BBC Chair Richard Sharp Talks Up BBC U-Turn: “I Used To Think It Was Bloated, Self Important & Heard Too Much Of Its Own Voice” – Edinburgh TV Festival
deadline.comBBC Chair Richard Sharp said he has U-turned on feeling the BBC was “bloated, self important and heard too much of its own voice” when he took the job on two years ago.Sharp revealed he had a highly negative view of the corporation but was told by Prime Minister Boris Johnson to “treat making the BBC great as his mission.”He has since engaged with the BBC’s critics and seen that the corporation is “quite extraordinary in how it bats above its budget.”“The bang for the buck speaks to the extraordinary quality and talented people who are making good decisions,” he added. “IN addition, as a brand I hope we can attract talented people who ant to work here.
We benefit from not being in a capitalist model.”He said this represents a U-turn from when viewed the BBC as “bloated, self important and heard too much of its own voice.”“We should raise our heads above the parapet and talk about the value of the BBC to the whole of the UK,” he added.“The BBC needs to rediscover self belief and inspire itself into thinking we have a great future.
That goes with strategy and funding, which we will provide.”Sharp, who used to be a Conservative Party donor and was Conservative leadership hopeful Rishi Sunak’s mentor, said he is “pretty confident” he can deal with any government interference issues.“I’ll communicate with the government and am pretty confident they will listen,” he added.
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