John Birt, Baron Birt

John Birt, Baron Birt is a British businessman who heavily influenced the broadcasting industry by means of his attempts to reform and modernize the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC).

Birt joined the British public-service network Independent Television (ITV) in 1968, after graduating from the University of Oxford, and became an accomplished producer of current affairs programs. Among his achievements were a series of interviews that journalist David Frost conducted with former U.S. president Richard Nixon in 1977, later dramatized in the 2006 stage play and the 2008 movie Frost/Nixon. During the 1970s Birt developed a rigorous, analytic approach to television journalism that demanded—and rewarded—concentration from audiences. This style became known as “Birtism,” sometimes in praise but more often in criticism.

In 1982 Birt was appointed director of programs of London Weekend Television (LWT), one of the most profitable companies in British independent television, not least because of its knack of producing light entertainment programs with mass appeal. Despite being more familiar with the more austere end of television output, Birt found little difficulty in developing the lighter side of LWT. It was precisely this breadth of experience that prompted the BBC’s governors to appoint Birt, who had spent most of his career in independent television trying to wrest viewers from the BBC, deputy director general in 1987.

Birt’s appointment provoked controversies that never died away. He argued that despite the BBC’s formidable international reputation for fine programs, it was overstaffed and badly managed. Between 1987 and 1992 he oversaw a contraction in BBC staff numbers from 28,000 to 20,000 as a result of cost-saving measures and a series of decisions to buy services and some programs from outside companies. In 1992 Birt was appointed the corporation’s new director general. As such, he was tasked with securing its future at a time of rapid technical, cultural, and economic changes in world broadcasting. Soon after accepting his position, he became convinced of the need to discard some of the BBC’s enduring habits—something that did not endear him to every member of his new empire. Birt’s strategy of reform was, however, sidetracked for a while in February 1993 when he admitted that during his period as deputy director general he had not, in fact, been a member of the BBC staff. Rather, he had been working as a self-employed contractor, which provided some tax advantages. Despite much public criticism, Birt received support from the BBC’s governors, who rejected calls for his dismissal. Thereafter he successfully negotiated a new charter for the corporation with the British government. He retired from the BBC in 2000.

Birt served as a personal adviser to Tony Blair (2001–05) and later as an adviser for various consulting firms. In 2002 he published his autobiography, John Birt: The Harder Path. In 2004 he became a member of the board of managers of PayPal Europe, and from 2010 to 2014 he served as that board’s chairman.