Channel 4 board to quiz Duncan
Broadcaster criticized for 'Big Brother' coverage'
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Both jobs are safe for the moment: Monday's board meeting at the beleaguered broadcaster ordered a review of its editorial and compliance procedures but stopped short of axing either man.
There have been calls for "Celebrity Big Brother" to be pulled and heads to roll over the controversy surrounding the alleged racist bullying of Bollywood star Shilpa Shetty by fellow housemates, notably Jade Goody, who was ousted from the house Friday.
In a statement read out to reporters at C4's West London HQ Johnson said he hoped to "identify any lessons that can be learned for the future," adding that he "profoundly regrets any offense that may have been caused."
However, "Celebrity Big Brother" will remain on air until it completes its run at the end of the week. Ratings for the show, the broadcaster's most lucrative, have rocketed since the spat erupted a week ago.
Media regulator, Ofcom has received more than 42,000 complaints about Shetty's treatment.
Senior British politicians have weighed into the affair while Trevor Phillips, chairman of the U.K.'s Commission for Equality and Human Rights, said Johnson should be censured and urged media minister Tessa Jowell to intervene if the channel failed to take action.
Jowell has denounced the show as "racism presented as entertainment."
Worryingly for C4, the spat is turning into a debate about the station's future and if it is betraying its role as a pubcaster.
The strength of feeling against the program that led to street protests in India has re-ignited the debate regarding the station's role and what some regard as its inability to fulfill its remit as an innovative, responsible pubcaster.
Also, Ofcom is in the throes of a financial review of C4, and the row is likely to have damaged Duncan's case for financial assistance. At the moment, the pubcaster raises all its coin from advertising and has been campaigning for a slice of the BBC's funds.
