biography
| sex:
| male
|
| lived:
| (1944– )
|
| biography:
| Broadcasting executive, born in Liverpool, Merseyside, NW England, UK. He studied engineering at Oxford, joined Granada Television (1968), and worked on the public affairs programme World in Action before moving to London Weekend Television (1971) as producer of The Frost Programme. Directly responsible for the political programme Weekend World, he became noted for his rigorous professionalism. British television was undergoing a critical period of change when the BBC's director general, Michael Checkland, appointed him deputy director (1987). During his time as director-general (1993–2000), he initiated a radical and controversial programme of reforms (‘Birtism’), including a market-driven approach to programme-making. He received an Emmy in 1995, was knighted in 1998, and was created a life peer in 2000. |
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