John Birt, Baron Birt (born 10 December 1944) is a former Director-General of the BBC who was in the post from 1992 to 2000.
After a successful career in commercial television, first at Granada and then at LWT, Birt was brought in as Deputy Director-General of the BBC in 1987 for his current affairs expertise. The forced departure of Director-General Alasdair Milne following pressure from the Thatcher government required someone at the top, prefe...
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John Birt, Baron Birt (born 10 December 1944) is a former Director-General of the BBC who was in the post from 1992 to 2000.
After a successful career in commercial television, first at Granada and then at LWT, Birt was brought in as Deputy Director-General of the BBC in 1987 for his current affairs expertise. The forced departure of Director-General Alasdair Milne following pressure from the Thatcher government required someone at the top, preferably from outside the corporation, with editorial and production experience: Milne had been summarily replaced by Michael Checkland, an accountant.
Birt was credited with re-structuring the BBC in accordance with Conservative Party privatisation policies, but in the face of much internal opposition. His supporters insist he saved the corporation from possible government sell-off, and properly equipped it to face the digital age. Birt later became an adviser to the Blair government.
John Birt was born in Liverpool to a Catholic father, a...
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