A good reputation
From Mr Wynn Wheldon Sir: Some years ago my father, Huw Whel- don, found himself sitting next to a German broadcaster at a large international televi- sion bash in New York. The German was bewailing his country's 'image' abroad. My father responded that it was not so much Germany's image that was the problem as its reputation.
It seems to me that a number of British institutions have fallen prey to the same con- fusion as that unwittingly felt by the Ger- man. Hence we are offered Kevin Keegan as coach of the England football team — a man who as a coach has won nothing at all
LETTERS
— and Greg Dyke as DG of the BBC. (We might even mention Janet Street-Porter, although one hesitates to call the Sindie an institution.) They do not have obvious quali- fications. Great institutions are wonderfully complicated. They are living organisms, not systems. Being that, they are much more dif- ficult to change from the outside than they are from within. John Birt, whatever his suc- cesses as a commercial manager, has over- seen a decline in the morale of the BBC which beggars belief. Put simply, people are no longer proud to work there. In fact they hate it. This is because John Birt failed to recognise that the BBC is not merely an organisation. I hope Mr Dyke knows the dif- ference. Reputation is very much more important than image.
Wynn Wheldon
18 Highgate West Hill, London N6
Previous page
