Interview: Mark Byford, acting BBC director-general (Evening Standard)
By David Rowan
GREG Dyke's replacement made an early morning dash to the Today studio yesterday. Not, you understand, that Mark Byford wanted personally to sign off an innocuous 6.07am report on the US primaries, as fond as he is of robust editorial interventions. "I just wanted to be there," explained the acting director-general afterwards. "I recognise that this organisation is in pain, and I just told them to be confident in who they are and in the programme."
The father-of-five has been dispensing a great deal of pain relief in recent days. Barely a week after the Hutton report threw the corporation into crisis, Dyke's former deputy has decided that a little touchy-feely magic is the way to heal its wounds.
When the Evening Standard joined him yesterday, Byford, 45, repeatedly stressed his "passion" for his "brilliant, talented, professional" colleagues - and, more tellingly, for his popular ousted predecessor. "I love Greg," he said more than once. "I think that's what people feel when they work closely with him."
Such unalloyed displays of emotion may appear uncharacteristic in a man sometimes described as a "John Birt clone" or a "Birtist Dalek". But his early caution - notably a noncommittal Radio 4 interview last Friday, whose circumlocutions left the presenter, Eddie Mair, audibly impatient - have provoked murmurings within the BBC that this corporation lifer lacks the charisma required to lead its 27,000 staff. Hence his frantic visibility among staff this week to earn the support he will need if formally appointed as DG.
Besides, he refuses to accept the "Birtist" tag - a matter, he suggests, of sloppy journalistic reliance on newspaper cuttings (ouch). "You haven't talked to enough people. People who know me well, right, they'll say that I'm a bit of Greg and a bit of John." He recalls Birt, who plotted to make Byford rather than Dyke his successor, as a "fantastic" director general who took the BBC into the digital age. But Dyke, too, was "an outstanding, accessible, dynamic leader" who helped define the values "that are the flywheel of this organisation". "Greg and I respect each other in our different positions, and there's not an ounce of animosity between us," Byford said.
What, even though Dyke was reported yesterday to have pitched Peter Salmon, BBC head of sport, for the job? "No he hasn't," Byford insisted - until the BBC press officer informed him of the news. After a brief silence, he lowered his voice but refused to betray any disappointment. "Listen," he said. "I've got a lot more important things to achieve this week than worry about that kind of stuff."
The priorities of his unspoken leadership campaign - apart from showing sympathy to a staff he recognises as "angry, bewildered, stunned" - are to "re-emphasise the BBC's values and trust" and rebuild confidence among its journalists "while learning lessons". So does he accept Lord Hutton's conclusions about the extent of the BBC's mistakes? This is what he told Eddie Mair when pressed last Friday: "It's clear from my perspective that the BBC is unequivocally saying that it apologises for the errors that it made, so it is actually saying that it made errors and for those errors it is apologising and it is saying it's going to learn." Not entirely convinced, the Standard tried again. Byford, a large man whose boyish jokiness can suddenly give way to stern-faced impatience, suddenly grew colder.
What did he really think? "Lord Hutton has published his findings, and we must recognise that," he replied, displaying a politician's ability to state the obvious, slowly.
"We also recognise that we made some errors - we admitted mistakes in the inquiry and since - and we're going to learn from them. It has been a bumpy week, but out of it can come a stronger BBC - one that says sorry when we get things wrong. What's wrong with that?"
Such maddening evasiveness has proved invaluable in a career that began in 1979, when Byford's persistence gained him a "holiday relief assistant" job at BBC Look North. Born into an establishment Yorkshire family - his father was a Chief Inspector of Constabulary - he had planned to become a barrister until an episode of Panorama helped convince him that the BBC held his future. His rise has been swift, moving from running UK newsgathering and regional broadcasting to replacing Sam Younger (in another coup backed by Birt) in charge of the World Service.
He proved a popular and innovative boss, who boosted coverage in areas such as Afghanistan and brought all 43 language-services together for an Aids special. But his reforms were not all trouble-free: there was fierce opposition to his modernisation programme, which included the closure of some regional services and cutbacks in North America. At the time, some critics condemned him as a "bean-counter" interested only in the bottom line. Could he understand the charge? This proved the wrong thing to mention. "That's a misguided, misinformed piece of journalism reenacted [from newspaper cuttings] because you're lazy," Byford shot back. Ouch again.
"The World Service under my tenure has actually received more money from the UK government in settlements in 2000 and 2002. Bean-counter? That's offensive. Do something for me as a favour." His stern expression appeared to be reddening. "Just go to Bush House, wander round the corridors, go in the newsroom, and say, 'What do you think of your bean counter?' You'll last 10 seconds."
The Standard, merely citing other people's accusations, you understand, paused before asking Byford about his alleged editorial caution, evident this week in nervous BBC reediting of a radio comedy which joked about the Prime Minister's honesty. Nonetheless … was he likely to pull the corporation back from hard-hitting investigative journalism? The fear was raised after Byford, standing in for Dyke in October, pulled Michael Crick's five-month Newsnight investigation into Iain Duncan Smith's private office.
"I say, talk to the people who have worked around me," he replied. "I was brought up around BBC journalism and its values. They'll say I'm a courageous editor, a tough editor, a supportive editor who's rigorous in his editorial discussions, but very supportive of strong journalism. If sometimes you say we're not ready to run with something, that's not a weakness - it's a confidence." He is, he said, "passionate" (that word again) about investigate journalism - indeed, as director of regional broadcasting, it was his call to name the IRA's army council.
DID he believe the BBC had become too big, threatening commercial competitors? His answer avoided any substantial comment, beyond his "passionate view" that the BBC's commercial services serve to benefit the licence-payer. Similarly, on whether BBC1 has become too ratings-focused, he would say only that ratings were "important but not everything".
For a man who claims to be "passionate about programmes, and passionate about the creative side of the BBC", Mark Byford betrays a remarkable reluctance to give specific opinions about his passions. He will not even comment on his favourite programmes, beyond saying that The Office says "everything about the BBC - brilliant writing, perceptive and original".
Such political astuteness may well impress the BBC governors - but Byford's staff seem to be looking for something more.
(Evening Standard, February 4 2004)
GREG Dyke's replacement made an early morning dash to the Today studio yesterday. Not, you understand, that Mark Byford wanted personally to sign off an innocuous 6.07am report on the US primaries, as fond as he is of robust editorial interventions. "I just wanted to be there," explained the acting director-general afterwards. "I recognise that this organisation is in pain, and I just told them to be confident in who they are and in the programme."
The father-of-five has been dispensing a great deal of pain relief in recent days. Barely a week after the Hutton report threw the corporation into crisis, Dyke's former deputy has decided that a little touchy-feely magic is the way to heal its wounds.
When the Evening Standard joined him yesterday, Byford, 45, repeatedly stressed his "passion" for his "brilliant, talented, professional" colleagues - and, more tellingly, for his popular ousted predecessor. "I love Greg," he said more than once. "I think that's what people feel when they work closely with him."
Such unalloyed displays of emotion may appear uncharacteristic in a man sometimes described as a "John Birt clone" or a "Birtist Dalek". But his early caution - notably a noncommittal Radio 4 interview last Friday, whose circumlocutions left the presenter, Eddie Mair, audibly impatient - have provoked murmurings within the BBC that this corporation lifer lacks the charisma required to lead its 27,000 staff. Hence his frantic visibility among staff this week to earn the support he will need if formally appointed as DG.
Besides, he refuses to accept the "Birtist" tag - a matter, he suggests, of sloppy journalistic reliance on newspaper cuttings (ouch). "You haven't talked to enough people. People who know me well, right, they'll say that I'm a bit of Greg and a bit of John." He recalls Birt, who plotted to make Byford rather than Dyke his successor, as a "fantastic" director general who took the BBC into the digital age. But Dyke, too, was "an outstanding, accessible, dynamic leader" who helped define the values "that are the flywheel of this organisation". "Greg and I respect each other in our different positions, and there's not an ounce of animosity between us," Byford said.
What, even though Dyke was reported yesterday to have pitched Peter Salmon, BBC head of sport, for the job? "No he hasn't," Byford insisted - until the BBC press officer informed him of the news. After a brief silence, he lowered his voice but refused to betray any disappointment. "Listen," he said. "I've got a lot more important things to achieve this week than worry about that kind of stuff."
The priorities of his unspoken leadership campaign - apart from showing sympathy to a staff he recognises as "angry, bewildered, stunned" - are to "re-emphasise the BBC's values and trust" and rebuild confidence among its journalists "while learning lessons". So does he accept Lord Hutton's conclusions about the extent of the BBC's mistakes? This is what he told Eddie Mair when pressed last Friday: "It's clear from my perspective that the BBC is unequivocally saying that it apologises for the errors that it made, so it is actually saying that it made errors and for those errors it is apologising and it is saying it's going to learn." Not entirely convinced, the Standard tried again. Byford, a large man whose boyish jokiness can suddenly give way to stern-faced impatience, suddenly grew colder.
What did he really think? "Lord Hutton has published his findings, and we must recognise that," he replied, displaying a politician's ability to state the obvious, slowly.
"We also recognise that we made some errors - we admitted mistakes in the inquiry and since - and we're going to learn from them. It has been a bumpy week, but out of it can come a stronger BBC - one that says sorry when we get things wrong. What's wrong with that?"
Such maddening evasiveness has proved invaluable in a career that began in 1979, when Byford's persistence gained him a "holiday relief assistant" job at BBC Look North. Born into an establishment Yorkshire family - his father was a Chief Inspector of Constabulary - he had planned to become a barrister until an episode of Panorama helped convince him that the BBC held his future. His rise has been swift, moving from running UK newsgathering and regional broadcasting to replacing Sam Younger (in another coup backed by Birt) in charge of the World Service.
He proved a popular and innovative boss, who boosted coverage in areas such as Afghanistan and brought all 43 language-services together for an Aids special. But his reforms were not all trouble-free: there was fierce opposition to his modernisation programme, which included the closure of some regional services and cutbacks in North America. At the time, some critics condemned him as a "bean-counter" interested only in the bottom line. Could he understand the charge? This proved the wrong thing to mention. "That's a misguided, misinformed piece of journalism reenacted [from newspaper cuttings] because you're lazy," Byford shot back. Ouch again.
"The World Service under my tenure has actually received more money from the UK government in settlements in 2000 and 2002. Bean-counter? That's offensive. Do something for me as a favour." His stern expression appeared to be reddening. "Just go to Bush House, wander round the corridors, go in the newsroom, and say, 'What do you think of your bean counter?' You'll last 10 seconds."
The Standard, merely citing other people's accusations, you understand, paused before asking Byford about his alleged editorial caution, evident this week in nervous BBC reediting of a radio comedy which joked about the Prime Minister's honesty. Nonetheless … was he likely to pull the corporation back from hard-hitting investigative journalism? The fear was raised after Byford, standing in for Dyke in October, pulled Michael Crick's five-month Newsnight investigation into Iain Duncan Smith's private office.
"I say, talk to the people who have worked around me," he replied. "I was brought up around BBC journalism and its values. They'll say I'm a courageous editor, a tough editor, a supportive editor who's rigorous in his editorial discussions, but very supportive of strong journalism. If sometimes you say we're not ready to run with something, that's not a weakness - it's a confidence." He is, he said, "passionate" (that word again) about investigate journalism - indeed, as director of regional broadcasting, it was his call to name the IRA's army council.
DID he believe the BBC had become too big, threatening commercial competitors? His answer avoided any substantial comment, beyond his "passionate view" that the BBC's commercial services serve to benefit the licence-payer. Similarly, on whether BBC1 has become too ratings-focused, he would say only that ratings were "important but not everything".
For a man who claims to be "passionate about programmes, and passionate about the creative side of the BBC", Mark Byford betrays a remarkable reluctance to give specific opinions about his passions. He will not even comment on his favourite programmes, beyond saying that The Office says "everything about the BBC - brilliant writing, perceptive and original".
Such political astuteness may well impress the BBC governors - but Byford's staff seem to be looking for something more.
(Evening Standard, February 4 2004)
posted by David Rowan at Wednesday, February 04, 2004
<< Home