BBC Director General Steps Down

CNN is reporting that the Director General of the BBC, George Entwhistle, is stepping down, and taking responsibility for erroneous information in a report the BBC broadcast concerning sex abuse allegations during the BBC’s well-known NewsNight program. The misinformation seems to have resulted partly from a mixup in identification by a sexual abuse victim who has come forward recently. He has already apologized to the BBC; his apology was read over the air. More here from CNN.

Mr. Entwhistle’s resignation is one in a series of black eyes for the BBC, which has suffered a great deal of bad publicity over the past few years, from  the “Blue Peter” “phone in scandal” to questions over how a documentary on the Queen was edited. Former BBC Director General Mark Thompson, now in charge at the New York Times, also may face questions about dropped coverage of a BBC investigation into a BBC host, now deceased, who was also accused of sexual abuse.