Britain’s broadcasting regulator has threatened to sanction the right-leaning GB News television channel, citing its “repeated” failure to “preserve due impartiality.” The decision has prompted critics to ask how the body can justify this continued pursuit while turning a blind eye to the “bias” of more mainstream channels like Channel 4 and the BBC.
Ofcom’s latest investigation into GB News accuses the broadcaster of breaking impartiality rules during a Q&A programme with Prime Minister Rishi Sunak in February this year. Many, including former GB News presented Dan Wootton, criticised Ofcom’s decision to potentially sanction the channel “for allowing viewers to question Sunak.” In fact, the regulator’s complaints relate to the broadcaster’s alleged failure to allow audience members to “challenge the prime minister’s responses,” adding that “the presenter [also] did not do this to any meaningful extent.”
But even veteran broadcaster Andrew Neil—who despite (or perhaps because of) his short stint as the channel’s chairman is now one of its largest critics—said Ofcom had “chosen to die in the wrong ditch” by focusing on this Q&A programme, which he described as “a decent enough attempt from a new broadcaster.”
Arlene Foster, the former first minister of Northern Ireland who is also a GB News presenter, has written a scathing response to Ofcom’s threat of sanctions, insisting that the regulator ought to be paying more attention to the left-wing biases of the mainstream broadcasters. Foster wrote in the Express:
Other regulated output on other stations seems to be given no attention at all.
How many times have you tuned in to BBC Question Time only to turn it off as the audience is so biased that it is painful to pretend it is representative of the British public?
Then there is Channel 4—they have failed to achieve any semblance of impartiality for years and yet OFCOM is silent in the face of it all.
Former UKIP leader-turned-(another) GB News presenter Nigel Farage also said that “you can listen to [BBC] Radio 4’s ‘Any Questions?’ on a Friday and hear a one-sided audience with an unbalanced panel.”
GB News’ many critics, who started boycotting the channel before it was even given the chance to launch, are only too pleased by this continued pursuit. In fact, many are frustrated only that Ofcom—which has so far merely threatened undefined sanctions—isn’t acting more quickly. One Green Party voter and marketing consultant described the regulator’s threats as “word salad nonsense,” adding:
Starting to think about possibly doing something is a far cry from actually doing something. … A newborn baby has more teeth than OFCOM.
Ofcom says that it will “aim” to conclude its considerations of possible sanctions within 60 days.