BBC Senior Management Accepted Free Tickets To London Olympics, Paralympics

Nine BBC senior managers "accepted the offer of free tickets and hospitality to the London Games," according to John Plunkett of the London GUARDIAN. Two employees -- former BBC Dir General Mark Thompson and News Group Dir of Operations Dominic Coles -- attended "both the opening and closing ceremonies." Another former Dir General, George Entwistle -- who was still in charge of BBC TV channels as director of vision during the Olympics -- "also went to the opening ceremony," courtesy of the IOC. To many, the hospitality "will be nothing out of the ordinary." However, to the BBC's long-standing critics it might "strike them as an Olympic-sized freebie." Thompson, now N.Y. Times Company CEO, "accepted three free visits to the Olympics -- the opening and closing ceremony with the IOC, and a day at the athletics" on Aug. 5 with National Lottery operator Camelot. Entwistle "also accepted four tickets to the Paralympics," which were broadcast by Channel 4 and were sent to him by Channel 4 CEO David Abraham (GUARDIAN, 3/6).