- The BBC has always had to go into the market for key broadcasting talent. Our licence fee payers want the very best people on the BBC. Were Jonathan (Jonathan Ross) to leave the BBC, you would have headlines about that fact and I think our licence fee payers would be disappointed. We know amongst key talent - and we've had recent examples - that other broadcasters are offering key talent large sums. There are plenty of recent examples of talent deciding to stay at the BBC even when they have been offered more by other broadcasters.
- We take the issue of the watershed and the protection of children and younger audiences very seriously. There is a significant difference between broadcasting that takes place pre-nine o'clock in an environment where it is likely children and young people will be watching or listening, and programming which is broadcast late at night post-watershed and where audiences have a clear expectation of tone and style.
- I would like to add my own personal and unreserved apology to Andrew Sachs, his family and to licence fee payers for the completely unacceptable broadcast on BBC Radio 2. BBC audiences accept that, in comedy, performers attempt to push the line of taste. However, this is not a marginal case. It is clear from the views expressed by the public that this broadcast has caused severe offence and I share that view. Since Sunday, I have been in regular contact with the senior executives I tasked with handling this issue. The investigation that I instructed Tim Davie to conduct is nearing completion, and I am returning to London to review the findings and, in the coming days, announce what action we will take. In the meantime, I have decided that it is not appropriate for either Russell Brand or Jonathan Ross to continue broadcasting on the BBC until I have seen the full report of the actions of all concerned. This gross lapse of taste by the performers and the production team has angered licence payers. I am determined that we satisfy them that any lessons will be learnt and appropriate action taken. I have been asked to report to the Trust's Editorial Standards Committee before the end of this week and will discuss with the Trust the findings of the report and the actions I propose.
- The ultimate editorial responsibility for BBC programmes lies with producers and editorial managers. The consequences of errors of judgement are therefore more serious for managers. Nonetheless, Jonathan Ross's contribution to this edition of the Russell Brand Show was utterly unacceptable and cannot be allowed to go uncensored or without sanction. A 12-week suspension is an exceptional step, but I believe it is a proportionate response to Jonathan's role in this unhappy affair. Jonathan Ross has already made a comprehensive and unreserved personal apology to Andrew Sachs and his granddaughter. I believe that he fully understands the seriousness of what has happened. I have made very clear to him the central importance of the clause in his contract about not bringing the BBC into disrepute. We agree that nothing like this must ever happen again and that tight discipline will be required for the future.
- Let's be clear, we're not paying competitive salaries. We're paying salaries that have very significant discounts to the labour market we operate in. If you want to be director general of the BBC, you've got to recognise that you'll earn a hell of a lot less than if you're running BSkyB, ITV or even Channel 4.
- The licence fee is a tax, yet, despite endless invitations from critics for the public to turn their back on it, they haven't. We have a relationship that frankly many companies and institutions would kill for.
- I would rather the BBC was abolished than we started encrypting news to stop people seeing it. The absolute first building block keystone of the BBC is delivering impartial, unbiased news.
- The rest of the British media have come to see the BBC as a direct competitive threat in a way they never used to. I think it's fair to say that that's colouring their coverage of the BBC.
- We are on a migration from an analogue to a digital world. Some people want us to step backwards, to be just television and radio with a handful of channels. I have to say that's delusional. We're already a digital broadcaster and the web is as much a part of our future as television and radio. We are not stepping backwards but, as we move forward, we have a greater care and greater focus on how we fit in with the rest of media.
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