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The British Broadcasting Corporation's director general has stated that reporters cannot wear T-shirts supporting the racial justice campaign BLM while in the newsroom.

Impartiality Concerns for Reporters

The director general stressed that while the broadcasting corporation opposes racism, it is "inappropriate for a reporter who may be covering that topic to be campaigning in that way."

"You cannot have any assumption about where individuals are politically. It must be set aside, and your religion is journalism in the BBC. Let me emphasize: the challenge I’ve got is people react quite emotionally to that."

He added, "So you can’t come into the workplace with a BLM shirt on. We stand absolutely firmly against racism in any way."

Personal Perspectives on Current Issues

Davie expressed his individual perspectives, stating, "Personally, I consider some of the hostility in the world at the moment completely unacceptable, personally, really upsetting, but that is a movement that has politicised objectives. As a result, it is inappropriate for a journalist who may be reporting on that issue to be advocating in that way."

He admitted that "for some people entering the BBC, that is a very difficult thing to agree with. And it has not been an easy thing to get done this, and we wrestle with it constantly."

Parallels with Political Advocacy

Commenting about inclusion and impartiality at the broadcasting organization, Davie also drew a parallel with impartiality when reporting on mainstream political campaigning.

"I feel very, very strongly that if you walk into the BBC workplace, you must not be holding a Kamala Harris mug when you approach the vote – absolutely not, that’s not even permissible," he said.

Priorities for the Broadcasting Corporation

Davie also mentioned that his "primary focus" was "attempting to steer a course where you are impartial" and that necessitated "elements of diversity", noting that "class diversity" was something that "had not received sufficient discussion adequately."

He continued, "It is absolutely a significant challenge, and I’m getting inquiries: ‘Why are you providing coverage to political parties?’, ‘Why are you doing this?’ We’re not giving a voice, we’re reporting – covering what people are concerned about, documenting the truth of what individuals feel."

Personal Safety Issues

The director general was also asked about whether he felt safe when he had been shouted at and people had invaded his privacy.

He responded, "This work requires courage; these positions in public life now, I mean, they are really quite demanding. I’m no great Californian hippy, but you must look after yourself, you really have to."