Part A     BBC's Path toRestoring Trust

 

Vocabulary Preparation:

 

pedophile n. someone who is sexually attractedto children恋童癖患者

implicate v. to show to be involved, especially in a crime 牵连；牵涉

allegation  n. an unprovedstatement or assertion, especially one in an accusation （无证据的）指控；陈词

resign  v. to give up tenure of (a job, office, etc.) 辞职

trustworthiness  n. the condition of being worthy ofbeing trusted 值得信赖

journalistic  adj. of, relating to, or characteristicof journalism or journalists 新闻业的；新闻工作（者）的

basics  n. the most important and necessaryfacts about something, from which other possibilities and ideas may develop 基本原则

pedophilia  n. the condition of being sexually attracted to children 恋童癖

journalism  n. the profession or practice of reporting about, photographing, or editing newsstories for one of the mass media 新闻；新闻业

columnist  n. a journalist who writes a regular feature in a newspaper 专栏作家

editor-in-chief  n. the controlling editor of a publication 总编辑

oversee  v. to be in charge of a group of workers and check that a piece ofwork is done satisfactorily 监督；监管

successor  n. a person or thing that succeeds another 继任者；接替的事物

radical  adj. concerningthe most basic and important parts of something; thorough and complete 根本的；彻底的；激进的

overhaul  n. a thorough examination and repair 大修；彻底检查

charter  n. a written statement of the principlesand aims of an organization； constitution 宪章，章程

thin out tobecome fewer in number, especially when there were many before, or to removepeople, plants, or things so that fewer remain 使…变稀疏；变少

impose v. to establish as something to be obeyed or complied with; enforce把…强加于

bureaucratic  adj. of or relating to bureaucrats; characterized bybureaucracy   官僚主义的

box-ticking n. the completion of a form containing multiple-choicequestionsin which one or more boxes need to be tickedby way of an answer.This term is somewhat derisive, and is used especially in reference to bureaucraticprocesses thought to have little practical use. 打勾；程序性且缺乏实质意义的按章办事

first and foremostused foremphasizing the main point or the most important reason for something 首要地

hubris  n. pride or arrogance 骄傲自大；自恃

democracy  n. government by the peopleor their elected representatives 民主；民主国家

impartial adj. not prejudiced towards oragainst any particular side or party; unbiased 公正的；不偏不倚的

asset  n. anything valuable or useful 资产；有价值的人（或事物）

ethics  n. the philosophical study of the moral value of human conduct andof the rules and principles that ought to govern it; moral philosophy 伦理；道德

scrutinize  v. to look at or examine somebody or something carefully 仔细查看；认真检查

hack  v. to secretly find a way of getting information fromsomeone else's computer or changing information on it （非法闯入电脑）窃取

reshuffle  n. the change around the jobs that a group of people do, for example,in a government 改组；重新配置

 

 

Notes:

 

Jimmy Savile (1926—2011) was an English DJ,television presenter, media personality and charity fundraiser. He hosted theBBC television show Jim'll Fix It,was the first and last presenter of the long-running BBC music chart show Top of the Pops, and raised an estimated£40,000,000 for charities. A year after his death, hundreds of allegations ofchild sex abuse and rape became public, leading the police to believe thatSavile was a predatory sex offender, and may have been one of Britain's mostprolific sexual offenders. 吉米•萨维尔（英国广播公司已故主持人）

Tory is commonly usedto refer to the Conservative Party and its members. 托利党；（英国）保守党党

Lord McAlpine (1942—) is a retired Britishbusinessman, politician and author who was an advisor to former Prime MinisterMargaret Thatcher. The broadcast on 2 November, 2012 of a report by BBC Two'sNewsnight falsely linked him to sex abuse claims. 麦卡尔平爵士（英国前保守党财务主管）

George Entwistle (1962—) was Director General ofthe BBC during 2012, succeeding Mark Thompson. Entwistle resigned as DirectorGeneral on 10 November, 2012, following controversy over a Newsnight report which falsely implicated Lord McAlpine in theNorth Wales child abuse scandal. His resignation after just 54 days in the rolemade him the shortest serving Director General in the history of the BBC. 乔治•恩特威斯尔（原英国广播公司总裁）

Newsnight is a daily BBCTelevision current affairs program which specializes in analysis and often robustcross-examination of senior politicians. JeremyPaxman has been its main presenter for over two decades. 《新闻之夜》（英国广播公司一档著名时事分析节目）

The Financial Times (FT) isa British English-language international daily newspaper with a specialemphasis on business and economic news in the United Kingdom andinternationally.英国《金融时报》

Lord Patten (1944—) is currently chairman of the BBC Trust and Chancellor of the University ofOxford. He accepted a posting as thelast Governor andCommander-in-Chief of Hong Kong, andoversaw its handover to the People's Republic of China in July 1997. 彭定康爵士

BBC Charter is theconstitutional basis for the BBC. An accompanying Agreement recognizes itseditorial independence and sets out its public obligations in detail. It tookfull effect from 1 January, 2007 and runs until 31 December, 2016. It sets outthe public purposes of the BBC, guarantees its independence, and outlines theduties of the Trust and the Executive Board. 英国广播公司皇家特许状

The Leveson Inquiry isa judicial public inquiry into the culture, practices and ethics ofthe British press following the News International phone hacking scandal, chaired by LordJustice Leveson, who was appointed in July 2011. A series of public hearingswere held throughout 2011 and 2012. 莱韦森调查；莱韦森质询（新闻集团窃听事件后，针对英国媒体道德规范所进行的一系列专项调查）

The News International phone-hacking scandal — dubbed "Hackgate", "Rupertgate",or "Murdochgate" by the press — is a controversy involving thenow defunct News of the World and other British newspapers published by News International, a subsidiary of the then-News Corporation. Employees of thenewspaper were accused of engaging in phone hacking, police bribery, and exercising improper influence inthe pursuit of publishing stories.《世界新闻报》窃听门事件；默克多门

 

 

Exercise1: Listen to the news report and get the main idea.

      

What is the mainpoint of the report?

A.  Thescandal of Jimmy Savile.

B.  Thewrong implication of Lord McAlpine.

C.  Theresignation of Gorge Entwistle.

D.  Thecrisis of BBC.

 

Exercise 2: Listen to the news report again and fillin the blanks with the exact words or phrases.

 

Daniel Garrahan: The BBC, the world’sbiggest public service broadcaster is in crisis. Its news operation is beinghit. First, the dropping its evening report on the pedophile activities of thelate entertainer Jimmy Savile. Then, for a report that led former Torytreasurer Lord McAlpine to be wrongly implicated in child abuse allegations.BBC head director general George Entwistle has resigned. The BBC’s tradition oftrustworthiness and integrity is in the spotlight. The FT’s chief politicalcommentator Phillip Stevens says the BBC needs to quickly relearn somejournalistic basics.  

Phillip Stevens (chief political commentator, FT):I think in a way it was unfortunate that Mr. Entwistle had to stand down. Hewas very unlucky in the job for 50-odd days, and walked into the greatcontroversy about Jimmy Savile and the question about whether Jimmy Savile usedthe BBC as a base for terrible, pedophilia activities. But essentially theproblem, I think, the BBC has is one of the   1   of its journalism. And I think too, linked tothat, the structure of the BBC, indeed the structure of the BBC left behind bythe previous director general.

Daniel Garrahan: Mr. Entwistle admitted that he didn’t know about the Newsnight investigation that mistakenlylinked Lord Mcalpine to child abuse until after it was broadcast. The FT SeniorColumnist John Gapper says this raises serious questions about the role of directorgeneral, which combines responsibilities of chief executive witheditor-in-chief, having to oversee thousands of errands of news experts.

John Gapper (Senior Columnist, FT): What thescandal has shown is that the editor-in-chief in name wasn’t really   2   the journalism that was going on beneath him,because as he says the organization was too big. If that’s the case, then itraises a question about the entire way in which the director general’s role iscombined with that of editor-in-chief of the corporation.

Phillip Stevens (chief political commentator, FT):I think that’s an argument at some point those functions might be split.But I don’t think this is the time. What above all else now, the BBC needs verystrong   3   from a single person and from someone who isprepared to be a strong editor-in-chief.

Daniel Garrahan: Lord Patten, the BBC chairman, who chose Entwistle and will choose hissuccessor, has called for a thorough structural and radical overhaul of the   4  . But the current BBC Charter doesn’t run outuntil 2016. So it’s unclear just how radical any restructuring can be, at leastin the short term.

John Gapper (Senior Columnist, FT): I think itwould be difficult to rewrite the charter in the middle of the ten-year period.That opens up a whole set of issues. I don’t think that Lord Patten, the BBCTrust Chairman, would want to go there. But I do think he can make   5 changes in how the upper layer of managementworks, perhaps thin it out somewhat, have some greater   6   responsibility imposed. That shouldn’t requirethrowing the entire structure out.

Daniel Garrahan: Phillip Stevens says in future the BBC needs to establish clear linesbetween reporting and   7  . And for journalistic judgment to replace bureaucratic box-ticking.

Phillip Stevens (chief political commentator, FT):First and foremost, a new director general has to think what’s the BBCabout. And I think it’s been a certain amount of hubris in recent years about theBBC wanting to be a big, global   8  . The BBC actually is a public broadcaster. It’s paid for by thelicense fee-payers and it’s there to provide for a democracy, impartial   9   news and analyses and entertainment andenlightenment for a broad mass of people. It’s not there to, if you like, tofuel and support the egos of its many celebrity employees.

Daniel Garrahan: The BBC’s most valuable asset is public trust. Particularly, at thetime when the culture and ethics of the British Press has been scrutinized by the Leveson Inquiry,following the News International phone-hacking scandal. The BBC needs to regainpublic trust,   10   and stability. And it mighttake major structural reform as well as a management reshuffle to do so. DanielGarrahan, Financial Times, London.