The BBC's long-serving world affairs correspondent John Simpson has described the corporation as "grotesquely managed".
Simpson's comments were made at literary festival in Northern Ireland and reported by The Sun on Sunday.
Reflecting on 60 years since the first BBC TV news bulletin he reportedly said: "The BBC is even more grotesquely managed now than it was then (with) tough women running the place now. It was nicer and gentler then. The BBC is such a nanny and ghastly outfit."
He also praised Jon Snow's personal video condemning Israel for bombing children in Gaza.
Channel 4 News presenter Snow said:
"The average age is 17. That means that about 250,000 are under 10. And if you know any 10-year-olds, seven-year-olds, five-year-olds four-year-olds. The idea that in the looseness of a war zone, that you can control your children, that they won’t be somewhere where they can be hit, is beyond any kind of imagination.
"So that in a very densely packed urban area, if you decide to throw misiles, shells, and the rest, then you will undoubtedly kill children. And that is what [the Israeli government] are doing.
"We cannot let it go on.
"If our reporting is worth anything, if your preparedness to listen and watch and read is anything to go by, then together we can make a difference."
Simpson reportedly said: "I would love to have the freedom to do it [more personal reporting] but that's not the BBC way."
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