Veteran BBC newsreader George Alagiah has passed away following a nine-year cancer battle. His death was announced this afternoon in a statement by BBC Director-General Tim Davie:
“Across the BBC, we are all incredibly sad to hear the news about George. We are thinking of his family at this time. George was one of the best and bravest journalists of his generation who reported fearlessly from across the world as well as presenting the news flawlessly. He was more than just an outstanding journalist, audiences could sense his kindness, empathy and wonderful humanity. He was loved by all and we will miss him enormously.”
R.I.P. George
The government is finally set to review the BBC’s outdated licence fee funding model. According to The Times, ministers will launch the review in Autumn and will consider alternatives including subscription, a broadband levy and advertising. The move comes after the BBC’s annual reports showed the number of people paying the licence fee fell by 500,000 – with revenue also falling. Who can blame them, when overpaid stars continue to use their platforms for political preaching…
A government source said the latest figures showed “a growing unwillingness” to pay the licence fee. They added “The licence fee model is becoming unsustainable.”
Unsurprisingly, the Taxpayers’ Alliance welcomed the review, with chief executive, John O’Connell, saying:
“The TV tax is long past its use by date… Retaining the licence fee would force unwilling and uninterested taxpayers to cough up for a service they may not want, while holding the BBC back from modernisation. Serious work now needs to begin to examine alternative funding models”.
Bring it on.
Amid the fallout from The Sun’s reporting on Huw Edwards’ extra-curricular pursuits, one man felt uniquely qualified to stick his oar in. Step up Robert Peston…
Taking to Twitter, ITV’s Political Editor claimed:
“As a journalist I have spent more or less my entire career weighing up stories by whether they are truly in the public interest or just interesting to the public…”
As the most senior political voice on the country’s second biggest broadcaster, you would hope so…
This is the same Robert Peston whose confusion led him to believe that ‘picture of man in front of mirror’ constituted public interest news. “This is flipping weird”…
This is flipping weird. The phone cable should be visible in the mirror descending from @BorisJohnson’s watch, in this official Downing St picture. It’s not. What is going on? https://t.co/aRsrMSc0DT
— Robert Peston (@Peston) January 24, 2021
Other greatest hits of Peston’s public interest news-breaking include: reshuffle insights that were almost all wrong, claims that DUP sectarianism would “drive unaligned voters to Sinn Fein”, and, of course, an admission that he is “dim” after falling for a phishing scam. At least he understands how reflections work now. He’d never get a job at the Mirror…
Vicky Flind, the wife of Huw Edwards, has named him as the BBC presenter facing allegations of paying for explicit pictures. She says he is currently in hospital suffering from “serious mental health issues” and will remain there “for the foreseeable future“. Claims he has resigned are untrue, according to Sophie Raworth.
Read Flind’s full statement below:
“In light of the recent reporting regarding the ‘BBC Presenter’ I am making this statement on behalf of my husband Huw Edwards, after what have been five extremely difficult days for our family.
“I am doing this primarily out of concern for his mental well-being and to protect our children.
“Huw is suffering from serious mental health issues. As is well documented, he has been treated for severe depression in recent years.
“The events of the last few days have greatly worsened matters, he has suffered another serious episode and is now receiving in-patient hospital care where he’ll stay for the foreseeable future.
“Once well enough to do so, he intends to respond to the stories that have been published.
“To be clear Huw was first told that there were allegations being made against him last Thursday.
“In the circumstances and given Huw’s condition I would like to ask that the privacy of my family and everyone else caught up in these upsetting events is respected.
“I know that Huw is deeply sorry that so many colleagues have been impacted by the recent media speculation. We hope this statement will bring that to an end.”
The BBC has just revealed further details of the story everyone is talking about – BBC presenter salaries. It’s been a good year for Huw Edwards, who’s clocked in a bumper £25,000 pay rise. That should cover any unexpected costs…
As record wage growth contributes to inflationary pressures, the BBC has been doing their best to make the situation worse. Gary Lineker remains the corporation’s highest earner, on £1,354,999, as Victoria Derbyshire, Laura Kuenssberg and Amol Rajan also do alright for themselves. Here are the highest-earning politicos, and others:
Today
World at One
PM
BBC News at Six and Ten
Question Time
Newsnight
BBC Breakfast
Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg
On-air editors and correspondents
Non-politics or news
Co-conspirators can read the full report here. Thank God for BBC transparency…
Once again the BBC has written a story favouring stricter regulations on broadcast rivals. Ofcom was urged by so-called “media expert” Chris Banatvala to toughen rules on politicians presenting on TV, according to the BBC. Banatvala pressed Ofcom to take “a view about whether what is emerging is acceptable in terms of due impartiality” following investigations into GB News presenter Rees-Mogg. The BBC were quick to cite Banatvala’s stellar CV, stating him as the “expert who drew up the UK’s broadcasting rules”.
They carefully neglected to mention the fact that he is currently a director of Sky News and paid to the Online Independent Complaints Reviewer for Channel 4…
It comes as a surprise that someone of such high moral standing forgot to mention his affiliations with two of his target’s competitors. Perhaps the BBC mistakenly saw an outdated resume…
