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The News Agents

The Sun, The Scandal and the BBC

The News Agents

Global

News, Daily News, Government, Politics

4.15.4K Ratings

🗓️ 10 July 2023

⏱️ 42 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

The front pages proclaim just one story in town: the sex photos that were allegedly sold by an underage crack addict to a top BBC presenter.

But look a little deeper, and there may be more to this story than meets the eye. What do we know about the money that's changed hands? What does it tell us about the relationship between The Sun newspaper and the BBC? And where is the line between privacy and transparency?

Today we talk to former editor of The Sun, David Yelland, who tells us whether he would have published this story. And we ask what it tells us about media power in the digital age.

Later, we look at the sudden collapse of the Dutch government, over asylum issues. Does anyone in Europe have an answer to small boats?

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0

The Newsagents podcast is brought to you by HSBC UK, opening up a world of opportunity.

0:08.1

This is a global player original podcast.

0:11.8

We thought we'd start you off with a little paper review.

0:14.6

I've picked up the Financial Times.

0:16.4

And the main story here is that NATO allies are piling pressure on Germany and the US over Keeve.

0:21.4

But look at any other British national newspaper and you'll see a common theme.

0:27.6

The Sun, suspended BBC man's panic calls, the telegraph, BBC calls in police,

0:33.7

the Times BBC refers sex photos presented to met the eye, BBC and crisis, the Guardian, BBC talked to police as presenter suspended, Beeb's briefs, crisis, and on and on.

0:46.1

In the rest of the British press, in the rest of the British media, there is only one show in town.

0:52.4

Welcome to the newsagents.

0:56.7

The Newsagents.

0:58.5

It's John.

0:59.6

It's Emily. It's Monday and it's coming up to a quarter three in the afternoon.

1:05.2

And we are going to talk about the BBC today, not NATO,

1:09.0

because we figured it's probably what you want to hear from us today.

1:13.2

But I think we're going to start pretty gently because there are lots of things that we don't

1:19.2

know about this story and it's good to remember that. And there are lots of people involved whose

1:23.8

lives have or will almost certainly be turned upside down, possibly rather destroyed by these events,

1:31.4

whether it's the child in person or their mother or the presenter, or his spouse, or potential children.

1:37.7

So I do think this is first and foremost a story of devastating damage to individuals before we get on to the wise and wherefores of the media,

1:47.0

of the BBC, and yes, even of the Schadenfreude, of people expecting a great figure to tumble.

1:54.0

It's also easy when you've read some of the newspaper headlines to try to create a simple, direct narrative about what has happened

...

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