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.<\/p>\n
The announcement comes after a troubled start for GB News, including poor ratings, technical issues and reported infighting about the channel’s editorial direction.<\/p>\n
“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.<\/p>\n
“Over the summer I’ve had time to reflect on my extensive portfolio of interests and decided it was time to cut back.”<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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”.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
Neil was reportedly enraged at poor lighting, camerawork and technical errors, as well as the move towards headline-grabbing comment rather than reporting.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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 […]<\/p>\n
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