The "reform" of the BBC was the unfinished business of Boris Johnson since his assault on power.

And the chosen man, Tim Davie, 53, arrives with a reputation as an

energetic

tiger

(a long-distance runner, seasoned in the corporate world with Procter & Gamble and PepsiCo) and

with the purpose of returning to the British Broadcasting Corporation the patina of "impartiality. "Lost

over time, especially during the turbulent Brexit era.

His past proximity to the

Tories

(he was vice chairman of the Conservative Party in Hammersmith and Fulham), however, makes one fear that

behind his appointment there is an inevitable political agenda

, hatched in the shadows by the

premier's

ubiquitous strategist

, Dominic Cummings, who had his peephole has long been on public television.

Tim Davie's first and controversial decision was precisely to prohibit journalists from expressing their political opinions on the networks

.

"If you want to be an opinion columnist or campaign for a party on social media it seems like a valid option," he warned in his presentation speech to staff in Cardiff.

"But you shouldn't work at the BBC."

Davie broke a spear for the BBC as a "champion of fairness".

"In the era of

fake news

, social media campaigns, echo chambers of opinion and loud and partisan newspapers, this is our moment."

"It is not a simple question of left and right," he added.

"It's about being free from political bias ...

The question is whether people feel that we see the world from their point of view. Our research shows that many perceive us as having a particular perspective."

Davie broke a spear for the BBC as "champion of fairness"

The new director of the BBC has not specified how the control of what its journalists write on the networks will take place, but has put a former television executive, Richard Sambrook, in charge of

"the review of the use of social networks "

.

It is unknown if domestic politics will also affect commentators such as footballer Gary Lineker, who has used the networks to lash out at Brexit and, more recently, to condemn the British government's immigration policy.

Last May, the BBC already took a first step with the reprimand of the presenter Emily Maitis (the same one who interviewed Prince Andrew) for criticizing Dominic Cummings when he skipped the confinement of the Coronavirus and traveled with his family the 400 kilometers that separate Durham London.

That same month, the BBC however decided to enlist its political editor, Laura Kuenssberg, who defended Johnson's controversial adviser.

The brief passage of the new director of the BBC through politics and his closeness to the

Tories

(he became a failed candidate for councilor in 1993 for his district in London) makes one suspect that after his call to journalists to put aside their " personal agendas "and free themselves from" political bias "there may be something more.

It is true that

Tim Davie earned his promotion after a long career within the BBC

: he debuted as head of marketing in 2005 and served as acting CEO for a few months, following the resounding resignation of George Entwistle and the arrival in 2013 from the former director of the Royal Opera House Tony Hall, the same one who has now yielded the helm.

Hall's replacement has also been preceded by a sounded political controversy.

The traditional farewell to the

proms

, the BBC concerts at the Royal Albert Hall, came last week with a musical version and no lyrics of

Rule Britannia

, the patriotic song identified with the British Empire.

The conservative newspaper

The Daily Mail

orchestrated a campaign against Hall's decision and actually achieved its goal of vindicating the future use of the lyrics ("

Britain rules the waves / We British will never be slaves

") with the arrival of Tim Davie at the helm. from the BBC.

With the changing of the guard on public television, speculation had been going on for months.

Boris Johnson made no secret of his anger at the BBC for its anti-Brexit bias

before, during and after the EU referendum.

The swerve on public television was in fact one of the great goals of his strategist Dominic Cummings, true to his own motto: "Regain control."

The swerve on public television was in fact one of the great goals of Boris Johnson's strategy

Back in 2004, at the head of the

think tank

New Frontiers Foundation, Cummings accused public television of being "the mortal enemy of the

Tories

" and called for "the end of the BBC in its current model."

The still unfulfilled dream of Johnson's adviser is to eliminate the "license" that obliges the British to pay the equivalent of 175 euros a year to be able to watch television

, and which until now has been the great source of financing for public television .

The Johnson Government has already announced its intention to "decriminalize" the payment of the license, although Tim Davie himself has defended its existence and has warned that

the BBC will not evolve towards a subscription model "Netflix style"

, although it will reinforce the agreements commercials and may be forced to rely on sponsorships and advertising.

Another novelty announced by the new

boss

of the BBC is the end of "linear expansion" of the brand, now that so much was beginning to be said about his new role as a champion of "global Britain" post Brexit.

"The BBC should consider what we would be like with 80% of our broadcast hours and relocate funds to generate maximum value," added Davie, in what is interpreted as

an imminent cut of 20% in production and the threat of new layoffs

.

The new CEO promised to "accelerate changes", reduce bureaucracy, avoid duplication of functions and be more competitive in the new media context.

The changeover at the BBC coincides with the news of at least two projects - one dubbed "GB News" and another close to Rupert Murdoch and directed by former Fox News executive David Rhodes - to

launch separate news channels in the United Kingdom with a strong weight of opinion

.

The recent launch of Times Radio also serves the purpose of creating an alternative to the BBC on the radio scene and in the

podcast era

.

According to the criteria of The Trust Project

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