A word that was bandied about freely in the wake of the Gary Lineker-BBC affair was “impartiality”. Apparently the gold standard of UK broadcasting, it was something that certain critics judged the BBC sports presenter to have breached in his personal social media posts. Continue reading
The International Forum for Responsible Media Blog
Category: Broadcasting (Page 1 of 9)
The BBC’s highest-paid presenter, Gary Lineker, will soon be back in action after being briefly suspended for what the broadcaster described as a breach of its impartiality guidelines. Continue reading
What’s the difference between a state broadcaster and a public broadcaster? The dispute over the close relationship between the BBC chairman, Richard Sharp and the former prime minister Boris Johnson, has seen some people – including on one occasion a BBC presenter – refer to it as a “state broadcaster”. Continue reading
On 27 July 2022, in RT France v. Council, the General Court of the European Union found that the ban on RT France in the EU did not violate the right to freedom of expression and media freedom, under Article 11 of the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights. Notably, the General Court sought to apply principles from case law of the European Court of Human Rights and international human rights law. Continue reading
Channel 4 first flashed onto British TV screens under the watch of a Conservative government led by Margaret Thatcher. Forty years later, in a move described by critics as “cultural vandalism”, the current Conservative government has decided to put it up for sale. Continue reading
The proposed two-year freeze in the TV licence fee has prompted a lively debate about BBC funding. The move puts huge pressure on the Corporation’s finances, which have taken an estimated 30% real-term cut since 2010. The National Audit Office suggested in its December 2021 report that further budget reductions may lead to more repeats and fewer original high-end programmes. Continue reading
On 10 November 2021, the BBC severed ties with Stonewall’s Diversity Champions (DC) programme. With over 900 members, it is considered ‘the leading employers’ programme for ensuring all LGBTQ+ staff are free to be themselves in the workplace’. Continue reading
The BBC has developed a reputation for arrogantly brushing off criticism and failing to acknowledge and rectify mistakes before the consequent damage to its reputation has been done. This post suggests some possible reasons for this attitude, and also ways in which the BBC might behave in a less self-destructive manner in future. Continue reading
Should user-generated content (UGC) on social media platforms be free from any regulation and the rule of law, simply because it is user-generated? Continue reading
The government is finalising its choice for the vacant position of chair of the UK’s broadcasting and telecoms regulator, Ofcom. Continue reading
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