Outgoing BBC director-general, Tony Hall (aka Lord Hall), has called for a transformation inside the state broadcaster so as to make it more competitive and value for money in the decisive years ahead.
Speaking at the virtual Edinburgh TV Festival, Lord Hall was careful to highlight the “crucial role” performed by what he called “public service broadcasters” (PSBs) in “combating” fake news.
“The PSBs are vital to democracy, they inform us, they educate us”, Lord Hall claimed.
More broadly, Lord Hall identified diversity as an area where the BBC can make improvements as it struggles to regain public confidence.
"I believe diversity of thinking leads to great programs … We need to attract people who have different ideas, who come from different backgrounds, have different thoughts about what is important", the outgoing BBC boss said.
Lord Hall has only one week left as BBC director-general before he is replaced by Tim Davie on September 01.
The outgoing director-general’s emphasis on reform comes against the backdrop of widespread loss of public confidence in the state broadcaster.
Recent opinion polls have consistently indicated that the British public demand either an end to the license fee (the tax used to fund the BBC) or failing that a radical reduction to the current £157.50 fee.
Furthermore, the BBC’s public confidence crisis has been compounded by the coronavirus pandemic which according to Lord Hall cost the state broadcaster £125 million to the end of May alone.