Without a gearbox

The host of the BBC host of the Top Gear television program Jeremy Clarkson is looking for ways to maintain popularity

Former presenter of the most popular Gear Tor Automobile Program Jeremy Clarkson , dismissed by the BBC broadcasting corporation for violation of ethical norms, intends to go on a world tour. The program will be released in a live concert performance, but without using the BBC brand. The first show will take place in Belfast, then Australia, South Africa, Norway will follow. In addition, the BBC allowed Clarkson to work on the first television channel of the broadcasting corporation in the popular humorous program, but he refused to participate in its April issue. So far, there is no talk of resuming a car television program on the BBC in another format .

The Top Gear program ("Higher Gear") was broadcast in two hundred countries and entered the Guinness Book of Records as the most popular television program in the world. Her audience totaled 350 million people. This is the most popular and most profitable BBC television program; Five million people watched it weekly, it brought the corporations annual income of 50 million pounds.

Her host of 54-year-old Jeremy Clarksson's reputation is a rude, if not rude, sarcastic showman, a person who neglected political correctness and journalistic ethics. Nevertheless, his jokes and direct manners attracted millions of fans around the world. The reason for the dismissal was the fight that Clarkson made on March 4 in the county of North Yorkshire after filming the next series of his program. Returning late at night to the hotel, Clarkson discovered that he was left without hot food and, accusing his producer Oysin Tamon of this, began to beat him. As a result of this, I had to see a doctor.

The BBC conducted a thorough internal investigation, after which Corporation CEO Tony Hall said: Clarkson "crossed the line, beat a colleague, accompanying his actions with obscene insults, thereby violating the standards of decency and respect for the BBC employee." The general director said that Clarkson’s contract would not be extended. Clarkson's colleagues under the James May and Richard Hammond program announced that they were leaving the BBC with him.

Throughout the world, the collection of signatures in support of Jeremy Clarkson began and demanding not to dismiss the popular TV presenter. A million signatures were collected, which were delivered to the BBC headquarters on a light tank, one of the participants in the TOP Gear program, Motoragnian Stig. Due to the fact that Oysin Tamon revoked his complaint , the police decided not to institute criminal proceedings on the fact of assault. Professor of the University of Liverpool and the dean of his Faculty of Journalism Chris Frost commenting in an interview with RS The dismissal of Jeremy Clarkson. Professor Frost is the head of the Ethics Council of the National Union of British Journalists.

Even if this brawl with a producer, the BBC would have to fire him in the near future and without this reason. Clarkson simply did not leave the BBC other choice

- Judging by the behavior of Jeremy Clarkson in the past from the point of view of journalistic ethics, a rather contradictory figure looms. His reputation includes the habit of speaking things that his colleagues simply do not dare to afford. And above all, because there are ethical standards on British television, which are regulated by both the Law and the BBC Charter. Nevertheless, few could imagine that Clarkson would go as far as in this case. At the BBC, he has long been perceived as a violator of calm and ethical norms. He was repeatedly reprimanded, shortly before this incident, the administration announced him the “last warning”, but from him like water from a goose - he was nothing. I think that if not even this brawl with a producer, the BBC would have to fire him in the near future and without this reason. Clarkson simply did not leave the BBC other choice.

Professor Frost believes that to a large extent, the scandal with another famous and no less popular than Clarkson, TV presenter, Jimmy Savil accused of pedophilia, influenced the decision of the BBC. The scandal erupted only after his death, although the administration of the broadcasting corporation was known during his work. When the scale of the crimes of Savvil was revealed three years ago, a stream of accusations of cowardice and the inability to part with the gold eggs of chicken was hit by the BBC. The British expert is confident that this time the BBC leadership decided to clearly demonstrate that Savila Syndrome was forever over.

-Over the past few years, the BBCs had a very difficult period. The results of the investigation of the crimes of Jimmy Savil, which has been underway for several years, will be published in a month-somewhere in May. Then we will learn much more about this matter, but now it is clear that the high-ranking leaders of the BBC made serious mistakes during his post, for which they paid their posts. Therefore, it is not surprising that the current administration of the corporation behaved regarding Clarkson with an eye on Savvili's business. However, Clarkson's tricks on the air in recent years inevitably led to his dismissal. The incident with a fight simply overwhelmed the BBC patience cup. The CEO of the corporation had no other choice on how to dismiss Clarkson. Of course, the BBC leadership was nervous, since errors of five years ago were affected by him.

Analyzing the features of the Top Gear program devoted to Clarkson, the British expert concludes that it is mainly adequate to the traditional conservative values and the philistine mental warehouse of its presenter. Their worldview and peace sensation perfectly coincide. This is the main reason, according to Professor Frost, a flurry of spectator attacks on the BBC leadership with the demand to return the beloved presenter.

The audience enthusiastically perceives Clarkson as a person seeking to preserve traditional conservative values, beliefs and predocurations that are characteristic

- Jeremy Clarkson, who is now over fifty, began a journalistic career in local newspapers of the County Yorkshire. But at least for the past 12 years he developed and podded the Top Gear program. It was he who turned it into a successful and superpopular international television business. As for his audience, it is mostly white men of middle age. They represent that segment of British society, which over the past twenty years has been experiencing serious frustrations in connection with psychological pressure caused by the modernization. In Britain, serious social and cultural changes took place at this time. This audience enthusiastically perceives Clarkson as a person who seeks to preserve traditional conservative values, beliefs and prejudices that are characteristic of it. She feels support on his part. But at the same time, Clarkson's behavior on the air is criticized by the liberal part of society, which perceives Clarkson as a kind of fossil of the past era, which does not want to keep up with the times.

Professor Frost believes that the behavior of Jeremy Clarkson was influenced by the practice of impunity for the celebrities - celebrities with superpopular programs, existing on British television (and not only on television). Celebrities are well aware that the fears of the leadership to lose a huge audience and reduce the rating firmly protect them from administrative repressions. They use this and allow themselves the behavior that goes beyond the limits of labor and journalistic ethics.

- The stars of the television screen closely monitor the millionth army of fans. They make the weather on television, allowing themselves a lot of what ordinary TV presenters will never dare to. Take, for example, the most popular leader Russell Brand, who was withdrawn from work for obscene antics in her own show, or another celebrity-Jonathan Ross, about five years ago. Both of them were removed from work for several months, which practically did not affect their career negatively, rather the opposite. Others, less eminent TV presenters in a similar stutation would forever lose their jobs. Since these people are huge audiences of spectators and hyperpopularity, they allow themselves to be antics that ordinary presenters cannot afford.

With Professor Frost Solidarity, and another leading British expert in the field of journalistic ethics, professor at the University of London and chairman of the Ethics Committee of the Medium Research Center of this University , Angela Phillips:

Superstars use their power and popularity for pumping money, earning astronomical amounts

- In most media projects, especially in the field of entertainment, where talented and popular presenters appear, they quickly gain great power due to their popularity. The BBC is trying to develop some kind of labor agreement that would allow her to dismiss super popular employees abusing this power, which, in essence, is more significant than the power of the organization in which they work. I must say that this problem is relevant not only for the media. In football, for example, the same situation arose. Of course, these superstars use their power and popularity to pump money, earning astronomical amounts. In addition, they, as in the case of Jeremy Clarkson, speculating on popularity, use impunity to abuse their power, and often this result in antisocial behavior. And now, many organizations in the field of mass media are trying to develop some rules for the taming of their celebrities, ”said Professor Phillips.

Fragment of the final issue of the Freedom Time program