TV News

Fox News returns to UK on streaming app and won't be subject to Ofcom impartiality rules. The Fox News International app allows UK audience to stream the politically incorrect right leaning channel.

Fox News left the Sky News package three years ago after widespread unease about biased news reporting. Sky claimed that the departure was for commercial reasons due to the station's low audience figures in the UK.

Fox News will not be seeking a broadcasting licence this time around.

GB News, a channel chaired by Andrew Neil, offering a similar opinionated slant on current events, is set to launch next year, while Murdoch's News UK is preparing to unveil its own TV news service.

Qatar's National Human Rights Committee (NHRC) has welcomed the decision of the UK's TV censor, Ofcom, condemning Abu Dhabi TV channel for broadcasting an interview that it claimed were confessions of Qatari citizen Hamad al-Hammadi during his arbitrary arrest and detention in Abu Dhabi prisons in 2013.

Ofcom said that the channel, a subsidiary of Abu Dhabi Media Company (ADMC), which has a licence from Ofcom, broadcasted an interview on June 22, 2017 alleging they were confessions of a Qatari intelligence agent, who was discrediting the UAE. Ofcom said that broadcasting the interview against al-Hammadi's will, who was tortured and ill-treated in prison, was a severe breach of the principles of fairness and privacy set out in the Ofcom Broadcasting Code.

Ofcom found that Mr Al-Hammadi was treated unjustly or unfairly in the programme as broadcast and that his privacy was unwarrantably infringed both in the obtaining of the footage of him and in its broadcast.

Ofcom also considers that the breaches of Rules 7.1 and 8.1 of the Code are serious and Ofcom is therefore putting the Licensee on notice that Ofcom intends to consider the breachesfor the imposition of a statutory sanction.

BBC Radio 1 will not play the original version of Fairytale of New York by The Pogues and Kirsty MacColl this Christmas, seemingly because it thinks its audience of snowflakes will be easily offended by the lyrics.

Radio 1 said young listeners were particularly sensitive to derogatory terms for gender and sexuality. It will instead play an edited version with different lyrics sung by MacColl. A BBC spokesman said:

We know the song is considered a Christmas classic and we will continue to play it this year, with our radio stations choosing the version of the song most relevant for their audience.

The new edited version changes two lines - one swapped for an alternative version in which MacColl sings You're cheap and you're haggard in place of You cheap lousy faggot.

In Radio 1's newly-edited version, another unspecified line, sung by Shane MacGowan in the second verse, has a word removed entirely.

But the 1987 original will still be played on Radio 2, while 6 Music DJs can choose between the two versions.

The duet is one of the most enduring Christmas pop songs, having returned to the UK top 20 every year since 2005. MacColl originally sang the censored line on Top of the Pops in 1992. The same wording was used by Ronan Keating and Moya Brennan in their 2000 cover version. When Ed Sheeran and Anne-Marie performed the song in Radio 1's Live Lounge in 2017, she opted to call him a cheap lousy blagger.

US religious campaigners of the Catholic League have complained about the latest episode of Family Guy. The 8th November episode launched a few barbs at the catholic church in an episode about a Christening.

Catholic League president Bill Donohue has written to Family Guy producers, Walt Disney, to complain about the jokes poking fun at the church. He asked:

• Why are so many in Hollywood bent on disparaging our Judeo-Christian heritage?
• Why do they single out Catholics?
• Why can't they treat us the way they treat Muslims and gays?
• Why is Fox muddying the name of Walt Disney?

Donohue detailed the segment of the episode he found offensive:

Meg (The Daughter): Where's the priest?

Lois (The Mother): Oh, the Church ran out of priests months ago because of all the diddling. Now they just have a rabbi fill in.

The scene then cuts to a rabbi at a baptismal font where he makes this comment while doing the baptism.

Rabbi: Welcome to the Christening. Now, before the child goes in the water, has it been at least 20 minutes since she ate?

Joe (Father of Girl being baptised): Yes, rabbi.

Rabbi: Let's dunk this kid like a doughnut. I hereby Christen this child in the name of Jesus Christ, who was killed by we-don't-know-who, it's not important. The last thing we want to do is point fingers.

After the Baptism, the rabbi makes a joke about the Eucharist.

Rabbi: Congratulations, sweetie, you're a Christian. From now on, every Sunday you get to eat a hard cookie and pretend it's a guy.