BBC chief Tony Hall is resigning amid growing challenges

LONDON – The BBC’s director general Tony Hall announced on Monday that he would step down as head of the UK broadcaster within six months of serving seven years.

Hall said he was resigning so that a new leader could oversee a mid-term review of the BBC’s funding in 2022 and the renewal of its operating charter in 2027.

The announcement comes at a time when the BBC is facing intense political and public pressure to fund publicly in a rapidly changing media landscape and viewing habits. It has been criticized by both sides in the Brexit debate over coverage of the UK’s impending exit from the European Union, and some in Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s Conservative government have suggested changing the BBC’s funding model.

The broadcaster is currently financed with a fee of 4 154 a year ($ 200 per year) paid by each family, including a television. It is not state-controlled, although the government sets the terms of the broadcaster’s certificate, which is renewed every decade.

In a warning to critics of the organization, Hall said: “In the age of fake news, we are the golden standard of neutrality and truth.

“What the BBC, and what it stands for, is valuable to this country,” Hall said. “We ignore it at our peril.”

The Associated Press