First it was the Roman Catholic Church, then the iconic football program at Penn State. Now child sex abuse has consumed the BBC. Across the ocean, The New York Times Inc. has the operational and public relations decision to make about distancing itself from the latest mess. Its incoming chief executive officer Mark Thompson, like the late Joe Paterno at Penn State, oversaw the BBC while alleged child-sex abuser Jimmy Savile was an employee and afterward when that media property was to air a documentary about an investigation of those accusations. The film never aired.
At The New York Times Inc. Margaret Sullivan, who oversees the values of the organization, questions whether Thompson should show up for his first day of work in November. As the influential NEW YORK POST reports, his name is associated with the scandal. However, any role he might have had in what might be referred to as a "cover up" has not been determined. Some might say it's premature to tar and feather Thomspon and send him into the journalistic wasteland.
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