Government Affairs Blog

The Queen and the BBC

BBC News 24 is currently running short promotional films between news bulletins.  The films are presented by their correspondents.  These BBC journalists might be covering the Vatican, the UN or the Middle East.  The message each promo carries is: we live and work in the places we report from therefore we are experts and can report accurately.

As we all know the BBC itself is based in Britain with its headquarters in London.  The corporation employs many staff in the capital city.  This includes a high proportion of news reporters.

Sadly the BBC’s local knowledge was rather undermined by the odd case of the Queen and a real-life documentary.

For those readers who have spent the last few days on Mars, or went to the CIPR GAG anniversary summer reception and now can’t remember anything, the BBC trailed a documentary that allegedly showed the Queen walking off in a huff.  The reality was that she had been discussing with an aide what she was wearing when she going to have her image captured by celebrity snapper and photo artiste Annie Leibovitz.  This became the ‘huff’ moment in the editor’s suite. 

During the shoot Leibovitz suggested the Queen removed her Royal headgear so that she seemed less “dressy”, Elizabeth II gave a startled response but in the proper context it was more irony than anger. 

This trailer led to universal coverage in the media and a rather annoyed Buckingham Palace having to put the record straight.  Cue an apology from the BBC.

For many years now people who appear on documentaries have complained that they have been misrepresented.  Not much is done to correct the impressions that have been created.  Apparently, Newsnight has also recently aired a piece that was out of sequence.

The BBC claimed that it was the production company that got it wrong and the production company claimed they were never going to broadcast the piece in the way they showed a room of critics.  Why show it that way then?  Surely it was not to get a lot of publicity?  Whether this was conspiracy or cock-up isn’t the point.

The point is that broadcasters, and print journalists, should be careful how they present the ‘truth’.  And if they have to re-edit it for some reason they shouldn’t distort truth.  From past complaints it seems they tend to get away with this form of recreating facts.

If you live in a country and really understand its value system you would think you would realise that you don’t mess with the Head of State in this way.  Unlike a member of the public who gets misrepresented, the Queen has a press officer who can put an alternative view and guarantee a lot of news coverage.

All of this rather undermines those short presentational films about accurate reporting.  And that is really the point.  The BBC has incredible brand value.  To throw it away is stupid and quite insane.  Those who protect it, the BBC Trust, the Director-General and the Beeb’s public relations people  must guard it for all its worth.  An apology is not enough.  An organisation cannot simply state their brand values, they must live by them.

Simon Goldie is Head of Communication at The Chartered Institute of Taxation – www.tax.org.uk - and a member of the CIPR GAG committee