London, Sept 13 (AFP/APP):Andrew Neil, the driving force behind Britain’s first news channel to launch in more than 20 years, said Monday he had resigned as chairman and prime-time presenter.
The announcement comes after a troubled start for GB News, including poor ratings, technical issues and reported infighting about the channel’s editorial direction.
“I am sorry to go but I have concluded it’s time to reduce my commitments on a number of fronts,” said Neil, who only launched the station in June and presented just eight times.
“Over the summer I’ve had time to reflect on my extensive portfolio of interests and decided it was time to cut back.”
GB News, which has rejected comparisons to the divisive rightwing populism of US network Fox News, aimed to provide an alternative to mainstream broadcasters such as the BBC.
It argues that more established outlets are ignoring swathes of British society, including those who backed the 2016 Brexit vote to leave the European Union.
Its opinion-led broadcasting has seen it push a television equivalent of the “war on woke” waged by Britain’s tabloid media against what it sees as liberal, London-centred bias in news coverage.
Its programmes — heavy on discussion of issues such as immigration, and Covid policy around masks and vaccines — have drawn clear battle lines in the so-called “culture wars”.
Anti-Brexit campaigner Nigel Farage was recently drafted in as a presenter, while key figures in the campaign to leave the EU also feature as commentators.
Neil was billed as a maverick outsider, despite having worked for 25 years at the BBC, and before that edited Rupert Murdoch’s establishment weekly The Sunday Times.
After an initial surge in ratings, viewing figures plunged so low they could not be measured, although it is pushing a daily flurry of clips on social media.
Neil was reportedly enraged at poor lighting, camerawork and technical errors, as well as the move towards headline-grabbing comment rather than reporting.
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