The new chairman of Ofcom has suggested that the internet/broadcast regulator could take a much tougher approach against GB News. Two-tier regulation…
Former Channel 4 chairman Ian Cheshire was yesterday formally appointed as new chairman the regulator. He spoke to the Science, Innovation, and Technology Committee of MPs late last month about GB News. Asked whether he had seen The New World’s campaign against the channel, Cheshire said Rusbridger had been in contact with him…
He added that the regulator takes a programme by programme approach as opposed to looking at channels as a whole, but said he was“very open to being challenged about that, and I’m intending to meet up with Alan [Rusbridger] in due course.”
Worryingly, when asked about whether he agreed with the current Ofcom framework for allowing politicians to present programmes, Cheshire said: “It is literally the second question in my induction plan… it is very high on the list.” Activists and anti-GB News rags like The New World have been pushing that agenda hard…
Cheshire’s predecessor Lord Grade said those same activists are “embarrassed by the fact that there is a news organisation that has a different news agenda to them, that speaks to the agenda of the majority.“ And that it now beats Sky News and BBC News on the regular…
Tom Baldwin, author of Starmer’s hagiography, spoke to Times Radio:
Tom Baldwin: “I think he’d like to do something. He’s very dutiful and driven by service. That’s why he came into politics. I think that’s characterised his time as prime minister. He hasn’t always sought popularity or been good at being popular. But I think he has some of the necessary qualities that we actually do want in a prime minister. That resilience, that relentlessness, that ability to carry the weight and the job really does weigh very heavily on people and he carries that weight very, very well.”
Jo Coburn: “NATO Secretary-General?”
Tom Baldwin: “I think that’s something that he would be interested in. I think it probably requires Andy Burnham’s government to support him in that and these are some of the questions which Andy Burnham has to resolve quite quickly.”