Google is to journalism what Vikings were to monks. Now their man will run the BBC

The BBC has a new head honcho in waiting, the Director-General designate Matt Brittin. His job: helming one of the world's most famous and oldest international media brands, one with a vast and sensitive domestic position. His last job: President of EMEA Business and Operations at Google. You can imagine a greater culture clash …

[Ken G]

Re: Ahem

and John Paul II made him a Papal knight.

[Antony Shepherd]

Re: Ahem

Not to forget he was a regular guest of the then Prince of Wales (now King) Charles.

[Anonymous Coward]

I bet Reform is happy about his appointment. The only way they could be even happier would be if his name was Matt Ingerland instead!

[zebm]

"The BBC is not evil." Covered up for the paedophiles who worked for it. Institutionally anti-semitic. Killed off the variety in commercial local radio. I'm sure the list goes on.

[kmorwath]

So, perfectly British...

[Martin an gof]

Killed off the variety in commercial local radio

I think you'll find that ILR did that, decades before the beeb and in my view, the variety of local, regional and national radio available from the BBC far outstrips "independent" radio, even after the recent cuts and amalgamations.

M.

[tiggity]

...mmm

"the job of the BBC as a public service organization with strict rules of impartiality"

I think very flexible rules of impartiality would be more correct.

It tends to be a given that certain expected viewpoints are given.

e.g. conflicts are rarely simple.

However you will rarely see the BBC giving nuanced reporting on thigs, instead it will be parroting the pro UK / pro West viewpoint (which typically is promoted irrespective of the party in power)

e.g Russia bad, Ukraine good

BBC makes sure no "repeats" of its investigations into high levels of Nazism in Ukraine are broadcast.

Very "restrained" reporting of Zelezny dubious financial activities as revealed in the Pandora Papers.

For the record, I despise Zelezny & Putin, both are corrupt narcissists who do not have the optimum welfare of their people at heart.

Similar we see interesting use of language when reporting of Israel actions compared to Palestine actions, and for Israel-US actions vs Iran actions. It';s obvious who they want to make the "good guys" & the "bad guys". Minimal & infrequent discussion of the complexities - e.g. compare UN article on the illegal occupation of Palestine with BBC reportage.

I remember when I visited Russia on a school trip - pre Perestroika / Glasnost, the average "Russian in the street" knew the grim irony of "Pravda"* and other media pushing the state message. Sad thing is, so many in the "West" are unaware we also have media pushing out their own state sanctioned propaganda, suppression** & misinformation pushing certain messages

* Russian for truth.

** D Notices in the UK anyone? National Security Reasons used in the legal system (e.g. closed material procedure trials, & some totally secret trials when the (becoming more & more of a catchall ) "terrorism"*** is brought into play)

*** anti genocide placard waving pensioners can be terrorist sympathisers these days.

[Tom Graham]

Re: ...mmm

To equate Zelensky with Putin is revolting.

[Anonymous Coward]

Never mind the quality, look at the quantity and inclusiveness

BBC journalism and impartiality has been going down the tubes for many years.

Competent journalists and presenters have been sacrificed on the altar of box-ticking wokery.

Other programmes have been systematically degraded e.g. Dr Who which I now find utterly vomit inducing.;

University Challenge (which I used to very much enjoy) has been destroyed by the gabbling dwarf that is Amol Rajan.

Quantity of programmes has gone up but quality has gone through the floor.

I am unconvinced that the new incumbent will be any better than the previous, just different and will probably want adverts and product placement.

I am equally pissed off with the number and quantity of adverts on other channels, to the point where every hour of programme contains 20 minutes of adverts, jingles and trailers (which are barely disguised adverts).

It's long past time that the BBC stopped trying to be everything to everyone and produced quality programming.

[/off rant]

[Doctor Syntax]

Re: Never mind the quality, look at the quantity and inclusiveness

With you on Amol Rajan's gabbling. Not so on "dwarf". A little more restraint might improve your arguments above a rant.

[Steve Button]

Re: Never mind the quality, look at the quantity and inclusiveness

Gabbling midget is the politically correct way to describe them I think.

[David Newall]

Remember Nokia

Nokia owned most of the mobile handset market until an ex-Microsoftie took over and, wilfully, I think, destroyed their business, before returning to Microsoft.

I know Beeb is quite different, yet it sounds disturbingly familiar. He comes from a business that surely was being ironic when they said don't be evil.

[HMcG]

Re: Remember Nokia

The big difference is that Nokia made good phones.

[Brl4n]

bbc has lost most of its credibility. propaganda has been in overdrive for the last 10 years

[Anonymous Coward]

Perfect conditioning..

Google are already inside HMRC so they can see if you're actually paying your license fee, and their 'health' initiatives will tell them which of you are actually couch potatoes, so it sort of makes sense..

Not in a good way, but that would be obvious as it's Google. The moment a setup thinks it has a need to claim it does no evil you know you're being lied to.

[Anonymous Coward]

Impartiality?

I find that to be a double edged sword for the BBC. When 99% of scientists believe the Earth is spheroid and orbits the Sun, the BBC will find a fundamentalist flat Earther to provide balance to their arguments. If 99% of economists believe EU membership is worthwhile for Britain, they bring in Nigel Farage to counter. That form of impartiality gives the outliers equal weight with the consensus.

On the other hand when there's a debate on Scottish Independence, they will bring in the most sensible centrist unionists on one side and woad-wearing Mad Hamish from Arbroath to counter with rants about the English eating Scottish babies. The coverage from Northern Ireland during the Troubles just mentioned the terrorisrm of one side. No one working for the BBC forgets that "British" is what pays their salaries.

Then there's the Middle East. One country gets a pass for acts that any other would have investigated.

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: Impartiality?

Saudi Arabia, right? Right?

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: Impartiality?

Probably not Saudi. They do often get "a pass" from the BBC and are helping to polish their image

https://www.theguardian.com/media/2026/mar/30/bbc-accused-making-propaganda-films-saudi-arabia-sovereign-wealth-fund

However I guess you must mean Iran, where the BBC tend to play down those atrocities.

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: Impartiality?

Probably Gaza then, although that's not really a country, where the BBC release "How to Survive a Warzone" starring the child of a Hamas higher up? They pretty much report everything that Hamas say verbatim and without question.

I guess you mean some OTHER country in the Middle East, but I'm trying to make the point that they are pissing everybody off by "giving them a pass". It just depends which side you are coming at it from.

It's a Rorschach test.

[Ken G]

Re: Impartiality?

I'm rewatching "The Newsroom" on HBO. I may not have the quote completely correct. "Not every issue has two sides. Some only have one side. Some have five sides".

[john.w]

Ballmer Mark II

He will do for Google at the BBC what Steve Ballmer did for Microsoft at Nokia.

The idea that the BBC could have developed a government regulated search engine that was used across the world and would compete against the revenue generation model of Google is rather fanciful if not down right dumb.

[R Soul]

Re: Ballmer Mark II

He will do for Google at the BBC what Steve Ballmer did for Microsoft at Nokia.

Another monkey dance?

[ricardian]

BBC Radio & TV - the least worst in the world

[b1k3rdude]

Well I suppose its fitting that a corrupt institution is managed by someone who has worked for one of the biggest corrupt corps in the world.

[amanfromMars 1]

FailSafe Secure Open Source Secrets for Greater IntelAIgent Games Play .....

Once upon a time in the not too distant past [right at the beginning of years 2000] did the BBC have a number of fantastic community websites ....... The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy for one [H2G2] .... and The Great Debate and R4 Today Program discussion forums being another two, where matters of the day were reported for viewers to comment on/analyse and offer alternative opinion and possible solutions regarding events being shared/described/perceived by the BBC in support of the Establishment and body politic of the day.

Those two particular noticeboards, and I suspect there are posters here on El Reg these day who were enthusiastic supporters of both boards there then too, were very successful and extremely well visited. And what transpired surprisingly clearly and very quickly was discussion, freely given and shared on the forums which provided attractive viable answers to hanging questions and difficult situations requiring resolution ........ and then, as soon as the next day in more cases than not, does the BBC provide a report about discussions taking place with the self same resolutions from the powers that be, presented front and centre as news for pondering and acceptance.

It was a very obvious happening and a quite clearly a situation which the Establishment could not allow to further proceed and deepen and continue to succeed. ..... and prove that the Emperor indeed has no clothes of his own.

Virtually overnight were those few very successful and popular public noticeboard made unavailable and removed from the BBC website ...... which nowadays is a sad and forlorn shadow of its former audiotelevisual leader self.

It all more than just suggested and clearly showed how everything was made to be done and to be reported/practically shared and virtually realised.

cc ...... Matt Brittin [BBC DG-in-waiting] and BBC Chair of the Board, Samir Shah.