Tony Hall, right, new director-general of BBC
Tony Hall, chief executive of one of the most prestigious cultural institutions in the UK, Royal Opera House, was named Thursday as the new BBC group director-general, where he worked 11 years ago as the head of news department.
“It’s the ideal person to lead the BBC in times of crisis,” said Chris Patten, chairman of BBC Trust, the body that controls the first broadcasting group in the world.
Tony Hall’s predecessor, George Entwistle, resigned after 54 days in office, November 10, in full scandal generated by the treatment adopted by the BBC over allegations of pedophilia of Jammy Saville, one of the former all-star presenters of the station between 1960 and 1980.
Chris Patten, under pressure to act quickly, said of the new executive that “his journalistic experience will be invaluable, when the BBC tries to restore its reputation and to regain public trust.”
Tony Hall, ennobled with the title of Lord Hall of Birkenhead, is “an outside man who was previously an insider,” said Chris Patten, before confirming the difficult tasks faced by Hall.
“BBC must give itself time to reflect, without making concessions in the way it operates and adopt the necessary changes to ensure it complies with the rules and expectations that the public has from this group, “said the director of BBC Trust.
As a former employee of the group, Tony Hall “understands the culture and rules of the house” but, “thanks to his perception from outside the BBC, he can understands the criticism sometimes justified of the company,” he added.
BBC described its new general manager as “a pioneer of digitalis.” Tony Hall launched the BBC’s online services, currently extremely popular, and the non-stop information station BBC 24-hours.
Tony Hall will take over his new position at the beginning of March. Interim Managing Director will continue to be provided by Tim Davie, the former head of BBC orchestras and musical programs.
Head of the Royal Opera House, Tony Hall has established himself as an effective administrator who restored the balance of revenue and expenditure accounts and ensured the glare of the leading British institutions in the field of opera and ballet.
British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is the British public broadcaster established on January 1, 1927. BBC is the largest broadcaster in the world, with approximately 23,000 employees. BBC Corporation owns eight television stations, 54 radio stations, is one of the most visited sites in Europe and an international service in 28 languages, enjoyed by over 150 million people.
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