Its origins lie in a post-Hutton inquiry report commissioned by former BBC editor Ron Neil and Pricewaterhouse Coopers in 2004[REF] which recommended a number of broad reforms of the BBC which included the establishment of a journalistic academy headed by an academic principal [REF].
The Academy, which joined together the curricula of training in Journalism, Production, Leadership and Technology, was opened for students on 14 December 2009,[REF] offering free masterclasses online to licence-fee payers and rival news media organisations [REF].