BBC director-general Runners & Riders to replace Tim Davie

A BBC crisis, which ranks right at the top of the ‘BBC crisis’ scale, has hit the country’s century-old public broadcaster, and the corporation suddenly finds itself looking for a chief executive and head of news.

Late on Sunday, shockwaves were sent through New Broadcasting House and beyond with the double resignations of Tim Davie and Deborah Turness, both of whom will leave over the coming months after what they called an “orderly transition to a successor”. Ultimately, the Donald Trump editing scandal proved one scandal too many for Davie and Turness, who have been swimming against the tide in recent years following controversies involving Gary Lineker, Huw Edwards and the Gaza documentaries.

Although the resignations came out of nowhere, thoughts immediately turned to who would succeed Davie in what remains arguably the most important job in British broadcasting. Given the scale of the uncertainty surrounding the loss of two key executives, the BBC board will need to move quickly to appoint someone who can lead the corporation through its charter renewal negotiations with the government.

Davie’s successor will want to hire a replacement for Turness (he poached Turness from ITN after she initially turned down the job), and the two jobs are inextricably linked. Given the nature of the scandal that brought them down, our sources were unanimous that, unlike Davie, the next general manager should have news experience.

“For all of Tim’s great strengths, it was the new bullshit that ultimately brought him down,” said a former BBC executive. Another argued that the next CEO will need “both journalistic clout and the ability to effectively manage a complex organization.” “It’s not enough to be a good manager, it takes journalism to achieve it,” they said.

It is with this in mind that many industry sources have chosen Apple executive Jay Hunt, formerly of the BBC. Six o’clock news editor-in-chief, and James Harding, the former BBC current affairs boss who now runs Tortoise Media and the Observeras credible candidates. There is also a feeling that it is high time the BBC chose a female candidate, given that every one of the corporation’s 18 directors-general is a man. Read on as Deadline introduces you to some of the executives likely to be part of the group.

Jay Hunting

“It must be Jay, right?” ” texted a former BBC executive the morning after Davie resigned. The head of Apple TV in Europe has been linked to various high-profile TV roles in recent months, including managing director of Channel 4, although she is not in the running to take over as Apple TV CEO. glasses box network.

Hunt is considered to have an attractive mix of experiences on her resume. She ran BBC One and held key creative positions on Channel 5 and Channel 4, with notable successes on the latter including Poaching. The Great British Pastry of the BBC and launch Black mirror.

After leaving Channel 4 in 2017, she joined Apple TV, where she broadcast series including Bad sisters And Divert. Experience at a US tech giant could be seen as valuable in an environment where the BBC competes for viewers’ attention with the likes of YouTube and Netflix. Hunt also continued to exercise public service, chairing the British Film Institute.

Importantly, Hunt is also a former journalist, with experience in the BBC newsroom, where he edited the Six o’clock news. Insiders remember her as a courageous editor, who wasn’t afraid to ruffle feathers. Hunt will likely have to take a significant pay cut to run the BBC (Davie earns at least £540,000 ($709,000)), and there are questions about whether she would even want to take the job. Her CV is not without controversy either: Miriam O’Reilly won an age discrimination case against the BBC after the presenter was dropped from the rural affairs show. Country file while Hunt ran BBC One.

James Harding

James Harding, former editor of The Times of Londonwas director of news and current affairs at the BBC between 2013 and 2018, after the Jimmy Savile crisis. During his tenure, he oversaw landmark events in history, including the first Trump presidency and Brexit.

Harding left the BBC to set up his own company, Tortoise Media, which recently acquired the Observer of the Tutor, but he made something of a return to the BBC sphere over the summer after delivering a passionate talk on MacTaggart at the Edinburgh TV Festival to a room full of industry executives.

Given the scandal that just spelled the end of Davie and Turness, it is notable that Harding’s MacTaggart included a plan for the company to be more independent of government, thus pivoting to become the “People’s Platform.” “Political interference – and the perception of a political presence weighing on the BBC – is a problem we are all too accustomed to,” Harding said at the time.

Harding is calm under pressure, has run three different newsrooms and, after running Tortoise’s Observer acquisition, now has some business chops. But given the date on which the Observer acquisition is complete, the more relevant question is whether the time is right for Harding. “James would probably be the strongest CEO best able to handle political pressure and revitalize journalism, but I don’t see how he would abandon the Observer five minutes after buying it,” said a former close colleague.

Charlotte Moore

Charlotte Moore was seen by some as the heir apparent to Davie’s predecessor Tony Hall, and the former BBC content boss was expected to become DG in 2020 following Hall’s resignation. Ultimately, Davie nosedived, but Moore’s status as one of the BBC’s best and brightest talents is indisputable. Moore recently left the BBC to join Sony, but who’s to say she wouldn’t want another crack at the top job? During her tenure, she green-lighted successes including Traitors, I can destroy you And Gavin and Stacey: the finale. She is also a fierce champion of public broadcasting. However, experience or lack of experience with information can work against it. “It would be crazy if the next CEO didn’t have any real news experience and that’s a problem Charlotte will have,” said one of the former BBC executives quoted above.

Jane Turton

Jane Turton was in the running to replace Tony Hall in 2020, and many believe the All3Media CEO should have another go for the BBC’s top job. Turton is a well-respected executive, who has run All3Media for a decade and recently delivered the BBC its biggest unscripted hit in years in the form of The traitors. She was heavily involved in the sale of All3Media to RedBird IMI for £1.15 billion, although the deal has not yet unlocked the investment Turton desired. Having initially been linked with the vacant Channel 4 CEO role, sources pointed out that Turton was more interested in running the BBC than Channel 4. There is no doubt about her commercial acumen, but a lack of public service background and experience could work against her at such a perilous time for the BBC.

Alex Mahon

Former Channel 4 CEO Alex Mahon is another on this list who has only just started a new job. Her tenure at the helm of Channel 4 has been somewhat topsy-turvy, but she has steered the country’s irreverent broadcaster through some difficult times – including an attempted sell-out by the government – and has been impressive when asked to speak to parliamentary committees, which would count in her favor. Like Moore, Mahon lacks news experience, but a former Channel 4 colleague said that doesn’t mean she is without merit. “Alex is said to be brilliant at stakeholder management and crisis management, and has surprisingly strong editorial judgment despite her non-journalistic background,” they added. Mahon’s new role is outside the industry, running live events company Superstruct, backed by private equity giants KKR and CVC Capital Partners. She’s somewhat of an outside bet but should definitely be part of the conversation.

The strangers

As always for these high-level positions, a dark horse candidate will likely emerge (former Daily Telegraph editor Will Lewis and Amazon UK chief Doug Gurr were on board when Davie got the job). CEO of ITV Carolyn McCall It looks like she could soon preside over the sale of the public broadcaster, which could leave her looking for a new position after eight years. Kevin Bakhurstanother former BBC current affairs chief, who now runs Irish broadcaster RTÉ, is also being touted. Even more speculatively, a broadcasting source said there were discussions about Tristram Huntformer broadcast journalist and Labor Party politician who now runs the Victoria & Albert Museum. Sharon White‘s name has also been associated, having led Ofcom and the John Lewis Partnership.