On Monday afternoon, however, they were greeted by a grinning figure conducting a tour of the news floor.
asserted
they → greet → floor
She was Rachel Jupp, the BBC’s newly appointed director of news and current affairs.
asserted
She → appoint → news
Jupp engaged in a series of polite if brief conversations with her new troops.
asserted
Jupp → engage → troops
Frustration has grown among journalists awaiting a grand plan.
asserted
Frustration → grow → plan
“We just need a set direction of travel,” said one.
asserted
one → need → travel
“A north star, as startups call it.
asserted
startups → call → it
Lay out a timeline and tell everyone what cuts are coming and what needs to be done.
asserted
what → lay → everyone
Beyond the small talk, figures at all levels of the corporation acknowledge that Jupp faces a huge task.
asserted
Jupp → acknowledge → task
Running the world’s most scrutinised newsroom is a tall order at the best of times, even without the turmoil over pay and job losses.
asserted
Running → run → pay
Jupp takes the helm at BBC News as it is gripped by an angst-ridden debate about the place of its journalism in an increasingly digital world.
asserted
it → take → world
It is one she has been tasked with resolving.
asserted
she → task → ?
It is a world in which the BBC’s hallmarks of impartiality and authority – and focus on television and radio news – are pitted against content creators and a myriad of other established media brands converging to reach audiences via a handful of smartphone apps.
asserted
hallmarks → pit → apps
Inside BBC News, a series of announcements about show closures and strategy shifts have fuelled a “clicks v public service” debate.
asserted
series → fuel → debate
There are competing views over how the BBC should adapt its content for commercially driven digital platforms favoured by younger audiences – while sticking to the corporation’s founding principles of informing the public.
asserted
BBC → be → public
“I’ve heard the DG [director general, Matt Brittin] and [the deputy director general, Rhodri Talfan Davies] have been saying to people that they want the new director of news to restore the authority of BBC News,” said Roger Mosey, the former head of BBC TV News.
asserted
Mosey → hear → News
“I think that’s what a lot of us have been arguing for.
asserted
lot → think → us
BBC News does all sorts of good things and it’s generally an impartial and fair service.
asserted
it → do → things
But it hasn’t been able to translate the authority of the really big brands of TV and radio into an online world.
asserted
it → translate → world
Those concerned that the corporation is at risk of losing its bearings point to a BBC website piece about penis fillers or recent social videos of reporters holding cheap mics, content creator-style.
asserted
corporation → concern → mics
Meanwhile, they fear flagship shows such as the Today programme or the 10 O’Clock News, which continue to attract large audiences, have not been nourished or championed online.
asserted
which → fear → audiences
Those pushing for a faster embrace of new platforms say it is clearly where audiences are heading and the broadcaster’s requirement to cater for everyone is at the heart of its public service remit.
asserted
requirement → push → remit
As one BBC figure put it: “Rachel’s task and challenge is to show how we can do what every news organisation is having to do – go digital, without becoming a value-free click factory.”
asserted
organisation → put → what
Above all else, Jupp’s willingness to take on this precarious task is why she was handed such a big promotion.
asserted
she → take → promotion
While the BBC’s relatively new director general, Matt Brittin, inherited many of the cuts being announced across the BBC, Jupp’s appointment was in his hands.
asserted
appointment → inherit → hands
At an all-staff call this week, he said he wanted the organisation to be “a bit more Elvis – a little less conversation, a little more action”.
asserted
organisation → say → call
In Jupp, Brittin believes he has found one of his best Elvis impersonators, willing to make changes for the digital age.
asserted
he → believe → age
Jupp triumphed from a shortlist of four candidates.
asserted
Jupp → triumph → candidates
There was a recognition that one of her competitors, Jonathan Munro, had managed to avoid any major crises as the interim head of BBC News – an achievement not to be underestimated, given recent criticisms.
asserted
one → be → criticisms
However, the job came down to Jupp and Esme Wren, the editor of Channel 4 News.
asserted
job → come → News
Wren was recognised as a formidable champion of journalists and journalism, but the conclusion was that the BBC’s news machine produces plenty of high-quality, award-winning material.
asserted
machine → recognise → material
While Jupp had not run a big organisation before – something Brittin had been looking for – the director general believed Jupp had two important qualities.
asserted
Jupp → run → qualities
The first was solid editorial judgment – a requirement after bruising criticisms over a Gaza documentary that had to be pulled and a spliced-together Trump speech that led to a multibillion-dollar lawsuit.
asserted
that → have → lawsuit
Jupp had been tasked with overseeing the BBC’s documentary and long-form journalism content after the Gaza row, so was seen as someone who would safeguard the BBC’s authority as it pushed deeper into digital content.
asserted
it → task → content
Her second quality was an appetite for transformation, the buzzword for the mammoth task of translating the BBC’s journalism on to new digital platforms without losing its authority – seen, at best, as a work in progress.
asserted
quality → translate → progress
Jupp has also been at the heart of the BBC’s use of generative AI, and Brittin – a former Google executive – believes this can have a bigger role if used in the right way.
asserted
this → believe → way
It also helped that Jupp could start almost immediately, given the pace at which a cash crisis is forcing the BBC into big, strategic choices.
uncertain
crisis → help → choices
Jupp also begins her tenure with another underrated advantage: she is genuinely liked by close colleagues and respected by journalists who have worked with her in previous roles at Channel 4 News, Newsnight and Panorama.
asserted
who → begin → News
As her tour of the pit illustrated, starting with the support of her staff is seen as essential as she embarks on a transformation of BBC News that will include some difficult and unpopular decisions.
asserted
that → illustrate → decisions
The Aporia
