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Less velvet glove, more iron fist

The new Chair of the BBC Trust Rona Fairhead has given her first public speech which was widely reviewed. Now the dust has settled – but what did Rona say, and more importantly, what did she really mean?

By Lis Howell
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Professor Lis Howell, Director of Broadcasting at City University London, heard Rona’s speech on 3 February, and was one of the reviewers on the Media Show, BBC Radio 4, the next day. She has now had time to mull it over. Here she argues that Rona Fairhead may need to be less velvet glove and more iron fist. Either way she must be demonstrably in charge.

Rona Fairhead in the middle, 2013. Financial Times/Wikicommons. Some rights reserved

Rona Fairhead gave a speech that had at least three qualities. It was clear, and accessible. It had enough personal detail to make her seem a warm human being. It also tagged her as a lifelong BBC aficionada. It attracted attention, but the various papers and magazines all found something different to pick up. 

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