Ofcom has tried to explain how it twists its rules to try and claim that politicians commenting on news are somehow 'newsreaders'. Ofcom writes:
This document sets out Ofcom's Decisions on five cases involving politicians acting
as newsreaders, news interviewers or news reporters on television.
Our Broadcasting Code requires that broadcast news, in whatever form, must be presented with due impartiality, and that a politician cannot be a newsreader, news
interviewer or news reporter unless, exceptionally, there is editorial justification.
Ofcom recognises that, in accordance with the right to freedom of expression, broadcasters have editorial freedom and can offer audiences a wide
range of programme formats, including using politicians as presenters. Politicians can present current affairs programmes and they may appear in broadcast news content as an interviewee or any other type of guest, provided they are not used as a
newsreader, interviewer or reporter (unless there is exceptional editorial justification), and the programme otherwise complies with the Code.
Ofcom considered that five programmes raised issues warranting investigation under our
due impartiality rules. These were two editions of Jacob Rees-Mogg's State of the Nation and Friday Morning with Esther and Phil, and one edition of Saturday Morning with Esther and Phil, broadcast on GB News in May and June 2023.
Ofcom found that these five programmes breached the Code for the reasons set out in full in each corresponding Decision. Politicians acted as a newsreader, news interviewer or news reporter in sequences which constituted news for the purposes of Section
Five of the Code, without exceptional justification, and news was therefore not presented with due impartiality.
Ofcom considered that the programmes in question were both news and current affairs programmes. Programmes can
feature a mix of news and non-news content and move between the two. However, if a licensee chooses to use a politician as a presenter, it must take steps to ensure they do not act as a newsreader, news interviewer or news reporter.
We are also publishing our reasons for deciding that a sixth programme, a separate edition of Jacob Rees-Mogg's State of the Nation, did not raise issues warranting investigation under these rules, in order to provide broadcasters
with an example of what constitutes exceptional editorial justification as allowed by Rule 5.3.
The rationale for the restriction on politicians acting as newsreaders, news interviewers or news reporters is clear 203 politicians
represent a political party or position and are therefore inherently partial on topical issues. Ofcom's Decisions also recognise the special status of broadcast news, which is afforded additional statutory protections because of its fundamental
importance in a democratic society.
GB News has not previously breached Rules 5.1 or 5.3. These five programmes were broadcast in May and June 2023 and we have only had reason to open one further investigation into GB News'
programming under these rules since we opened these investigations1. GB News is on notice that any repeated breaches of Rules 5.1 and 5.3 may result in the imposition of a statutory sanction.
Offsite Comment: Ofcom's patrician war on GB News
See article from spiked-online.com by Andrew
Tettenborn
The Ofcom ruling is perplexing, not least as the shows in question actually tried very carefully to separate their news and current-affairs output. News bulletins were delivered by a news anchor, always deadpan, at fixed intervals and in a dedicated
studio. This was then followed by free-wheeling discussions of the day's stories, led by the politician presenters.
This didn't matter, according to Ofcom. A presenter repeating the facts of the news or mentioning a breaking story
was apparently enough to make him or her a newsreader. What's more, whether these politicians actually expressed biased views on air or not was deemed immaterial. As politicians, they would have been perceived as biased, and that's what counts, says
Ofcom.
This ruling will have profound repercussions for broadcasting, well beyond GB News. Ofcom won't admit it, but any shows about current affairs that tend to be heavy on opinion will in practice now count as news and hence be
liable to vetting for their perceived partiality.
See full article from spiked-online.com
