At the end of his first week as CEO of The New York Times, Mark Thompson was the subject of yet another story in his new paper about his tenure at the BBC. The latest story revealed that a letter sent in his name detailed sex abuse allegations against former host Jimmy Savile, allegations Thompson denies having known at the time. On Friday, Thompson sent this memo to staff, which does not mention the BBC scandal:

As I finish my first week at The New York Times Company, I would like to thank the many people I've already met. As you'd expect, Times employees come across as super-smart and totally committed to maintaining the values and quality that the company and its newspapers have always stood for. But I've also been struck by how friendly and welcoming you've been to me. (more...)

The New York Times
Mark Thompson says he was not aware of the details in a letter he authorized threatening London paper The Sunday Times with "defamation proceedings" over an article it was preparing about BBC program "Newsnight"'s decision to drop an investigation into sex-abuse charges against one of its stars, Jimmy Savile, reports Matthew Purdy.

The letter was prepared in September by a law firm and "included a summary of the alleged abuse, including the allegation that some abuse might have occurred at the BBC," Purdy writes. It "appears to have been the last in a string of opportunities for Mr. Thompson, while director general, to have gotten a fuller picture of Mr. Savile and the 'Newsnight' program," he writes.

Thompson is now the CEO of the New York Times Co. He declined to comment for the Times' article, but a former aide told Purdy, “It’s not clear if he was shown it, but he doesn’t remember reading it." (more...)

Sky News | The New York Times | "The Daily Show" | Time
The BBC has reached a settlement with Lord McAlpine, the politician it erroneously fingered as a sexual predator in a report on its "Newsnight" program.

But how did the BBC botch that report so soundly -- especially after after it killed a "Newsnight" story about a BBC presenter credibly accused of pedophilia?

It's not for lack of editorial process, Sarah Lyall and Nicholas Kulish write: After a 2004 scandal,

The corporation also appointed a deputy director general in charge of news operations; established a “journalism board” to monitor editorial policy; issued numerous new guidelines on journalistic procedures; and put an increasing emphasis on “compliance” — a system in which managers are required to file cumbersome forms flagging dozens of potential trouble spots, from bad language to “disturbing content” like exorcism or beheadings, in every program taped for broadcast.

(more...)

Incoming CEO Mark Thompson is scheduled to start work on Monday. Thompson "missed opportunities" to address a sex abuse scandal while he was director general of the BBC, the paper has reported. Joe Hagan has written "one senior executive I spoke with wished Thompson would voluntarily decide not to take the job.” Publisher and Times Co. chairman Arthur Sulzberger Jr. has expressed support for Thompson.

Tuesday, Guild members are scheduled to vote on a tentative contract deal reached Oct. 28. Keith J. Kelly writes that "passage is not assured":

The contract provides for no retroactive pay raise, but gives a one-time "bonus" next March equal to 3 percent of annual salary. The final three years call for only 2 percent annual pay hikes — half what the union initially sought.

The New York Times | New York | Seeking Alpha | Guardian
Incoming New York Times Company CEO Mark Thompson "repeatedly missed opportunities" when he was director general of the BBC to learn why one of its news programs canceled an investigation into sex-abuse claims against entertainer Jimmy Savile, reports Matthew Purdy in The New York Times. Thompson "said he knew nothing of the Savile investigation before it was canceled by the editor of the BBC’s 'Newsnight' program," Purdy writes.

As for what he knew afterward, his statements have evolved: He first said he was unaware of the investigation, but then acknowledged he was subsequently told of its cancellation by a reporter at a cocktail party. He said while he “may have formed an impression” about possible areas of a Savile investigation, including his charity work, he was unaware of child-sexual-abuse accusations.

Other news organizations covered the "Newsnight" decision, and clips from coverage of the BBC were discussed in daily executive conference calls, Purdy writes. In testimony to Parliament, new DG George Entwistle explained that, in Purdy's words, "only the rarest program issue reaches the director general."

An incredulous member of Parliament’s Culture, Media and Sport committee, Damian Collins, said “if this doesn’t qualify, you wonder what the bar is.”

(more...)

The New York Times | The Daily Mail
Incoming New York Times Co. CEO Mark Thompson's BBC office was contacted twice by journalists seeking comment after one of the network's news shows spiked a program investigating claims of rampant sexual abuse by a BBC star. Neither request made it to Thompson personally, his spokesperson told Britain's Sunday Times.

Thompson, who was the BBC's director general until September and was named the Times Co.'s CEO in August, has said he only heard about the decision in late 2011, at a party where BBC journalist Caroline Hawley asked him about the segment, which had been scheduled to run on a show called "Newsnight" and investigated a longtime BBC personality named Jimmy Savile. But in The Sunday Times this weekend, a journalist named Miles Goslett wrote that he'd filed a freedom of information request for internal BBC correspondence regarding the decision, and that Thompson's office referred him to the BBC's media relations department when he called for comment after that request was denied. (more...)

The Guardian | The New York Times
The British Broadcasting Corporation killed a news report investigating allegations of child abuse by one of its longtime stars when Mark Thompson was the BBC's chief. He's now the incoming CEO of the New York Times Company, and questions about how much he knew are getting louder.

Thompson has said he first heard about the report, prepared for the BBC show "Newsnight," at a holiday party last December. The Guardian's Adam Gabbatt writes that a Thompson spokesperson told the Times of London, "Mark attended a party late last year where a journalist mentioned the fact that 'Newsnight' had been investigating [Jimmy] Savile. The journalist said words to the effect that, 'You must be worried about the "Newsnight" investigation.' " (more...)