New York Times columnist questions new boss Mark Thompson's handling of Jimmy Savile Newsnight investigation axing
The BBC’s former director general Mark Thompson, who is set to take over as chief executive of the New York Times in the coming weeks has been accused of being ‘wilfully ignorant’ over the Jimmy Savile scandal.
New York Times columnist Joe Nocera has written a piece entitled ‘The Right Man for the Job?’ that asks questions of Thompson, his leadership and whether the decision to axe the Newsnight programme that would have exposed Savile’s alleged sexual misconduct with children, was part of a “cover-up.”
The column described Thompson as being “wilfully ignorant” over the Newsnight investigation, which Nocera said “makes you wonder what kind of an organisation the BBC was when Thompson was running it.”
He also wonders why nothing was done when Newspapers began to ask questions about the investigation being abandoned, drawing comparisons with the impact that the child abuse at Penn State University had on the institution.
Mark Thompson will take up his position at the New York Times from 12 November.