What Happened to the Editing of the Documentary about Trump on BBC?

BBC Director-General Tim Davie and the network’s head of news, Deborah Turness, resigned on Sunday.  The BBC came under fire for a Panorama documentary that was accused of misleadingly editing a speech by Donald Trump to give the impression that he had urged people to attack the US Capitol.  In emails addressed to the corporation’s staff, both Davie and Turness admitted that mistakes had been made.  Who are Tim Davie and Deborah Turness?  Tim Davie was appointed Director-General of the BBC in September 2020. He was responsible for overseeing the corporation’s services and led the editorial, operational, and creative areas. 

He was not unknown to the BBC: before becoming director general, he had served as chief executive of BBC Studios for seven years.  Before joining the BBC, Davie worked for companies such as Procter & Gamble and PepsiCo.  Deborah Turness was the Director General of BBC News since 2022, overseeing the BBC’s news and current affairs programs.  In her position, she was responsible for a team of approximately 6,000 employees who broadcast to nearly 500 million people worldwide in more than 40 languages.  She was previously CEO of ITN and president of NBC News.

Why Did They Resign?

Their resignations came after the controversy sparked by the Panorama documentary titled “Trump: A Second Chance?” which aired a week before the US presidential election.  In her statement, Turness pictured below said: “The ongoing controversy surrounding the Panorama program about President Trump has reached a point where it is damaging the BBC, an institution I deeply appreciate.”  “As chief executive of BBC News and Current Affairs, the responsibility rests with me, and last night I made the decision to submit my resignation to the director general,” she continued. 

She added: “While mistakes have been made, I want to make it absolutely clear that the recent allegations of institutional bias at BBC News are false.”  Davie did not mention the Panorama documentary in his statement, although he did point out that “while it is not the only reason, the current debate surrounding BBC News has understandably influenced my decision.”  “Overall, the BBC is doing a good job, but some mistakes have been made and, as director general, I must take ultimate responsibility,” she stated.

What Were the Accusations Against the Trump Documentary?

Last week, The Telegraph published an exclusive report claiming to have obtained a leaked internal BBC memo.  The document came from Michael Prescott, a former independent external advisor to the network’s editorial standards committee, who left the position in June.  The memo suggested that Panorama’s one-hour documentary had edited parts of Trump’s speech to make it appear as if he explicitly encouraged the riots at the Capitol in January 2021.  In his speech in Washington DC on January 6, 2021, Trump stated: “We are going to march to the Capitol and we are going to cheer on our brave senators and congressmen.”  However, in the Panorama edition, he was seen saying: “We are going to march to the Capitol… and I will be there with you. And we will fight. We will fight with all our might.” 

The two sections of the speech that were edited were more than 50 minutes apart.  The comment “fight with all our might” came from a section where Trump spoke about the “corruption” of the U.S. elections. In total, he used the words “fight” or “fighting” 20 times in the speech.  According to The Telegraph, the document stated that Panorama’s “distortion of the day’s events” would leave viewers wondering: “Why trust the BBC ? Where will this all end?”  When the problem was raised with management, the memorandum continued, they “refused to acknowledge that there had been a breach of the rules.” 

The BBC has been under scrutiny in recent weeks for various issues.  The Telegraph also reported that Prescott had expressed concern about the lack of measures to address the “systemic problems” of anti-Israel bias in the BBC News Arabic services coverage of the Gaza war.  The report also noted that Prescott had expressed concern about the BBC’s coverage of transgender issues.  And on Thursday, the BBC accepted 20 complaints of lack of fairness related to the way in which presenter Martine Croxall altered a script she read live on the BBC news channel earlier this year in reference to “pregnant people”.

Why did Davie Resign Now?

Tim Davie defended the BBC’s impartiality after acknowledging the mistake and resigning.

Tim Davie faced numerous scandals and crises during his five years at the helm of the BBC, including a controversy with Gary Lineker, a Bob Vylan incident at Glastonbury, the documentary “Gaza: How to Survive in a War Zone” and the transgressions of several renowned presenters.  Some media outlets nicknamed Davie “Tim Teflon” because nothing seemed to affect him.  He also tried to weather the latest controversy, but it gained momentum and the BBC was expected to issue an apology tomorrow for the Panorama documentary. 

This comes at a delicate time for the public broadcaster, as the government will review the corporation’s Royal Charter – which essentially grants it the right to exist – before the current mandate expires in 2027.  The BBC came under fire for a Panorama documentary that was accused of misleadingly editing a speech by Donald Trump to give the impression that he had urged people to attack the US Capitol.  In emails addressed to the corporation’s staff, both Davie and Turness admitted that mistakes had been made.