Weak Ofcom enables Reform TV

This fulsome investigation by journalists from across the political mix concludes that Ofcom has failed to prevent a single TV channel from becoming the voice of one party. This is of course in full breach of the licensing rules for UK television channels. It is a long read but the first few paragraphs sum it up. In short, GB News is near completely the voice of Reform UK - promoting its views, its scaremongering stories and its politicians.
This is not America where channels like Fox News and Newsmax are free to promote one party or one movement or even on politician. The UK has strict rules on impartiality.

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They need their licences revoked!

For anyone who needs a reminder the scumbag Farage is not your friend:

Extremely well put by this fella:

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It’s not like America yet, but if reform get in…it soon will be…

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It’s not like America yet, it in our bill of rights it’s called freedom of speech. Just because people don’t like what they they have to say, doesn’t mean they can’t say it. Pulling their license just because they don’t like the truth or the facts is a true sign that it’s a government wants a full control of the people and silence the opposition.

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Also falls under Freedom of the press.

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Oh dear, that old thing.
When I read stuff like “they don’t like the truth” and “silence the opposition” tells me that there is a bit of short sighted thinking going on. No-one is silencing or controlling anything.
The notion of freedom of speech on an individual level comes with the twin responsibilities of not causing undue offence and of social responsibility. Nobody should feel that they have a right to say anything to anyone, if that will cause offence or hurt or or risk leading to damage. Rightly there should be limits or controls for this because there will always be idiots who do not care about the consequences of what they say. That is on an individual level. So there is freedom of speech but there should not be freedom to recklessly offend.
For a broadcaster, the power of their messages and statements is magnified by having very large audiences. Their statements and messages are directly influenced (controlled) by their owners and sponsors. Therefore the broadcasters and their messages are controlled by those with the most money. That means, without controls, there is no freedom of speech - just freedom to buy influence and control messages. In recognition of this risk, the licence to broadcast in the UK comes with a responsibility to provide a balanced set of views. The owner can fund all the messages they want - but the broadcaster must also provide the other sides of the argument. That is not curtailing freedom of speech - that is making sure the audience is free to receive both sides of the argument. The failure to do this is the problem at GBNews.
So not control and not silencing. And still freedom of speech. Indeed one might argue that in any country where the majority of the broadcasters are owned by one or two billionaires, both close to one party & president, that there no longer exists freedom of speech in that country. Just a freedom to broadcast propaganda and conveniently shelf anything else. That is control and silencing.

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Everyone has freedom of speech, press and religion as long as the government authorized it.

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Labour failed totally as a government. Conservatives failed totally as a government
So Reform party can’t do any worse and may actually be better, At least give them a chance.

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I won’t. They are the re-branding of the party that brought us Brexit, that is not a positive. Their track record in local government is shambolic. They are now mostly the failed right wing of the Tory party - the one you cite having totally failed. In what way might Reform actually be better?

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Why would people want to see if their is going to be change. If we stop the free speech and freedom of the press, the government can dictate the changes.

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Didn’t someone burn all the books he didn’t want people to read…
Reform and GB News only report what most people think anyway, the next general election will decide.
Most of OFCOM are the old fuddy duddies from the BBC anyway.
Why should the establishment, OFCOM and some people be frightened of GB News anyway if they reckon it’s all fake news and misinformation?
People have got more sense and will vote for a party who represent the people of this country, not giving money away to bolster up wars in foreign countries and wasting money on idiotic schemes like net zero. As if the UK could possibly make an apeth of difference to the direction of the ever changing climate…

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What do you mean “I Won’t?” You don’t even live here…
And you have only one vote like the rest of us anyway!

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Typical woke response, if you don’t think like I want you to, or watch what I want you to, we’ll ban it, get offended, or make a law to prosecute you.

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You do realise that this is exactly what Trump and his billionaire supporters are attempting to do?

That is a fair correction. I should have said “only an idiot would”. Thanks for the opportunity to correct my error.

I’m not clear what you mean. Do you mean that any attempt to address the overwhelming bias by GBNews should not be allowed? Stopping excessive bias is not the same as stopping people thinking one way or watching GBNews. It is making GBNews adhere to the rules which they accepted when they took their broadcast licence. How can getting a company to stick to rules they signed up to be described as woke? Rules that all other broadcaster stick to.

Typical response, you don’t live here. I wasn’t in on that conference call, maybe you can update everyone on that meeting.

Of course not, it’s apparent, problem following conversation.
Of course, we want to follow rules as long as they don’t hurt our feelings.
That sounds familiar, you can’t have food rations, you can’t work and you can’t get an education if you don’t except the parties rules. I just can’t put my finger on it, we know someone can.
Why can’t you stay in step with everyone else.

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So, are we banning the BBC for being an extreme far-left mouthpiece? :thinking:
(asking for a friend)

I take it from that answer that you are completely unaware of the take over of the entire US media by Trump supporting billionaires. Or aware and uncaring.
Ta.