BBC presenter allegedly paid teenagers money for intimate photos These photos show what extreme weather conditions prevailed over the weekend

To say 2023 is a downright bad year for the BBC is a gross understatement.

One of the world’s best-known broadcasters has been teetering from crisis to crisis for months – and now a new scandal is shaking the 100-plus-year-old British institution to its foundations.

Basically, it concerns allegations against a prominent moderator who is not known by name, who allegedly paid a teenager a total of £ 35,000 (about 40,000 francs) over three years for sexually explicit photos and videos. The BBC’s leadership wanted to meet with London police on Monday. “The BBC is calling the police,” headlined several newspapers. But the scandal of alleged abuse has long since become a BBC affair.

As early as mid-May, the mother of the alleged victim – then 17 years old and addicted to drugs – wants to have confronted the public broadcaster with the allegations. But the BBC did not respond, the woman complained in the newspaper “Sun on Sunday”. Over the weekend, the pressure mounted until “Auntie” – the aunt, as the British affectionately call the institution – finally had to respond.

This means that director Tim Davie is now taking center stage. again. The general manager has been in office for less than three years, but since then the 56-year-old has been almost always on defensive mode.

In any case, the post is considered the most difficult in the polarized British media landscape. The BBC is committed to a radical course of neutrality and is therefore the target of accusations of partiality on an almost daily basis. “Directing the BBC is like trying to guide an oil tanker blindfolded and with the steering wheel locked through a narrow strait,” wrote the Guardian newspaper.

But Davie sometimes makes it difficult for himself, according to commentators. Example Gary Lineker. The ex-football star is not only one of the most popular BBC presenters and the highest paid. He is also known for his clear words. In March, when Lineker compared the Conservative government’s anti-immigrant rhetoric on asylum policy to the language of 1930s Germany, he was suspended. Lineker broke the rules of neutrality, it said. But other moderators showed solidarity with Lineker and went on strike – and Davie had to make an embarrassing U-turn. Lineker was allowed to return to the airwaves without penalty.

Now Davie is accused of double standards. Because the accused moderator in the current case remained in office for seven weeks after the initial allegations in May, until he was suspended on Sunday. Government politicians, such as the responsible Minister of Culture, Lucy Frazer, warn that the investigation must be carried out with care. But they make it clear that the response was far too slow.

The new scandal at “Beeb” – another of the station’s nicknames – is ammunition for those increasingly questioning the British Broadcasting Corporation’s funding model.

The government of former Conservative Prime Minister Boris Johnson plans to phase out contribution funding completely by 2027. Right-wing populists in particular want to downgrade the BBC to a regular channel to which you can subscribe and cancel if necessary, such as Netflix. In their eyes, public broadcasting is full of left-wing journalists representing an urban elite.

Since its foundation more than 100 years ago, the BBC has been for many a beacon of democracy, an independent rating source. British “soft power” that boosted the UK’s image. But the broadcaster has not yet found an answer to the changed media use. The pressure to save is also increasing due to falling premiums. Foreign language programs fell victim, as did popular programs and individual waves. There have recently been strikes over local radio cuts.

The BBC will present its annual report on Tuesday. Given the recent scandal, high salaries for moderators are likely to lead to even greater outrage than before. The timing couldn’t be worse for director Davie. Especially since he has to navigate the BBC largely alone through its biggest crisis in decades. The head of the supervisory board, Richard Sharp, who is well connected in politics, had to resign in the spring. He had helped then Prime Minister Boris Johnson get a personal loan of £800,000 – shortly before his appointment by the Prime Minister himself.(aeg/sda/dpa)