The BBC swept Jimmy Saville under the fucking rug. Man has that hurt their reputation.
Let's not single out the BBC, here, or for that matter Jimmy Savile.
Savile is far from the only figure of the era who was latterly exposed for sexually assaulting children (such as Rolf Harris and Jonathan Fox), just the worst. These people didn't just operate at the BBC in the media world. Savile did a lot of charity work at hospitals: those hospitals received complaints, and did nothing. In some cases, when they asked questions, Savile threatened to withdraw his charity work and the very substantial sums it netted them, and they backed down. Reports to the police never went anywhere. Operation Yewtree in the UK perhaps was overzealous, but it was so because the police were deeply aware of their shortcomings in failing to take action years ago. I have heard that theatres and venues had lists of performers whom staff were to ensure children or women were not left alone with. They all knew, or suspected well enough. If we extend this beyond media, there are MPs who were evidently able to get away with it for a long time, and probably much more. And need I bring up religion, most famously the Catholic church?
How much has really changed? Harvey Weinstein. Donald Trump. Alec Salmond of the SNP (acquitted in court because none of the accusations against him individually had sufficient evidence, but we can hardly credit it's not true given the credibility of the many accusers and that Scottish government officials put in measures to prevent women being left alone with him). Or the charities where it was recently found some of the major execs were carrying out abuse. Oxfam got it in the neck most, but some of these people were doing the rounds from one charity to another. They were being shuffled along, not taken down.
This a mass societal attitude. Savile is just one tiny representation of huge phenomenon.
People like these are powerful (or valuable, which equates to the same thing), and often manipulative and devious: they have the means to cover their tracks in various ways. Organisations make money off them, benefit from their skills, and/or take a reputation hit for them being exposed, and in day-to-day operations when they tot up the sums they decide it's more profitable to help cover it up. They did in the past, they still do, and they will in the future. It's only when the shit really hits the fan and something can't be covered up any more that they thoroughly clean house.
jezebel.com
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