that Ms Osman is said to be an old friend of Steve Hewlett?
I'll leave it to you to try and work out just what is going on in the story below now you're knowing the above facts.
Prince Charles 'furious' and spin doctors at war over postponed BBC documentary on Royal Family's relationship with media
By Jack Crone for MailOnline
Prince Charles is said to be 'furious' over the controversy that has arisen out of the postponed BBC documentary based on the royal family's relationship with the media.
The Prince has seen two of the royal household's most influential officials become embroiled in an embarrassing row over the show, which was supposed to be televised this evening.
The documentary, Reinventing the Royals, investigates the methods used by the Prince to enhance his public image following the death of Princess Diana - and to integrate Camilla Parker Bowles into palace life – a campaign dubbed 'Operation Mrs PB'.
The BBC was forced to postpone the show after Prince Charles's staff at Clarence House refused to supply archive footage, The Sunday Times reports.
The refusal is the pinnacle of a row between Sally Osman, the director of communications at Buckingham Palace, and Kristina Kyriacou, Charles's top media adviser.
Ms Osman, who works mainly for Prince William and the Queen, is said to be an old friend of Steve Hewlett - the BBC reporter behind Reinventing the Royals.
The Buckingham Palace official is in favour of Mr Hewlett's project - despite his previous job as head of Panorama when it shook the royals in 1995 by broadcasting Princess Diana's confession of adultery.
But others, including Ms Kyriacou, are thought to be wary of the production.
One royal source told the Sunday Times: 'Steve kept coming in with all these requests and they were being granted and no-one was going back to him asking 'what sort of programme are you making?'
'There are still people who think of (Hewlett) as this incredibly toxic person. The Prince of Wales is furious with the way this has been handled and Osman's role in it.'
Ms Osman is said to have a 'stressful relationship' with Ms Kyriacou despite the pair insisting they work with each other on a daily basis.
Ms Osman's style is thought to be more corporate - and the PR expert sees her job as managing the Prince's role in the succession process.
Ms Kyriacou on the other hand is fuelled by the desire to protect Charles's reputation and public image while also promoting his personal interests.
Palace officials have blamed Ms Kyriacou for 'giving oxygen' to the row over the documentary by withholding archive footage.
But others have also criticised Ms Osman's relationship with BBC reporter Steve Hewlett, saying it 'wasn't appropriate'.
The BBC said the documentary had been postponed to resolve issues surrounding archive footage, but the Radio Times said Clarence House had intervened to halt the programme.
Clarence House has previously denied asking for the show to be cancelled or postponed, but royal sources confirmed there had been 'detailed' talks with the BBC throughout the making of the documentary, The Telegraph reports.
The footage includes the first-ever television interview with Sandy Henney, who was press secretary to Prince Charles at the time of Princess Diana's death.
Even before the accident, the Prince was worried his image was 'in tatters' while the Royal family were also alarmed by the anti-monarchist feeling following the Diana's death in Paris.
'(Charles) was getting some pretty virulent criticism - bad father, unloving husband,' Ms Henney said in the documentary.
'I think he was pretty hurt... if you've got a middle-aged balding man and a beautiful princess, it's a no-brainer as to who is going to get the media coverage.'
Steve Hewlett presents the show and describes how Prince Charles hired Mark Bolland from the Press Complaints Commission to act as a spin doctor for the Royal family following Diana's death.
Prince William is said to have felt uneasy with Mr Bolland's position and referred to him as 'Blackadder'.
The spin doctor features heavily in both parts of Reinventing the Royals.
Behind the argument over the documentary, which began filming almost a year ago, lies a broader conflict over the Prince's role in the years to come.
Since her appointment, Sally Osman has been faced with the challenging task of uniting the diverse PR teams of the Queen, Prince Charles and the younger royals.
This goal was damaged by Charles's decision to stick with long-serving aide Ms Kyriacou, who previously worked for Cheryl Fernandez-Versini and Gary Barlow.
A BBC source said that uniting the press offices was seen as way of keeping Prince Charles on the straight and narrow - but the job is difficult as Ms Kyriacou always has Charles's ear.
The pair get on extremely well and Ms Kyriacou understands the way the Prince likes to work - more so than Ms Osman, according to a Sunday Times source.
- Prince of Wales angry at controversy that BBC documentary has created
- The show is about the royal family's rocky relationship with the media
- And how Charles tried to boost his public image following death of Diana
- Programme was postponed after Clarence House withheld archive footage
- Embarrassing dispute is sign of growing tension between two of the Prince's most influential aides
By Jack Crone for MailOnline
Prince Charles is said to be 'furious' over the controversy that has arisen out of the postponed BBC documentary based on the royal family's relationship with the media.
The Prince has seen two of the royal household's most influential officials become embroiled in an embarrassing row over the show, which was supposed to be televised this evening.
The documentary, Reinventing the Royals, investigates the methods used by the Prince to enhance his public image following the death of Princess Diana - and to integrate Camilla Parker Bowles into palace life – a campaign dubbed 'Operation Mrs PB'.
The BBC was forced to postpone the show after Prince Charles's staff at Clarence House refused to supply archive footage, The Sunday Times reports.
The refusal is the pinnacle of a row between Sally Osman, the director of communications at Buckingham Palace, and Kristina Kyriacou, Charles's top media adviser.
Ms Osman, who works mainly for Prince William and the Queen, is said to be an old friend of Steve Hewlett - the BBC reporter behind Reinventing the Royals.
The Buckingham Palace official is in favour of Mr Hewlett's project - despite his previous job as head of Panorama when it shook the royals in 1995 by broadcasting Princess Diana's confession of adultery.
But others, including Ms Kyriacou, are thought to be wary of the production.
One royal source told the Sunday Times: 'Steve kept coming in with all these requests and they were being granted and no-one was going back to him asking 'what sort of programme are you making?'
'There are still people who think of (Hewlett) as this incredibly toxic person. The Prince of Wales is furious with the way this has been handled and Osman's role in it.'
Ms Osman is said to have a 'stressful relationship' with Ms Kyriacou despite the pair insisting they work with each other on a daily basis.
Ms Osman's style is thought to be more corporate - and the PR expert sees her job as managing the Prince's role in the succession process.
Ms Kyriacou on the other hand is fuelled by the desire to protect Charles's reputation and public image while also promoting his personal interests.
Palace officials have blamed Ms Kyriacou for 'giving oxygen' to the row over the documentary by withholding archive footage.
But others have also criticised Ms Osman's relationship with BBC reporter Steve Hewlett, saying it 'wasn't appropriate'.
The BBC said the documentary had been postponed to resolve issues surrounding archive footage, but the Radio Times said Clarence House had intervened to halt the programme.
Clarence House has previously denied asking for the show to be cancelled or postponed, but royal sources confirmed there had been 'detailed' talks with the BBC throughout the making of the documentary, The Telegraph reports.
The footage includes the first-ever television interview with Sandy Henney, who was press secretary to Prince Charles at the time of Princess Diana's death.
Even before the accident, the Prince was worried his image was 'in tatters' while the Royal family were also alarmed by the anti-monarchist feeling following the Diana's death in Paris.
'(Charles) was getting some pretty virulent criticism - bad father, unloving husband,' Ms Henney said in the documentary.
'I think he was pretty hurt... if you've got a middle-aged balding man and a beautiful princess, it's a no-brainer as to who is going to get the media coverage.'
Steve Hewlett presents the show and describes how Prince Charles hired Mark Bolland from the Press Complaints Commission to act as a spin doctor for the Royal family following Diana's death.
Prince William is said to have felt uneasy with Mr Bolland's position and referred to him as 'Blackadder'.
The spin doctor features heavily in both parts of Reinventing the Royals.
Behind the argument over the documentary, which began filming almost a year ago, lies a broader conflict over the Prince's role in the years to come.
Since her appointment, Sally Osman has been faced with the challenging task of uniting the diverse PR teams of the Queen, Prince Charles and the younger royals.
This goal was damaged by Charles's decision to stick with long-serving aide Ms Kyriacou, who previously worked for Cheryl Fernandez-Versini and Gary Barlow.
A BBC source said that uniting the press offices was seen as way of keeping Prince Charles on the straight and narrow - but the job is difficult as Ms Kyriacou always has Charles's ear.
The pair get on extremely well and Ms Kyriacou understands the way the Prince likes to work - more so than Ms Osman, according to a Sunday Times source.