Sergeant: BBC ‘incompetent’ in handling Munchetty row
BBC presenters must resist “increasing pressure” to become social media stars, John Sergeant has suggested, as he condemned the “badly handled” row over Naga Munchetty’s criticism of Donald Trump.
Sergeant, the veteran broadcaster, said hosts were increasingly expected to be “broadcasting personalities”, with the BBC competing with ITV’S Piers Morgan’s ability to “stir things up”.
Asked about the BBC’S handling of complaints over comments made by Breakfast host Munchetty, he said the corporation had acted with “incompetence”.
The BBC’S director-general, Lord Hall, recently reversed a decision to partially uphold a complaint against Munchetty for comments she made about the US president during an onair discussion with co-host Dan Walker.
Former BBC political correspondent Sergeant told Radio Times magazine that the issue should have been dealt with quietly.
“This was badly handled by BBC management and I’m not surprised that there have been angry comments from staff at closed meetings,” he said.
“The corporation has been accused of institutional racism. There have rightly been criticisms of the way Dan Walker wasn’t even involved in the original ruling, even though he was clearly egging on Naga to give her personal views.
“It looked to me like the return of our old friend: incompetence.”
He said it was a “sign of the times”, and that there was “increasing pressure” for presenters to become broadcasting personalities, thanks to the rise of social media.
“Presenters, and especially BBC presenters, should not interview each other, and they should be careful about banter,” he said.
He added: “These matters should also be dealt with by the editors on the spot. Complaints can be answered without slapping down the presenters in public, or trying to establish overly strict ground rules from on high.
“I fully support Naga. She is a very talented journalist.”
Radio Times magazine is out now.