The Daily Telegraph in a leader today headlined "Good Widdance" describes the BBC's decision to hire Jonathan Ross as one of the corporation's "worst mistakes in its history".
The Telegraph says: "A good deal of the opprobrium heaped upon the BBC in recent years stemmed from the extraordinary revelation (leaked, not volunteered) that Ross was earning £6 million a year, a sum justified on the same specious grounds that its managers now use to defend their own grossly inflated salaries – that it was the rate demanded by the market, which if not awarded would see such "talent" go elsewhere. If Ross can land such a lucrative deal in the commercial sector, good luck to him. We shall see."
It adds: "Ross was hired because he was seen as edgy and possessed an appeal to young people, who do not necessarily pay the licence fee. Too many of those who did pay it never warmed to him and were appalled by his often vulgar humour. For them, he came to personify a corruption of taste across the BBC's output – a collective madness we trust will follow him out of the door."
It adds: "Ross was hired because he was seen as edgy and possessed an appeal to young people, who do not necessarily pay the licence fee. Too many of those who did pay it never warmed to him and were appalled by his often vulgar humour. For them, he came to personify a corruption of taste across the BBC's output – a collective madness we trust will follow him out of the door."
Telegraph columnist and former editor Charles Moore, who led a campaign to boycott the licence fee in the wake of the 'Sachsgate ' affair while Ross was employed by the BBC, says in the Telegraph : "This is a victory for those of us who refused to accept that Jonathan Ross's 'punishment' by the BBC was adequate. This is the BBC's credit crunch, and Ross is its Fred Goodwin. Never again will such outrageous sums contributed by licence fee-payers be permitted to go to an individual."
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