There were urgent NATO meetings about the war in Ukraine, raging floods from India to Vermont, and a record heat wave across America. But this week the BBC wound up airing wall-to-wall coverage of a different story: itself.
The confirmation that Huw Edwards, a prominent BBC anchor, was the unnamed person at the heart of allegations of sexual misconduct ended days of breathless speculation that consumed Britain’s public broadcaster. Yet it left a lingering sense of unease about the role of the British news media — and its even more intrusive cousin, social media — in the unmasking of a public figure.
Mr. Edwards, his wife said on Wednesday, has been hospitalized with a mental breakdown aggravated by a tabloid newspaper report that he paid tens of thousands of pounds to a teenager for sexually explicit images. The police said they found no evidence that Mr. Edwards had committed a crime, raising questions about why the BBC devoted hours of airtime, or the papers acres of newsprint, to what turned out to be the private life of one of the broadcaster’s stars.
The allegations were salacious, to be sure — catnip for the British press — and the BBC was trying to show journalistic integrity by not shying away from embarrassing news about a member of its own staff. » | Mark Landler | Thursday, July 13, 2023
‘I hope Huw Edwards is shown the same kindness that saved me when I first came clean about my problems’: Following the BBC star’s wife describing the newsreader’s mental health, one writer shares his own story about dealing with depression »
Andy Coulson advising Huw Edwards’s family on crisis management: Ex-News of the World editor takes on old News UK colleagues over Sun’s allegations against suspended BBC presenter »
Huw Edwards: the unanswered questions hovering over presenter’s future: The Sun and the BBC have both come under criticism over the paper’s coverage and the broadcaster’s handling of the scandal »
