Thread by @stevenjbarnett

A short(ish) thread about Bashir, #Panorama and the #DysonReport.

1. Bashir’s deception was shocking. There was no public interest in his forgery, it was a blatant breach of BBC guidelines and of basic journalistic ethics more generally.

2. Senior management’s response and subsequent cover up was even worse. It appears that BBC governors were not given details of the internal inquiry. See this excellent blog by @StewartPurvis for more detail on management failure: profpurvis.com

3. Once the BBC realised its errors, it announced an independent judge-led inquiry, whose report was made public. It has acknowledged its bad behaviour and apologised unreservedly for the distress caused to the Royal Family.

4. These events happened 25 years ago. BBC accountability structures have been transformed since then. Complainants can go to Ofcom if rejected by the BBC, and Ofcom has powers to launch its own independent investigation. Such a cover up could not happen today.

5. That will not stop the perennial BBC haters, incl many Tory MPs and large sections of the press, from calling variously for the BBC’s abolition, privatisation, or restructuring. If there’s an anti BBC bandwagon, the same characters jump on it with gleeful abandon.

6. There is widespread condemnation in the press for breaches of journalistic ethics that took place 25 years ago. No newspaper has questioned the need for a forensic investigation. Some want more digging into the details of precisely what happened, who knew, and at what level.

7. Strangely, they have no appetite for any investigation into who knew what about phone hacking, data theft and blagging that were rife in some sections of the British press for years.

8. When Leveson Part 2 – designed to discover the truth – was abandoned by the government, then Culture secretary Matt Hancock said “The world has changed”. So it’s changed after 10 years but not 25?

9. Corrupt newsroom practices undermine faith in the vast majority of professional reporters. They should be exposed not only in the BBC but wherever they occur. BBC transparency is in stark contrast to the culture of secrecy and omerta that still pervades many print newsrooms.

10. Finally, let’s not forget that the BBC is much more than a single programme. Those wishing to dismantle it – and using the #DysonReport as a convenient assault weapon – should remember its contribution to the UK’s economy, culture and democracy. And we should remind them.