Absolutely - the "Buck" has to stop at the top - if she wasn't in control and washed her hands off all SCD decisions - she would be a very poor Controller.

But then again, she was also responsible (I would imagine) for the scheduling of Torchwood, which was an unmitigated success in terms of ratings and buzz.

I'm not saying she's the best controller BBC 1 have ever had. She's made some doozies of bad decisions (the Robin Hood debacle being one of them) and made some decisions I personally admire (standing by Panorama at the cost of the Crufts rights for instance). I just think the level of vitriol being hurled at the woman over this decision without the slightest back-up other than presumption is kind of doofy.

Again I take your point but agree to disagree.
She strikes very much of the type of BBC exec who gets away with terrible scheduling and programme making decisions purely because she is a BBC exec.
A lot of these people are technicians and not artistic and she strikes me as belonging in the latter category.
I just wish they would let successes alone and not tinker or play the XF PR game to attract publicity over non stories. It will eventually damage the brand.

My thoughts on nthe two articles

Sharon was never in the picture to be on the show in the first place and was just a name to hype up the show and to get people thinking and talking about the show in the interim period between series'

I just don't think she's the type to meddle with content and I've not seen anything in her decisions before to suggest she is. Scheduling yes, greenlighting shit yes, content no.

I do agree with your last point. I've got a feeling this whole mess with Osborne and Madeley might have been stirred up deliberately by the show this week in order to spike coverage of the boot camp stages of X Factor taking place. And now that it's backfired slightly they hurry out details of another "sexy new pro" to try and take the heat off.

This pre-show maddening merry-go-round of stories that sound absurd is always slightly maddening, and the show blatantly encourages it. It's even worse this year, because the very first absurd, silly story turned out to be true.

Exactly a bit of PR dreamed up by execs which damage the brand overall.

On the subject of "spin" we get it every year.

Whose turn do you think it will be to have a "performance threatening injury" this year?
And who will have a "serious falling out" with who?
and which "suit" will it be who tips off the papers?

It's all "just telly."

Yes it's all spin in the name of ratings grabbing. TV execs live and die by the ratings, you can bet the X factor team probably came up with the sharron O/madeley story. or even more likely it came from Madeley wanting to try and keep a profile after the disaterous last series of R & J.