Labour calls for resignation of Number 10 ally on BBC board July 10, 2021 The Labour Party has called for the resignation of a BBC director and Number 10 ally after it emerged that he had tried to block a senior editorial appointment. The FT reported that Robbie Gibb, Theresa May’s former communications director, warned the broadcaster after Jess Brammar, former editor of HuffPost UK and deputy editor of BBC Newsnight, [...]
Screenshot: Should the UK tech sector really be cashing in its chips? July 9, 2021 This week **Media Moment of the Week: Tesco’s football fail **Should the UK tech sector really be cashing in its chips? **A Wise move Media Moment of the Week: Tesco’s football fail Once again the internet was awash with football this week, and plenty of brands decided to jump on the England bandwagon for a [...]
Gary Lineker still BBC’s top paid star despite pay cuts July 6, 2021 Gary Lineker is still the BBC’s highest-paid star despite taking a pay cut last year as the corporation looks to slim down its hefty wage bill. The former England footballer and Match of the Day presenter earned £1.36m, the BBC’s latest annual report showed, down from £1.75m the previous year. It comes after Lineker, who [...]
Screenshot: Who will win the summer TV ratings war? July 2, 2021 This week **Media Moment of the Week: Rob Beckett’s Wembley wisdom **Who will win the summer TV ratings war? **Kantar’s boardroom carousel Media Moment of the Week: Rob Beckett’s Wembley wisdom We all had a great time on Tuesday, didn’t we, but arguably no one had a better time than Rob Beckett. Fortunately, the comedian [...]
Twitter user to pay BBC journalist six-figure sum for defamatory actions July 1, 2021 A twitter ‘troll’ has apologised and agreed to pay a six-figure bill in damages after trying to damage the reputation of BBC radio and TV presenter Stephen Nolan. Nolan, a presenter on BBC Radio Ulster and BBC Radio 5 Live, said the user ran a “malicious campaign designed to undermine me and hinder my journalism” [...]
Euro 2020: BBC pulls in more than 20m viewers for England’s Germany win June 30, 2021 More than 20m people tuned into the BBC yesterday to watch England’s 2-0 victory over Germany at Euro 2020. The historic clash attracted a peak audience of 20.6m viewers, representing more than 80 per cent of audience share. The bumper numbers mean almost a third of the UK population settled in for the game, which [...]
Emily Maitlis censured by BBC over ‘controversial’ Piers Morgan retweet June 28, 2021 Emily Maitlis has been reprimanded by the BBC after the broadcaster ruled she had breached impartiality rules by sharing a “controversial” Piers Morgan tweet. In February Maitlis used her personal Twitter account to retweet a post by the former Good Morning Britain host that read: “If failing to quarantine properly is punishable by 10yrs in [...]
Euros 2020: BBC receives thousands of complaints over airing Christian Eriksen collapse June 24, 2021 The BBC has received over 6400 complaints for its coverage of Denmark midfielder Christian Eriksen collapsing during the Euro 2020 match against Finland earlier this month. Eriksen received CPR on the field in Copenhagen after suffering a cardiac arrest and collapsing as he chased the ball. Doctors resuscitated the footballer on the pitch with a [...]
Prime minister calls harassment of BBC journalist Nick Watt ‘disgraceful’ June 15, 2021 Footage posted on social media showed anti-lockdown protesters verbally abusing and chasing Nick Watt, the political editor of BBC Newsnight, near Downing Street on Monday. On Twitter, the prime minister said: “Disgraceful to see the hounding of Nick Watt doing his job.” “The media must be able to report the facts without fear or favour – [...]
Internal BBC review clears broadcaster over rehiring of Martin Bashir June 14, 2021 A hasty internal investigation carried out by the BBC has cleared the broadcaster over the rehiring of reporter Martin Bashir in 2016, but highlighted “shortcomings” in the process. An inquiry into Bashir’s appointment as religious affairs correspondent found there was no evidence he was hired to cover events surrounding his notorious 1995 interview with Princess [...]