BBC Chief to Deliver MacTaggart Lecture at MGEITF

LONDON: Mark Thompson, the director-general of the BBC, will deliver the MacTaggart Lecture at this year’s MediaGuardian Edinburgh International Television Festival (MGEITF), which takes place August 27 to 29.

MGEITF’s MacTaggart Lecture has historically attracted a top-notch lineup of British and international broadcasting executives. Last year, News Corporation’s chairman and CEO for Europe and Asia, James Murdoch, delivered a controversial address during which he attacked the BBC. Other past MacTaggart speakers include Michael Grade, Ted Turner, Greg Dyke, Peter Fincham, Charles Allen, Jeremy Paxman and Rupert Murdoch.

"In what is a big year for the BBC as well as the rest of the broadcasting industry, it’s a great privilege to be asked to give the MacTaggart Lecture, and I’m looking forward to it," said Thompson.

Deborah Turness, 2010 MGEITF advisory chair and editor of ITV News, added: “Edinburgh is the first stop on the media calendar following the general election, and the MacTaggart will once again set the agenda for the weekend. In what promises to be a pivotal year for the BBC, I am delighted that Mark has agreed to share his vision with the Edinburgh audience.”

The MacTaggart Lecture will take place on August 27 at 6:45 p.m.