Miriam O'Reilly celebrates victory over BBC

Earlier this week, Miriam O’Reilly had good reason to celebrate. She won a legal battle for age discrimination against the BBC, prompted by her termination as presenter of the rural affairs show, Countryfile. According to a Guardian.co.uk report, a settlement amount, believed to be between £75,000 and £100,000, was offered to keep Ms. O’Reilly from taking her case to an industrial tribunal.

Feeling that she was victimised by the corporation, Miriam decided against this, and won her case. She is, of course delighted, and said: "The BBC has dismissed claims about ageism and sexism with a wave of its hand. I want for the first time to see what a judge has to say about it.”

For Miriam O’Reilly, who had devoted 25 years of service to the BBC, feels that the corporation had acted unfairly and unjustly. She did not imagine that her career would end in this way, with producers axing her for being over 50. However, with her brave pursuit of “the truth,” as she put it, she was taking a typical journalist’s role to her situation.

By doing this, Ms. O’Reilly became the voice of older people who are still not only capable, but also willing, to do their jobs both effectively and skillfully. The tribunal found that the Countryfile selection process was not fair or just according to the criteria for the hiring process.

This decision affected not only BBC, but had repercussions throughout the broadcasting industry. Selection procedures are likely to change throughout the country, which means more older people on screen.

And the truth O’Reilly was looking for? The tribunal found that the 53-year-old journalist was indeed not only axed for her age, but also victimised by management for her role in newspaper stories that criticised the corporation's tendency to fire women presenters after they reach middle age.

An additional boost for Miriam was that she is likely to receive a six-figure damages payout; quite a bit more than the estimated figure suggested for settlement. The BBC also apologised to her and promised to immediately overhaul its recruitment of presenters.

Ms. O’Reilly made a good point when she said that being fired based on one’s age is a disgrace and shouldn’t be happening. Rather, the workplace should perhaps revisit the ancient Greek view of old age: a stage of valuable wisdom and experience. Surely it would be tragic to lose these from the workplace. Perhaps the BBC’s very public defeat would inspire other corporations to judge on ability rather than appearance or age.

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