The Hindu : New BBC Chairman

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Saturday, Apr 03, 2004

International

International

New BBC Chairman

By Hasan Suroor

LONDON: Michael Grade, one of Britain's most flamboyant and controversial media figures, has been appointed Chairman of the British Broadcasting Corporation. Sixty-one year-old Mr. Grade, derided by the tabloid press for his explicit programming on Channel 4 when he was its boss, will succeed Gavyn Davies who resigned in January after the Hutton inquiry report criticised the BBC's handling of the row that led to the death of the weapons inspector, David Kelly, last year. The report also caused the resignation of the BBC director-general, Greg Dyke, and one of Mr. Grade's priorities would be to find a replacement for him. For Mr. Grade, the BBC is familiar territory, having worked there in the eighties before leaving to head Channel 4 after differences with the then deputy director-general, John Birt. Mr. Grade, who beat a number of media heavyweights including the veteran BBC broadcaster, David Dimbleby, to get the £80,000-a-year job, takes over at a time when the corporation is trying to recover from one of its worst crises arising out of the Kelly affair.

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