Mark Thompson (television executive)
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Mark John Thompson (born 31 July 1957)"THOMPSON, Mark John Thompson," in ''
Who's Who 2009 ''Who's Who'' (or ''Who is Who'') is the title of a number of reference publications, generally containing concise biographical information on the prominent people of a country. The title has been adopted as an expression meaning a group of nota ...
'' (London: A & C Black, 2008); online ed., (Oxford: OUP, 2008)

Retrieved 25 January 2009. is a British media executive who is Chairman of the Board of Directors of Ancestry.com, Ancestry, the largest for-profit genealogy company in the world. He is the former
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and
chief executive officer A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especial ...
of
The New York Times Company The New York Times Company is an American mass media company that publishes ''The New York Times''. Its headquarters are in Manhattan, New York City. History The company was founded by Henry Jarvis Raymond and George Jones in New York City. ...
. From 2004 to 2012, he served as
Director-General A director general or director-general (plural: ''directors general'', ''directors-general'', ''director generals'' or ''director-generals'' ) or general director is a senior executive officer, often the chief executive officer, within a governmen ...
of the
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...
, and before that was the Chief Executive of
Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a fourth television service ...
. In 2009 Thompson was ranked as the 65th most powerful person in the world by ''
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'' magazine. He was elected to the
American Philosophical Society The American Philosophical Society (APS), founded in 1743 in Philadelphia, is a scholarly organization that promotes knowledge in the sciences and humanities through research, professional meetings, publications, library resources, and communit ...
in 2017.


Early life

Thompson was born in London, England, and brought up in
Welwyn Garden City Welwyn Garden City ( ) is a town in Hertfordshire, England, north of London. It was the second garden city in England (founded 1920) and one of the first new towns (designated 1948). It is unique in being both a garden city and a new town and ...
, Hertfordshire, by his parents, Sydney ( Corduff) and Duncan John Thompson. Sydney was Irish, the daughter of a
County Donegal County Donegal ( ; ga, Contae Dhún na nGall) is a county of Ireland in the province of Ulster and in the Northern and Western Region. It is named after the town of Donegal in the south of the county. It has also been known as County Tyrconn ...
policeman. Mark Thompson has a sister, Katherine. Duncan Thompson was an accountant from Preston who died when Mark was twelve after suffering from chronic illness and depression. Mark Thompson was educated by
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at Stonyhurst College in Lancashire, and then went to Merton College, Oxford where he took a
first First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1). First or 1st may also refer to: *World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement Arts and media Music * 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and rec ...
in English. He edited the university magazine, ''
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''.


Early career

Thompson first joined the BBC as a production trainee in 1979. His career at the corporation included a number of roles. In 1981, he assisted in the launch of the long-running consumer programme ''
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.'' Two years later he was part of the team that created British television's first national
breakfast television Breakfast television (Europe, Canada, and Australia) or morning show (United States) is a type of news or infotainment television programme that broadcasts live in the morning (typically scheduled between 5:00 and 10:00a.m., or if it is a ...
programme, '' Breakfast Time''. In 1985, Thompson became the Output Editor of ''
Newsnight ''Newsnight'' (or ''BBC Newsnight'') is BBC Two's news and current affairs programme, providing in-depth investigation and analysis of the stories behind the day's headlines. The programme is broadcast on weekdays at 22:30. and is also availa ...
'' and in 1988, at the age of 30, he was promoted to Editor of the '' Nine O'Clock News''. In 1990, he became Editor of '' Panorama.'' He was made Head of Features in 1992 and Head of Factual Programmes in 1994. In 1996, Thompson succeeded
Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. Over a ...
as Controller of BBC2. He commissioned series including ''The Cops'', ''
The Royle Family ''The Royle Family'' is a British sitcom produced by Granada Television for the BBC, which ran for three series from 1998 to 2000, and specials from 2006 to 2012. It centres on the lives of a television-fixated Manchester family, the Royles, com ...
'', ''Our Mutual Friend'' and ''
The Fast Show ''The Fast Show'', known as ''Brilliant'' in the US, is a BBC comedy sketch show that ran from 1994 to 1997, with specials in 2000 and 2014. The show's central performers were Paul Whitehouse, Charlie Higson, Simon Day, Mark Williams, John T ...
''. He left BBC Two in 1999 and was replaced by
Jane Root Jane Fairbairn Root (born 18 May 1957) is a creative executive in the media industry, who has run major television networks on both sides of the Atlantic. As Controller of BBC Two (1999 to 2004), she was the first woman to be a channel controller f ...
, who became the channel's first female Controller. In 1999 Thompson was named Director, National and Regional Broadcasting at the BBC. He became the BBC Director of Television in 2000, but left the corporation in March 2002 to become Chief Executive of
Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a fourth television service ...
. He succeeded
Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. Over a ...
in the role, and left in 2004 to be succeeded by Andy Duncan.


Director-General of the BBC


Appointment

Thompson was appointed Director-General of the BBC on 21 May 2004. He succeeded
Greg Dyke Gregory Dyke (born 20 May 1947) is a British media executive, football administrator, journalist, and broadcaster. Since the 1960s, Dyke has had a long career in the UK in print and then broadcast journalism. He is credited with introducing ' ...
, who resigned on 29 January 2004 in the aftermath of the
Hutton Inquiry The Hutton Inquiry was a 2003 judicial inquiry in the UK chaired by Lord Hutton, who was appointed by the Labour government to investigate the controversial circumstances surrounding the death of Dr David Kelly, a biological warfare expert and ...
. Although he had originally stated he was not interested in the role of Director-General and would turn down any approach from the BBC, he changed his mind, saying the job was a "one-of-a-kind opportunity". The decision to appoint Thompson Director-General was made unanimously by the BBC Board of Governors, headed by the then new Chairman
Michael Grade Michael Ian Grade, Baron Grade of Yarmouth, (born 8 March 1943) is an English television executive and businessman. He has held a number of senior roles in television, including controller of BBC1 (1984–1986), chief executive of Channel 4 (1 ...
(another former chief executive of Channel 4). His appointment was widely praised: Culture Secretary
Tessa Jowell Tessa Jane Helen Douglas Jowell, Baroness Jowell, (; 18 September 1947 – 12 May 2018) was a British Labour Party politician and life peer who served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Dulwich and West Norwood, previously Dulwich, from ...
, Shadow Culture Secretary
Julie Kirkbride Julie Kirkbride (born 5 June 1960) is a British Conservative politician. She was the Member of Parliament for the Conservative stronghold of Bromsgrove from the 1997 to the 2010 general elections. Early life Kirkbride was born in Halifax, Wes ...
and
Greg Dyke Gregory Dyke (born 20 May 1947) is a British media executive, football administrator, journalist, and broadcaster. Since the 1960s, Dyke has had a long career in the UK in print and then broadcast journalism. He is credited with introducing ' ...
were amongst those who supported his selection. He took up the role of Director-General on 22 June 2004 (
Mark Byford Mark Julian Byford (born 13 June 1958) was Deputy Director-General of the BBC and head of BBC journalism from 2004 to 2011. He chaired the BBC Journalism Board and was a member of the BBC Executive Board for thirteen years. His responsibilities ...
had been Acting Director-General since Dyke's resignation). On his first day he announced several management changes, including the replacement of the BBC's sixteen-person executive committee with a slimmed-down executive board of nine top managers.


Editorial guideline breaches

In 2007 it emerged that the BBC had been involved in a number of editorial guideline breaches. Thompson, as BBC editor-in-chief, investigated the breaches, and presented his interim report to the
BBC Trust The BBC Trust was the governing body of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) between 2007 and 2017. It was operationally independent of BBC management and external bodies, and its stated aim was to make decisions in the best interests of ...
on 18 July 2007. The Trust felt that the BBC's values of accuracy and honesty had been compromised, and Thompson outlined to the Trust the actions he would take to restore confidence. Later that day he told BBC staff, via an internal televised message, that deception of the public was never acceptable. He said that he, himself, had never deceived the public – it would never have occurred to him to do so, and that he was sure that the same applied to the "overwhelming majority" of BBC staff. He also spoke on
BBC News 24 BBC News (also known as the BBC News Channel) is a British free-to-air public broadcast television news channel for BBC News. It was launched as BBC News 24 on 9 November 1997 at 5:30 pm as part of the BBC's foray into digital domestic telev ...
and was interviewed by
Gavin Esler Gavin William James Esler (born 27 February 1953) is a Scottish journalist, television presenter and author. He was a main presenter on BBC Two's flagship political analysis programme, ''Newsnight'', from January 2003 until January 2014, and pr ...
for ''
Newsnight ''Newsnight'' (or ''BBC Newsnight'') is BBC Two's news and current affairs programme, providing in-depth investigation and analysis of the stories behind the day's headlines. The programme is broadcast on weekdays at 22:30. and is also availa ...
''. He stated that "from now on, if it eceiving the publichappens we will show people the door." Staff were emailed on 19 July 2007 and later in the year all staff, including the Director-General, undertook a Safeguarding Trust course.


Programme production criticism

In late 2007, Thompson's directorship at the BBC was criticised.
Sir Richard Eyre Sir Richard Charles Hastings Eyre (born 28 March 1943) is an English film, theatre, television and opera director. Biography Eyre was born in Barnstaple, Devon, England, the son of Richard Galfridus Hastings Giles Eyre and his wife, Minna Mar ...
, former artistic director of the National Theatre, accused the BBC under Thompson's leadership of failing to produce programmes "that inspired viewers to visit galleries, museums or theatres". He was also criticised by
Tony Palmer Tony Palmer (born 29 August 1941)IMDb: Tony Palmer
Retrieved 24 September 2011 is a British film direc ...
, a multi-award-winning filmmaker. Of the BBC, Palmer stated that it "has a worldwide reputation which it has abrogated and that's shameful. In the end, the buck stops with Mark Thompson. He is a catastrophe."


''The Russell Brand Show'' prank telephone calls row

In October 2008, Thompson had to cut short a family holiday to return to Britain to deal with the arrival of ''The Russell Brand Show'' prank telephone calls row. Thompson took the executive decision to suspend the BBC's highest paid presenter, Jonathan Ross, from all his BBC work for three months without pay. He also said it was the controversial star's last warning. Nevertheless, Thompson reiterated the BBC's commitment to Ross' style of "edgy comedy", claiming that "BBC audiences accept that, in comedy, performers attempt to push the line of taste". Thompson had previously defended the star's conduct and salary in 2006, when he described Ross as "outstanding" and claimed that "the very best people" deserved appropriately high salaries. In September 2010 Thompson acknowledged some of the BBC's previous political bias he had witnessed early in his career. He stated: "In the BBC I joined 30 years ago there was, in much of current affairs, in terms of people's personal politics, which were quite vocal, a massive bias to the left". He added: "the organisation did struggle then with impartiality".


''Jerry Springer: The Opera'' blasphemy allegations

He was criticised by religious groups in relation to the broadcast of '' Jerry Springer: The Opera'', with a private prosecution brought against the BBC for blasphemy. Lord Pannick QC appeared and won the case. The High Court ruled that the cult musical was not blasphemous, and Pannick stated that Judge Tubbs had "acted within her powers and made the only decision she could lawfully have made; while religious beliefs were integral to British society, so is freedom of expression, especially to matters of social and moral importance."


Accusations of pro-Israeli editorial stance

A number of commentators have suggested that Thompson has a pro-Israeli editorial stance, particularly since he supported the controversial decision by the BBC not to broadcast the DEC Gaza appeal in January 2009. Complaints to the BBC about the decision, numbering nearly 16,000, were directed to a statement by Thompson. In May 2011, Thompson ordered the lyrics 'free Palestine' in a rap on BBC Radio 1Xtra to be censored. During a meeting of the British Parliament's Culture and Media Committee in June 2012, Thompson also issued an apology for not devoting more coverage to the murders of an Israeli settler family in the West Bank, saying the "network got it wrong" – despite the fact that the incident occurred on the same day as the
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.
Tam Dean Burn Tam Dean Burn (born 1958 in Leith, Scotland) is a Scottish actor who has played a wide range of roles on stage and screen. On television this includes multiple roles on long-running detective series ''Taggart'', youth sci-fi thriller '' Life For ...
wrote in '' The Herald'': "I would argue that this bias has moved on apace since Thompson went to Israel in 2005 and signed a deal with prime minister Ariel Sharon on the BBC's coverage of the conflict."


Nick Griffin ''Question Time'' appearance

In October 2009, Thompson defended the decision by the BBC to invite
British National Party The British National Party (BNP) is a far-right, fascist political party in the United Kingdom. It is headquartered in Wigton, Cumbria, and its leader is Adam Walker. A minor party, it has no elected representatives at any level of UK gover ...
leader
Nick Griffin Nicholas John Griffin (born 1 March 1959) is a British politician and white supremacist who represented North West England as a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) from 2009 to 2014. He served as chairman and then president of the far-righ ...
to appear on the ''Question Time (TV programme), Question Time'' programme following criticism by Labour politicians including Home Secretary Alan Johnson and Secretary of State for Wales Peter Hain. The decision also led to protests outside Television Centre, London, BBC Television Centre by Unite Against Fascism, UAF campaigners. Thompson said: "It is a straightforward matter of fact that... the BNP has demonstrated a level of support which would normally lead to an occasional invitation to join the panel on ''Question Time''. It is for that reason alone... that the invitation has been extended. The case against inviting the BNP to appear on ''Question Time'' is a case for censorship... Democratic societies sometimes do decide that some parties and organisations are beyond the pale. As a result, they proscribe them and/or ban them from the airwaves. My point is simply that the drastic steps of proscription and censorship can only be taken by government and parliament... It is unreasonable and inconsistent to take the position that a party like the BNP is acceptable enough for the public to vote for, but not acceptable enough to appear on democratic platforms like ''Question Time''. If there is a case for censorship, it should be debated and decided in parliament. Political censorship cannot be outsourced to the BBC or anyone else."


Earning controversy

In 2010, Thompson was identified as the highest paid employee of any public sector organisation in the UK, earning between £800,000 and £900,000 per year. In January 2010, Thompson was criticised over his apparent £834,000 salary by BBC presenter Stephen Sackur, who told him "there are huge numbers of people in the organisation who think your salary is plain wrong and corrosive."


Formula One broadcast rights

Thompson was Director-General of the BBC when on 29 July 2011 it was announced that the corporation would no longer televise all Formula One Grand Prix live, instead agreeing to split the broadcast between the BBC and Sky Sports. This prompted an outcry from several thousand fans and a motion on the UK Government e-petition site. On 2 September 2011, Thompson and several "senior BBC figures" were called upon by the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons to answer questions over the exact nature of the broadcast arrangement.


Jimmy Savile

Though Thompson departed the BBC before public exposure of the Jimmy Savile sexual abuse scandal and is not noted in the BBC chronology of the unfolding coverage, Thompson faced questions about his role in the events around Savile's actions and BBC coverage of them. Per a The New York Times, ''New York Times'' review, Thompson denied knowing of a BBC ''
Newsnight ''Newsnight'' (or ''BBC Newsnight'') is BBC Two's news and current affairs programme, providing in-depth investigation and analysis of the stories behind the day's headlines. The programme is broadcast on weekdays at 22:30. and is also availa ...
'' program on accusations against Savile before the programme was dropped soon after Savile's death in October 2011.Joe Nocera, Nocera, Joe
"The Right Man for the Job?"
''The New York Times'', 29 October 2012. Retrieved 30 October 2012.


Legacy at the BBC

Thompson left the BBC in September 2012 after thirty years working at the corporation. ''The Independent'' said the BBC was in "apparent great shape" with his departure and the BBC Trust's chairman, Chris Patten, described his directorship as "outstanding". Fertility expert and presenter Robert Winston criticised Thompson's leadership.


President and CEO of The New York Times Company

On 14 August 2012, Thompson was named CEO of
The New York Times Company The New York Times Company is an American mass media company that publishes ''The New York Times''. Its headquarters are in Manhattan, New York City. History The company was founded by Henry Jarvis Raymond and George Jones in New York City. ...
, effective 12 November 2012. He was brought on to accelerate the company's digital transition and extend its global reach, and in this role he directs strategy and oversees business operations. Thompson invested heavily in the Times' digital products, and has attributed increased autonomy for the digital product teams as "the single biggest reason" for the news outlet's success. In 2013, he hired Meredith Kopit Levien as chief revenue officer and promoted her to chief operating officer in 2017. Thompson has been critical of Google and Facebook. He has said the Times seeks to be a destination and not reliant on the platforms, and hopes to "more reliably turn engagement into a regular revenue stream". In 2018, he gave a speech at the Open Markets Institute in Washington, D.C., in which he described Facebook's policy of labeling political news as ads as "a threat to democracy". According to a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Securities and Exchange Commission, Thompson's total compensation in 2019 was $6.1 million, including salary and stock awards. In 2015, he pledged to transform the Times into an "international institution", the same way "we once successfully turned a metro paper into a national one". The Times now has more international digital subscribers than it had total digital subscribers when Thompson took over as CEO. Under Thompson's leadership, ''The New York Times'' became the first news organization in the world to pass the one million digital media, digital-only subscription mark. As of May 2020, the company surpassed 5 million digital-only subscriptions, and 6 million total subscriptions, accounting for nearly sixty percent of the company's revenue. In 2015, Thompson set the goal of doubling the company's digital revenue by 2020. The goal was met ahead of schedule in 2019. The company's new goal is to have 10 million subscriptions by 2025. He has also predicted that the print paper will last for at least 15 more years. In July 2020, he was replaced by Meredith Kopit Levien as CEO and president of the New York Times Company.


Chairman of Ancestry

In January 2021 Thompson was appointed as Chairman of the Board of Directors of Ancestry.com, Ancestry.


''Enough Said''

In 2016, Thompson published ''Enough Said: What's Gone Wrong with the Language of Politics?'' in which he condemns political discourse that is "just a fight to the political death, a fight in which every linguistic weapon is fair game" and is critical of the rejection of science and expertise, writing that this has disastrous policymaking consequences. Thompson also criticised false balance in news reporting. The book was favorably reviewed by Andrew Rawnsley, who called it an "important study" that "identifies many culprits for the destructiveness of political debate."Andrew Rawnsley
Enough Said: What's Gone Wrong With the Language of Politics? by Mark Thompson – review
''The Guardian'' (4 September 2016). John Lloyd, writing in the ''Financial Times'', praised the work as reflective and an "intricately but also urgently argued book." ''The Washington Post'' said the book shows that Thompson "believes devoutly in the importance ... of intelligent and productive public discussion".


Personal life

Thompson is a Roman Catholic, and was educated at the English Jesuit public school, Stonyhurst College, from 1970 to 1975. In 2010, ''The Tablet'' named him as one of Britain's most influential Roman Catholics. Thompson lives in the United States with his wife, Jane Blumberg (daughter of Baruch Samuel Blumberg) whom he married in 1987. They have two sons and one daughter. He is a member of the Reform Club and a patron of the Art Room charity in Oxford. In 2002, he joined the board of trustees of Media Trust (charity), Media Trust, the UK's leading communications charity. Thompson has served on the board of directors for The New York Times Company and the Royal Shakespeare Company. In September 2021, it was announced that Thompson would co-chair, with Filipino journalist and editor Maria Ressa, the International Fund for Public Interest Media. In 2011, Thompson was awarded an Honorary Doctorate by Edge Hill University, and 2015, he was awarded a Honorary Doctor of Letters from Sacred Heart University. In 2012, Thompson served as the first Humanitas Programme, Humanitas Visiting Professor in Rhetoric and the Art of Public Persuasion at the University of Oxford.


See also

* New Yorkers in journalism


References

Specific citations: Other references:
Channel 4 boss lands BBC top job
(BBC)
New BBC boss announces shake-up
(BBC)
Thompson "to transform BBC"
(BBC)

(Guardian)

(Telegraph)

(Times)
Thompson welcomes strike suspension
(BBC)
BBC Resources sell-off delayed
(Press Gazette)
Thompson sells BBC Broadcast
– which becomes Red Bee Media (BBC)
Thompson flogs Books
– to Random House (BBC)
BBC changes mark a digital future
(BBC)

(Guardian)
Media Trust


External links


About the BBC: Mark Thompson
(BBC biography – includes salary and expenses data)
Mark Thompson's blog
(BBC) * {{DEFAULTSORT:Thompson, Mark 1957 births Living people Businesspeople from London People educated at Stonyhurst College Alumni of Merton College, Oxford People from Welwyn Garden City British Roman Catholics BBC Two controllers BBC executives British television executives The New York Times corporate staff British Christians Channel 4 people Members of the American Philosophical Society Fellows of Merton College, Oxford