The BBC has moved to stabilise itself following weeks of apparent incompetence with an edict from its new acting director of news, Fran Unsworth, calling on all her staff to stop discussing the broadcasters problems on Twitter.
Unsworth’s move is a direct challenge to the likes of Jeremy Paxman and Robert Peston who have been busily disparaging their employer on social media sites as a series of fiascos enveloped the broadcaster.
The edict itself was soon leaked however with Broadcast magazine reproducing it first: “It would be helpful if some of our problems were not played out publically across social media and in the pages of the national press.”
It followed a damaging slanging match at the weekend as the blame game and finger pointing over the incompetence erupted on Twitter with Paxman singling out ‘cowards and incompetents’ in the BBCs middle management.
The BBC is currently engaged in disciplinary proceedings around a Newsnight report which falsely accused a senior Conservative of being a paedophile.