MPs grill BBC boss over Queen's diamond jubilee coverage

http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2012/jun/19/bbc-diamond-jubilee-coverage-mps-mark-thompson

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BBC director general Mark Thompson's valedictory appearance before MPs on Tuesday touched on many of the controversies of his eight years in charge – executive pay, the lack of older women on screen and the rights and wrongs of BBC1's The Voice.

But Thompson's two-hour swansong before John Whittingale's culture, media and sport select committee was dominated by one topic more than any other – the BBC's coverage of the Queen's diamond jubilee and, specifically, Fearne Cotton's royal-themed sick bags.

Thompson gave a robust defence of the corporation's jubilee coverage, preferring to expand on the totality of the BBC's programming rather than, as he put it, "15 seconds out of a broadcast".

But it was the 15 seconds in which Cotton discussed royal-themed memorabilia, including a diamond jubilee sick bag with singer Paloma Faith, that stuck uppermost in the mind of his critics, most notably the Daily Mail and the 5,000 viewers who complained.

"Did you not wince over the Fearne Cotton sick bags?" asked Tory MP Whittingdale.

Thompson said the BBC's coverage of the Thames river pageant was not without flaws, but said it was highly rated by the majority of viewers according to the corporation's "audience appreciation index".

He said the BBC's intention on the Sunday of the jubilee weekend, the day of the river pageant, had been to "broaden the range of voices and having some fun and games and jollity as well".

"The verdict from the British public was 82, just over eight out of 10," said Thompson. "It doesn't mean everyone gave it eight out of 10, some may have given it four out of 10.

"We had some bad luck with the weather, which had the effect of making communications between our cameras very difficult. We lost most of the cameras on the boats which meant in the middle of the coverage we spent less time on the river than we would have liked," he told MPs.

"We also had some inaccuracies in the commentary which we shouldn't have had. As with any programme I am sure the team will go away and learn some lessons."

Thompson said the BBC was traditionally criticised the day after its coverage of royal events, going back to last year's royal wedding and even the Queen's silver jubilee.

"I am sure part of the national ritual is criticising some aspect of what the BBC has done," he said.

Pressed again on Cotton's sick bags, and former BBC Radio 4 controller Mark Damazer's suggestion that the BBC "probably tried to hard" with its coverage, Thomson said: "You have to look at the coverage as a whole.

"What I would say is we were trying to simultaneously reflect both the pomp and circumstance, the history and the heritage, but also particularly the Sunday was intended as the people's element of this, which meant we were absolutely broadening the range of voices and having some fun and games and jollity as well."

According to further research carried out by the BBC, he said – the MPs didn't ask how much it cost – 81% of the public said their view of the BBC was "unchanged" as a result of its jubilee coverage. Another 8% said their view of the corporation had deteriorated but 11% said it had got better, he said.

Asked by Labour MP Jim Sheridan to give the coverage his own marks out of 10, Thompson politely declined.

But Thompson was more willing to admit to a mistake with its election night boat party, part of its coverage of the 2010 general election, in which Andrew Neil hosted a boat full of celebrities including Bruce Forsyth, Ian Hislop and Joan Collins, on the River Thames.

"I'm absolutely happy to accept that the boat, the famous ship of fools, was not our finest hour," said Thompson.

But he said to say that the boat party meant that the BBC's entire coverage of the election was a fiasco was "utter nonsense".

On the issue of women, Thompson reiterated his belief that the BBC "could and should" have done more to put more older women on screen which was "definitely an area in which the BBC needs to do more".

But he defended the lack of female voices on BBC Radio 4's Today, saying it was a reflection of British public life.

Challenged by Tory MP Louise Mensch whether the Today programme had a duty to "lead not merely reflect", Thompson said: "I am cautious about statements like that.

"It should not engage in even well intentioned social engineering, it should reflect reality. The danger is if you try to adjust reality people think there aren't issues anymore."

Asked about BBC1's Saturday night talent show The Voice, which saw a big dip in viewers during the course of its run and critics claimed was a derivative format, Thompson said it was the BBC's most successful entertainment launch for more than a decade but said there was room for improvement.

With Thompson due to stand down in the autumn, series two, or indeed anything else in the BBC's output, will no longer be his concern. Except as a viewer possibly. And listener.