John Birt had come into the BBC as director-general. He came with a programme that placing news on the leading foot.
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Based on former BBC governor, Sir Richard Eyre, Panorama interview with Diana and BBC journalist, Martin Bashir, was filled with infectious, blind ambitions. The one who sat on the corporation’s board at that time mentioned public shame as their punishment.
Diana interview is driven by ambition, punishment will be public shame
This condition happened after Lord Dyson made a report in May that criticized the process that Basir’s used to get an exclusive interview with Princess Diana. Lord Dyson also examined Lord Tony Hall, who was a managing director of news and current affairs at that time.
How Diana interview become on fire
The report detailed that Lord Hall’s internal investigation of this problem was very ineffective. The former director-general said he was deeply sorry for the hurt caused to Prince William and Prince Harry over the interview. Meanwhile, Lord John Birt, who was director-general at that time, mentioned Bashir as a serial liar on an industrial range.
John Birt had come into the BBC as director-general. He came with a programme that placing news on the leading foot. Panorama, one of the BBC programmes, was very self-contained and still is semi-autonomous.
Diana interview at that time
Sir Richard told, ”I don’t think anybody, maybe the Panorama people were, but certainly, not John Birt and Tony Hall, were interested in how Bashir had got entrance to Princess Diana.”
“The whole thing was handled in secrecy. Everybody outside that inner circle was shocked that Bashir, this unknown reporter, had arranged the interview,” added Sir Richard.
Asked what consequences senior BBC managers should face after Bashir used faked documents to defend the interview, Sir Richard replied that he doesn’t know it except shame.
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