BBC director general Tim Davie and news chief Deborah Turney resigned on Sunday after criticism of the way the United Kingdom’s public broadcaster edited a speech by US President Donald Trump.
The scandal is the latest to hit the BBC, which has also been accused of failing to maintain its political neutrality in reporting the Israel-Hamas war.
Other recent controversies include the child abuse scandal and allegations of bullying and sexual harassment against high-profile presenters.
What do we know about resignations?
In a statement, BBC chief Davy acknowledged that “the BBC is not perfect and we must always be open, transparent and accountable.”
“Although not the sole reason, the current debate surrounding BBC News has naturally contributed to my decision… I must take ultimate responsibility.”
Forcing Dewey to resign was “completely my decision.”
In a note to staff, he said he was “working with the board on precise timing to allow for an orderly transition to a successor in the coming months.”
Meanwhile, BBC News CEO Ternes said that questions about the Trump documentary “have reached a level where it is damaging the BBC, an institution I love. As CEO of BBC News and Current Affairs, the responsibility falls to me.”
“Although mistakes have been made, I want to be absolutely clear that recent allegations that BBC News is institutionally biased are wrong,” she wrote in a letter to staff.
Reuters news agency quoted a person familiar with the situation as saying that the BBC board was stunned by Davy’s decision.
What was wrong with the Trump documentary?
Since then, pressure has been increasing on the top executives of the broadcaster daily telegraph The newspaper published parts of a dossier by a BBC adviser on standards and guidelines.
The dossier criticized the way Trump’s January 6, 2021 speech was edited for the BBC documentary, arguing that it was misleading because it removed the section where Trump said he wanted supporters to demonstrate peacefully.
The memo suggested that the major Panorama program had edited together two parts of Trump’s speech so that he could encourage the Capitol Hill riots.
The documentary shows Trump telling supporters from a different part of his speech that “we’re marching to the Capitol” and that they will “fight like hell”.
The leaked document described “serious and systemic problems” with the BBC’s impartiality, adding that the Panorama edit was “grossly misleading”.
Why did the BBC chief have to resign?
In the UK, the BBC operates under far tighter scrutiny than its commercial competitors, largely due to its unique position as a publicly funded national broadcaster, which is dependent on a mandatory annual license fee for every UK household with a TV.
Strictly bound by its royal charter to maintain impartiality in all outputs, any perceived deviation invites immediate and intense reaction from politicians, audiences and rivals.
Complaints about the Trump documentary, along with leaked media reports, triggered an investigation by the UK’s media regulator and prompted the White House to label the BBC “fake news”.
Media observers say that these developments probably put unbearable pressure on the two officials, leading to their departure.
Edited by: Sam Dusan Inayatullah