Ofcom

Ofcom warns broadcasters over politician presenters ahead of general election

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https://leftfootforward.org/2024/04/ofcom-warns-broadcasters-over-politician-presenters-ahead-of-general-election/

Ofcom warns breaches could result in ‘statutory sanctions’.

Media regulator Ofcom has issued a warning to broadcasters about using politicians as presenters, ahead of the general election.

The media regulator issued a statement in which it said it was putting ‘broadcasters on notice that they must maintain the highest editorial standards ahead of a General Election’ and that breaches could result in ‘statutory sanctions’.

It comes after Ofcom found GB News in breach of broadcasting rules when three Conservative MPs acted as newsreaders across five different episodes of its programmes.

Ofcom found that two episodes of Jacob Rees-Mogg’s State of the Nation, two episodes of Friday Morning with Esther and Phil, and one episode of Saturday Morning with Esther and Phil, broadcast during May and June 2023 had broken impartiality rules. These episodes broke the part of the Ofcom code that says, “News, in whatever form, must be… presented with due impartiality” and “No politician may be used as a newsreader, interviewer or reporter in any news programmes unless, exceptionally, it is editorially justified.”

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https://leftfootforward.org/2024/04/ofcom-warns-broadcasters-over-politician-presenters-ahead-of-general-election/

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Revealed: The shocking number of complaints to Ofcom about GB News since its launch

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https://leftfootforward.org/2024/04/revealed-the-shocking-number-of-complaints-to-ofcom-about-gb-news-since-its-launch/

GB News presenter Nigel Farage.

Time for Ofcom to take tougher action…

Right-wing Channel GB News, which has made a mockery of broadcasting rules, has had over 20,000 complaints made about it since its launch in 2021.

The shocking figures were revealed after a freedom of information request from the i, which found that in 2021, the year GB News was launched, Ofcom received 3,481 complaints – an average of around 290 complaints a month.

Between 2021 and until 12 March 2024, GB News has had a total of 21,671 complaints made against it.

The paper reports that overall, ‘complaints about news broadcasters have soared almost seven-fold since the launch of GB News and Talk TV’.

GB news is no stranger to controversy and has had a number of high profile incidents which have resulted in complaints being made against the channel, having platformed bigoted and racist views and conspiracy theories.

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https://leftfootforward.org/2024/04/revealed-the-shocking-number-of-complaints-to-ofcom-about-gb-news-since-its-launch/

Continue ReadingRevealed: The shocking number of complaints to Ofcom about GB News since its launch

Ofcom finds GB News broke broadcasting rules after Laurence Fox’s misogynistic comments about journalist

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https://leftfootforward.org/2024/03/ofcom-finds-gb-news-broke-broadcasting-rules-after-laurence-foxs-misogynistic-comments-about-journalist/

Media watchdog Ofcom has once more found GB news to be in breach of broadcasting rules.

The regulator ruled that an episode of Dan Wootton Tonight on GB News in which the former actor Laurence Fox questioned who would want to “shag” a female journalist broke broadcasting rules.

Fox’s disgraceful comments about JOE Media’s political correspondent Ava Evans led to 8,867 complaints being made.

In a statement, Ofcom said: “We found that Mr Fox’s comments constituted a highly personal attack on Ms Evans and were potentially highly offensive to viewers. They reduced her contribution to a broadcast discussion on mental health – in her professional capacity as a political journalist – to a judgment on whether she, or women like her who publicly expressed their political opinions, were sexually desirable to men.

“As such, we considered that Mr Fox’s comments were degrading and demeaning both to Ms Evans and women generally and were clearly and unambiguously misogynistic.”

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https://leftfootforward.org/2024/03/ofcom-finds-gb-news-broke-broadcasting-rules-after-laurence-foxs-misogynistic-comments-about-journalist/

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“Six million UK households still in fuel poverty despite energy bill drop”

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https://www.energylivenews.com/2024/02/23/six-million-uk-households-still-in-fuel-poverty-despite-energy-bill-drop/

Dimitris Mavrokefalidis

Ofgem’s announcement of a 12% drop in energy bills for April to June is welcomed, but National Energy Action warns that six million UK households will still face fuel poverty

Today, Ofgem revealed the energy price cap for April to June, showing a 12% drop in typical annual energy bills to £1,690.

Despite this reduction, National Energy Action (NEA) cautions that 6 million UK households will continue to grapple with fuel poverty.

This figure marks a significant increase from the 4.5 million households affected at the onset of the energy crisis in October 2021.

The persistent challenge of fuel poverty is exacerbated by the fact that current energy bills remain 49% higher than pre-crisis levels.

Adam Scorer, Chief Executive of NEA, said: “This is, of course, good news – any fall in energy bills is welcome. However, the drop coming in April still leaves bills significantly higher than they were before the energy crisis began.

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https://www.energylivenews.com/2024/02/23/six-million-uk-households-still-in-fuel-poverty-despite-energy-bill-drop/

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GB News breaches Ofcom rules for fifth time this year

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https://leftfootforward.org/2023/12/gb-news-breaches-ofcom-rules-for-fifth-time-this-year/

Nigel Farage ass.

It has led to calls for tougher repercussions for repeat rule breaks

GB News has been found in breach of impartiality rules for the fifth time this year after Ofcom launched an investigation into the channels campaign “Don’t Kill Cash”.

Six separate investigations were initiated after complaints were raised to the regulator, with this case being the first to conclude and concerning an episode of The Live Desk.

The programme had promoted the campaign, which called on viewers to sign a petition for the Government to introduce legislation to protect the status of cash as legal tender and as a widely accepted means of payment in the UK until at least 2050.

Ofcom ruled the programme ‘failed to preserve due impartiality in its coverage of this matter, with only limited references to different perspectives’.

The regulator cited rule 5.4 of the Broadcasting Code which sets out that ‘all broadcasters’ programmes exclude all expressions of the views and opinions of the person providing the service on matters of political or industrial controversy or current public policy’.

The issue was found to be a matter of political debate as the Financial Services and Markets Bill was due to receive Royal Assent four days before GB News launched the campaign, so it was seen as ‘representing an attempt to influence Government policy’.

There are a further five GB News programmes under investigation by the regulators in relation to this campaign, with the outcomes to be published ‘in due course’.  

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https://leftfootforward.org/2023/12/gb-news-breaches-ofcom-rules-for-fifth-time-this-year/

https://leftfootforward.org/2023/12/gb-news-breaches-ofcom-rules-for-fifth-time-this-year/

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