Mark Julian Byford (born 13 June 1958) was Deputy Director-General of the BBC and head of BBC journalism from 2004 to 2011. He chaired the BBC Journalism Board and was a member of the BBC Executive Board for thirteen years.
His responsibilities also included BBC Sport, the nations and regions (BBC Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and English regions) and editorial policy. He led the BBC-wide coverage of the general elections in 2005 and 2010; the Beijing Olympic Games in 2008; and the BBC coverage of the Queen Mother's Funeral in 2002 and the Royal Wedding in 2011.
Byford established and chaired the BBC's Editorial Standards Board, which was responsible for promoting the BBC's standards in ethics and programme-making across the corporation. He also established and chaired the Complaints Management Board, which oversaw the handling of complaints across the BBC. In addition, he was the chair of the BBC Academy Board co-ordinating all its training and development. He was in overall charge of the BBC's planning for the London 2012 Olympic Games as chair of the London 2012 Steering Group.
Early life
Mark Julian Byford was born on 13 June 1958 in . where his father, Sir Lawrence Byford,
studying law at the University of Leeds,
He is a fellow of the Radio Academy. He was a first board member of the joint industry radio research body, RAJAR, in the early 1990s and was also a board member of BARB, the television audience research body. He was a trustee of the Children in Need charity from 1992 to 1996. In 1999, he established the BBC World Service Trust, the BBC's international development charity, which used media and communications to reduce poverty and promote education and human rights around the world.
In July 2010, it was revealed that Byford had flown on business to the World Cup in South Africa, business class at a cost of £4,878. This came against a background of further cuts in BBC News, for which Byford was responsible. On 12 October 2010 it was announced Byford was leaving the corporation after thirty-two years and the Deputy Director-General post closed as part of the BBC's cutbacks in senior management costs. He had accepted voluntary redundancy. He stood down from the Executive Board in March 2011 and left the corporation in June 2011. Byford left the Executive Board of the BBC at the end of March 2011, and his BBC employment ended in the early summer after he led the Royal Wedding coverage, reportedly with a redundancy/notice package of between £800,000 and £900,000.
Later career
He was a lay canon and member of chapter at Winchester Cathedral from 2017 to 2024 (resigning 20 June 2024).
Personal life
He is married to Hilary Bleiker, and they have five children: two sons and three daughters.