| Greg Dyke | |
| Born | 20 May 1947 |
|---|---|
| Occupation | Journalist and broadcaster |
| Title | Chairman of Brentford Football Club |
| Website BBC Profile |
|
Gregory Dyke (born 20 May 1947) is a journalist and broadcaster. Events 325 - The First Council of Nicaea &ndash the first Ecumenical Council of the Christian Church is held Year 1947 ( MCMXLVII) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display full 1947 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. A journalist (also called a newspaperman) is a person who practices Journalism, the gathering and dissemination of information about current events trends Broadcaster may refer to A Broadcasting organization one responsible for the production of radio and television programs and/or their transmission Brentford Football Club are an English football club based in Brentford in the London Borough of Hounslow. Events 325 - The First Council of Nicaea &ndash the first Ecumenical Council of the Christian Church is held Year 1947 ( MCMXLVII) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display full 1947 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. A journalist (also called a newspaperman) is a person who practices Journalism, the gathering and dissemination of information about current events trends Broadcaster may refer to A Broadcasting organization one responsible for the production of radio and television programs and/or their transmission He was Director-General of the BBC from January 2000 until 29 January 2004 when he resigned following heavy criticism of the BBC's news reporting process in the Hutton Inquiry. The Director-General is chief executive and (from 1944 Editor-in-chief of the BBC. Events 904 - Sergius III comes out of retirement to take over the papacy from the deposed Antipope Christopher. "MMIV" redirects here For the Modest Mouse album see " Baron von Bullshit Rides Again " The Hutton Inquiry was a British Judicial inquiry chaired by Lord Hutton, appointed by the United Kingdom Labour government with the
Contents |
Early years
Dyke was educated at Hayes Grammar School. He worked briefly as a reporter for the Hillingdon Mirror before, as a mature student, attending the University of York where he studied politics and was active in the Students Union. The University of York is a Campus university in the city of York, England. Politics Politics is the process by which groups of people make decisions Contemporaries at York included the future journalists Linda Grant and Peter Hitchens, the latter then a prominent member of the International Socialists and friend. Linda Grant (born 15 February 1951) is a British journalist and novelist Peter Jonathan Hitchens (born 28 October 1951 in Sliema, Malta) is a British Journalist and Author, noted The Socialist Workers Party ( SWP) is the largest political party of the Far left in Britain that stands in the revolutionary socialist tradition Dyke is now the University Chancellor at York. A Chancellor is the head of a University. Other titles are sometimes used such as President or Rector.
He was an active supporter of the Labour Party and in 1977 he attempted to win a seat on the Greater London Council for Labour at Putney. The Labour Party is a Political party in the United Kingdom. Founded at the start of the 20th century it has been since the 1920s the principal party of the The Greater London Council (GLC was the top-tier Local government administrative body for Greater London from 1965 to 1986 Putney is a district of south-west London in the London Borough of Wandsworth. In later years he was a financial donor to the party, before leaving Labour prior to the 2005 General Election, in which he supported the Liberal Democrats. The Liberal Democrats, often shortened to Lib Dems, are a liberal Political party in the United Kingdom, formed in 1988 by merging the
Working in television
After university, Dyke moved into jounalism and was also Public Relations spokesperson for the Wandsworth Council for Community Relations. He was married to a Probation Officer, Christine Taylor although the relationship broke down before he ventured into the world of Television. Some time later he formed a relationship with another Probation officer, Sue Howes with whom he has been ever since. The couple have two children. He worked first for London Weekend Television (LWT) before taking a job at TV-am in 1983. TV-am was a Breakfast television station that broadcast to the United Kingdom from 1 February 1983 to 31 December 1992. He was instrumental in reviving the breakfast show's fortunes by introducing Roland Rat, a hand puppet, to liven up the show. Roland Rat (also Roland Rat Superstar) is a British television Puppet character Following TV-am, Dyke became Director of Programmes for TVS, and later returned to LWT, making a fortune when Granada bought out the firm. TV-am was a Breakfast television station that broadcast to the United Kingdom from 1 February 1983 to 31 December 1992. Television South ( TVS) was the broadcasting name associated with the ITV franchise holder in the south and south east of England between Granada Television is the United Kingdom ITV contractor for North West England. Stints at Pearson PLC and five followed. FremantleMedia (previously known as All American Television, LBS Communications, and Pearson Television) is the content
At the BBC
In 2000 he took over the helm of the BBC from John Birt. John Birt Baron Birt (born 10 December 1944) served as the Director-General of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC from 1992 to 2000 At the beginning of his tenure he famously promised to "cut the crap" at the Corporation. The "crap" he referred to was the complex internal market Birt had introduced at the BBC which, it is claimed, took employees away from making programmes and into managers. Dyke reversed this trend - he reduced administration costs from 24% of total income to 15%. Unusually for a recent D-G, he had a good rapport with his employees and was well liked by the majority of BBC staff. The Director-General is chief executive and (from 1944 Editor-in-chief of the BBC.
Apart from restoring staff morale, Greg Dyke laid claim to two major achievements during his office. He introduced the Freeview terrestrial digital transmission platform with six additional BBC channels, and persuaded Sky TV to join in the platform. Previously this was an ITV subscription service that had closed with major losses but can now be seen by more than half the population (mid-2007). ITV Digital was a British Digital terrestrial television broadcaster, which launched a pay-TV service on the world's first digital terrestrial television network After describing the Corporation in early 2001 as "hideously white", Dyke also changed the recruitment policy to make the staff more representative of the licence-paying British multi-cultural population.
BBC and Hutton Enquiry
Dyke resigned from the BBC on 29 January 2004 (as did Gavyn Davies & Andrew Gilligan), after the publication of the Hutton Report. Events 904 - Sergius III comes out of retirement to take over the papacy from the deposed Antipope Christopher. "MMIV" redirects here For the Modest Mouse album see " Baron von Bullshit Rides Again " Gavyn Davies, OBE (born 27 November 1950) was the Chairman of the BBC from 2001 until 2004 a former Goldman Sachs banker Andrew Paul Gilligan (born 22 November, 1968, Teddington, London, England) is a journalist best known for his 2003 report about a The Hutton Inquiry was a British Judicial inquiry chaired by Lord Hutton, appointed by the United Kingdom Labour government with the Hutton described Dyke's approach to checking news stories as "defective"; when Alastair Campbell complained about the story, Dyke had immediately defended it without investigating whether there was any merit to the complaint. James Brian Edward Hutton Baron Hutton QC PC (born June 29, 1931) is a former Lord Chief Justice of Northern Ireland and British
In an email sent to all BBC staff just prior to his resignation Dyke wrote:
- I accept that the BBC made errors of judgement and I've sadly come to the conclusion that it will be hard to draw a line under this whole affair while I am still here. We need closure. We need closure to protect the future of the BBC, not for you or me but for the benefit of everyone out there. It might sound pompous but I believe the BBC really matters.
It was subsequently established that Dyke had offered his resignation to the BBC's Board of Governors while hoping that they would reject it. However, he was only able to secure the support of about one-third of the Governors.
Some BBC staff felt that their organisation had been given too much blame in the David Kelly affair in the Hutton Report. David Christopher Kelly CMG ( May 17, 1944 – July 17, 2003) was an employee of the United Kingdom Ministry of Defence Groups of staff stood outside Broadcasting House and other BBC centres across the country, protesting at the unfairness. Broadcasting House is the headquarters and Registered office of the BBC in Portland Place, London, England. Speaking on GMTV on 30 January Dyke himself questioned the conclusions of the report, saying "We were shocked it was so black and white [. GMTV ( Good Morning Television) is the national ITV Breakfast television contractor broadcasting in the United Kingdom. Events 1648 - Eighty Years' War: The Treaty of Münster is signed ending the conflict between the Netherlands and Spain . . ] We knew mistakes had been made but we didn't believe they were only by us. " He also claimed that Lord Hutton was "quite clearly wrong" on certain aspects of law relating to the case.
On 11th January 2007, the BBC published minutes of its post Hutton board meetings. It was revealed that Dyke had claimed he had been "mistreated and wanted to be reinstated". [1]
After the Hutton Enquiry
On 28 November 2003 Greg Dyke was formally appointed by the University of York as its new Chancellor, replacing Dame Janet Baker, who had served in the post since November 1991. For the town in Argentina, see 28 de Noviembre. Events Year 2003 ( MMIII) was a Common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. The University of York is a Campus university in the city of York, England. WikipediaWikiProject Opera#Infoboxes and WikipediaWikiProject Musicians/Infobox --> There was some controversy regarding his appointment in the midst of the Iraq Dossier scandal. He officially took the post in August 2004. In this role, he is the honorific and ceremonial head of the University, as well as heading the University Development Board. He has also made a personal grant to the new Department of Theatre, Film and Television, to found the Greg Dyke Chair in Film and Television. However, this post will not be filled until the construction of new, specially-designed facilities, intended to open in 2008.
On 6 February 2004 Dyke announced that he had signed a six-figure book contract with HarperCollins. Events 46 BC - Julius Caesar defeats the combined army of Pompeian followers and Numidians under Metellus Scipio "MMIV" redirects here For the Modest Mouse album see " Baron von Bullshit Rides Again " HarperCollins is a Publishing company owned by News Corporation. The book ("Inside Story"), subsequently published in September 2004, goes into detail about Dyke's opinion on the relationship between the BBC and the British government, and of the Dr David Kelly affair and Hutton Inquiry. David Christopher Kelly CMG ( May 17, 1944 – July 17, 2003) was an employee of the United Kingdom Ministry of Defence The Hutton Inquiry was a British Judicial inquiry chaired by Lord Hutton, appointed by the United Kingdom Labour government with the It has had a poor critical reception. At the Cheltenham Literary Festival in October 2004, Dyke accused the government of "trying to kill" Andrew Gilligan. Education
There are similarities between the enforced resignation of Alasdair Milne over Zircon a few months before the 1987 election and Dyke's resignation over the reporting of military intelligence issues the year before the 2005 election, though Dyke took responsibility for flaws in the control of live broadcasting whereas Milne was 'sacked' for yet to be broadcast investigative research. Alasdair David Gordon Milne (born 8 October 1930 was a producer at the BBC who rose through management (Controller BBC Scotland and BBC Director of Programmes before becoming Zircon was the Codename for a British Signals intelligence Satellite, intended to be launched in 1988, before being cancelled The departure of Greg Dyke also has echoes of the removal of Hugh Greene in 1969, who fell from the favour of Labour Prime Minister Harold Wilson (against a background of the Vietnam War), in part due to Greene's defence of robust reporting, as well as his support for provocative and controversial material. Sir Hugh Carleton Greene KCMG, OBE ( 15 November 1910 - 19 February 1987) was a British Journalist James Harold Wilson Baron Wilson of Rievaulx, KG, OBE, FRS, PC (11 March 1916 &ndash 24 May 1995 was one of the most prominent British politicians The Vietnam War, also known as the Second Indochina War, or the Vietnam Conflict, occurred in Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia
In July 2004 Dyke was awarded honorary doctorates from the University of Sunderland, Middlesex University and in 2006 from The University of Bedfordshire. The University of Sunderland is located in Sunderland, North East England. Middlesex University is a University in north London, England, located in the historic county boundaries of Middlesex (from which In his acceptance speech for the latter, he attacked the government over its stance on the Iraq war heavily, and maintained that the Andrew Gilligan story was essentially true, the story government dossier was sexed up and that the government staged a "witch hunt" to deflect from the real issues surrounding the Iraq war. Andrew Paul Gilligan (born 22 November, 1968, Teddington, London, England) is a journalist best known for his 2003 report about a
On 2 May 2005 the former Labour supporter Dyke went public at a Liberal Democrat press conference and said that "Democracy was under threat if Labour was elected for a third term". Events 1194 - King Richard I of England gives Portsmouth its first Royal Charter. Year 2005 ( MMV) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. The Labour Party is a Political party in the United Kingdom. Founded at the start of the 20th century it has been since the 1920s the principal party of the The Liberal Democrats, often shortened to Lib Dems, are a liberal Political party in the United Kingdom, formed in 1988 by merging the
Following the appointment of Michael Grade as ITV Chairman in November 2006, it has been speculated that Grade may seek to appoint Dyke as his Chief Executive. Michael Ian Grade CBE (born March 8, 1943) is a British Businessman and a distinguished figure in the field of Broadcasting
He was appointed Chair of the British Film Institute on February 15, 2008, succeeding Anthony Minghella. The British Film Institute ( BFI) is a charitable organisation established by Royal Charter to encourage the development of the arts of film television Anthony Minghella CBE ( January 6, 1954 &mdash March 18, 2008) was an Academy Award -winning English
Brentford Football Club
Dyke is a fan of Brentford Football Club and was appointed as non-executive Chairman of the club on 20 January 2006, following the takeover by the Supporters Trust, Bees United. Brentford Football Club are an English football club based in Brentford in the London Borough of Hounslow. Events 250 - Emperor Decius begins a widespread persecution of Christians in Rome. Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar.
A candidate for London Mayor?
There has been speculation that Dyke was interested in standing against Ken Livingstone in the London Mayoral election in 2008 as an Independent, conditional on no opposition from either Liberal Democrat or Conservative candidates. Kenneth Robert Livingstone (born 17 June 1945 is a British Socialist Politician. The London mayoral election 2008 for the office of Mayor of London was held on 1 May, 2008 and was won by Conservative Party candidate The Liberal Democrats, often shortened to Lib Dems, are a liberal Political party in the United Kingdom, formed in 1988 by merging the The Conservative Party (officially the Conservative and Unionist Party) is a Political party in the United Kingdom. The Liberal Democrats were not prepared to consider the arrangement. The story was quashed in an interview with Dyke on Sky News. [1]
References
- ^ Ben Dowell and Owen Gibson "How the 'Greg Dyke for London mayor' story snowballed", The Guardian website, 18 April 2007. Retrieved on 18 April 2007.
External links
- Greg Dyke at the Internet Movie Database
- BBC apologises as Dyke quits from the BBC News
- Video of Installation of Greg Dyke as Chancellor of the University of York
- Video of York Student Television 2005 Greg Dyke Interview
| Media offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by John Birt 1992–2000 |
Director-General of the BBC 2000-Jan 2004 |
Succeeded by Mark Byford (Acting) Jan 2004–June 2004 |
| Academic offices | ||
| Preceded by Dame Janet Baker |
Chancellors of University of York 2005– |
Succeeded by Current Incumbent |
Dapyx Software network: MP3 Explorer | Ebook Manager | Zenithic