New BBC Chief Lord Tony Hall to lead corporation through crisis

The new BBC Chief aims to restore the trust of the audience as he takes up his new role

13:33 24 November 2012

The new Director General of the BBC has been appointed; Lord Tony Hall will be the new chief at the corporation. He will begin his new post in March 2013. News of his pay packet has also been released, as the 61-year-old is expecting to receive a salary of £450,000.

 

The appointment was confirmed on Friday morning by Trustees and it has the blessings of the Chairman of the BBC Trust, Lord Patten. Lord Hall has promised to help the BBC with its current situation.

 

Speaking to the press he said: “It's been a really tough few weeks for this organisation and I know we can get through it by listening patiently by thinking carefully about what to do next.

 

“I care passionately about the BBC, about what it can do, its programme-makers and the impact we have in all sorts of different ways.

 

“It's one of those extraordinary organisations which is an absolutely essential part of Britain, of the UK, of who we are. But also has this incredible impact around the world too.

 

He continued: “I know that with the right creative team in place, working off each other, sparking off each other, giving each other ideas, you can do extraordinary creative things and I want to build a world-class team for this world-class organisation.”

 

The two met members of the press on Friday morning, where Lord Patten said of Lord Hall that he was the right man for the job. He expressed that Lord Hall was “invaluable”, as the BBC looks to start rebuilding its public image following on from the recent controversies it has endured.

 

Lord Patten said Lord Hall’s appointment will “prove invaluable as the BBC looks to rebuild both its reputation and the trust of audiences”.

 

This relates to the TV show Newsnight and the shelving of the Jimmy Savile investigations into sex abuse claims. Late BBC presenter Savile, who died in October last year, has recently been at the centre of much sex abuse allegations.

 

Following this, there has been controversy surrounding Newsnight and the former Conservative MP Lord Alistair McAlpine.This led to George Entwistle stepping down from his post after eight weeks in the role, which Lord Hall will now fill.

 

Lord Hall, who was beaten to the position of BBC Director General by Greg Dyke in 2001, now has another accolade to add to his list. His past successes include helping to launch BBC Parliament and Radio 5 Live among others, since he joined the corporation in the 1970s.