I have had a communication from Richard Black of the BBC (and his lawyer) that in the interests of fairness and debate, I must share with you. Indeed, he is threatening to sue me if I do not. He asserts that a piece I wrote about him on this blog, suggesting that he makes money from chairing climate change conferences, is wrong. He writes:
You draw these various strands together by saying that I and the BBC are “in bed” with “shadowy forces” that “pull the strings of the climate debate”.
I will make three things clear to you:
– I was not paid to facilitate at this meeting
– I do not “make a tidy income” from chairing conferences – I usually do so for free
– journalists are asked to chair conferences precisely because we can be objective, impartial referees
I am asking you to display on your page, prominently, a correction to your assertion that I was paid to chair part of this symposium, and acknowledgment that climate change was not its main focus.
In accordance with his wishes, I have printed his remarks prominently and made it a central part of the blog. I am happy to publicise his response to my story and make sure that Biased BBC readers are aware of it. And I accept his assertion unreservedly that he was not paid to chair this conference, and that, on this occasion, climate change was not the main focus.
At least now we know that Richard is above reproach; it’s perhaps a shame that other BBC presenters are not so candid in the terms of their acceptance of speaker roles, and that they freely advertise their services on the web at 10K a pop.
Update (in response to posts): For the record, Richard’s letters threatening legal action came in two stages; one from himself (from which the extract is lifted), the second, three weeks later in much more formal language, from Nick Alway in the BBC’s own legal department. The missive bears the imprint “investors in people” in the bottom right hand corner.
