Dyke shoots. . .he scores!

Greg Dyke: Understands Mr Hague's concern

A shift in the cultural tectonic plates. That was how the Guardian described the prospect of Greg Dyke taking over as BBC director general.

There is certainly a shift of sorts going on. Private Eye would doubtless characterise it as one man in a suit taking over from another. But, apart from their shared backgrounds in LWT, there the similarity between Sir John Birt and Mr Dyke seems to end.

Journalists love to give people shorthand tags - while Sir John's will forever be Weekend World, On the Record, and the "mission to explain", Mr Dyke's are Roland Rat, Gladiators and [space reserved for new BBC One Saturday night smash hit, to be introduced some time after next April].

The nation's media correspondents gathered at Broadcasting House for a news conference to question Mr Dyke, anxious to find out how someone who had donated £50,000 to the Labour Party could guard the BBC's impartiality.

"First of all we should get it right that I've donated £55,000 to the party," Mr Dyke said with the hint of a wry smile. "I don't want there to be any doubt about that."

Mr Dyke outside Broadcasting House

But he announced he had cut his links with Labour, said how much he believed in the independence of broadcasters, and said he hoped he could persuade Tory leader William Hague of that.

(Mr Hague could also be flattered by the style of the meeting - it could almost have been influenced by the informal "anti-politburo" note he struck at last year's colourful IKEA-inspired party conference.)

Accustomed as the BBC is to coming under an almost daily barrage of newspaper criticism, most questions were played with forward defensive shots. Mr Dyke showed he had already embraced the culture.

"How will you cut bureaucracy?" It's really too early to say, he said.

"When did you last see the Prime Minister?" I really can't remember. I may have bumped into him somewhere last year.

"Will the BBC TV get big sporting events back?" There's no magic wand.

"What about new and live music on Radio 1?" I don't know yet, he said.

Halting manner

Touted by newspaper profiles as being brimming with confidence, even lippy, Mr Dyke showed a certain halting manner, even reading a statement. Perhaps he was a bit daunted by the task he has taken on.

Getting tongue-tied over saying he was "deputy director general and director general designate", he inadvertently said he was DG already. Sir John, sitting to his right and still in office for another nine months, corrected him.

"It's deputy director general," he said.

"Yes, you remember, John," said Mr Dyke.

And when Mr Dyke was asked about his current job at Pearson Television, he said: "My experience has been that from the moment you say you're leaving an organisation, your influence over the future is pretty limited. Suddenly it's quite lonely, because people don't come to see you any more because they know you can't deliver."

Sir John (left) and Mr Dyke

He was, let it be emphasised, talking about himself. But suddenly Sir John's position looked almost poignant.

Having barely said a word, Sir John leapt at the opportunity to say how good a job Greg Dyke was getting, and how well he would do.

The two had played football for more than 20 years, Sir John said.

"The only problem is that he doesn't pass the ball enough," he said.

"Not to you, no," Mr Dyke said.

"No, you don't pass to anybody," Sir John replied, and for a moment it seemed almost as if this was going to be a serious argument, "including me, even when I'm in a goal-scoring position."

"But you're unlikely to score, and that's the problem."

Now Sir John is passing the ball to Mr Dyke. And Mr Dyke's broad smile broadcast the message loud and clear that as far as he's concerned, he's scored already.