From a paddling pool of sanctimony to a plunge in the deep end: from the BBC to the New York Times. Mark Thompson was not director general of the BBC when Jimmy Savile was around. He wasn't at the BBC at all during Savile's salacious 70s. Maybe the Pollard report, when published, will show he knew something about the Newsnight investigation last November; but maybe not, because of the way the corporation keeps its news about news twitchily separate. So why is a New York Times columnist allowed to write a piece saying Thompson isn't a suitable CEO to take charge at the sacred organ – an opinion that makes ripples round the world?
Because editors at the NYT can't tell columnists on the paper what to write. Because anything goes in the name of editorial freedom. Because sanctimony trumps proper inquiry every time. Perhaps, in small ways, Thompson will feel quite at home at the Grey Lady once the floodwaters of murk recede.
