GB News collaboration with the Trump organisation- Do you think it undermines British democracy with mis information?

It hardly matters about bias when you come down to it, all media outlets have them, it’s more about what you want to watch.GB News has gradually grown more popular and you have to watch quite a few presenters and their programmes to see what suits you.All my Labour voting family and friends watch it or parts of it, it’s fresher and more entertaining than much of what else is on offer.

Bias and factual news reporting by news broadcasters evidently matters more to some than others.

There's a difference between news reporting and entertainment. tbh I don't expect to be entertained by a news report but I do expect accurate, factual and unbiased news reporting and for Ofcom to step in and fine media when they fail.

There’s bias wherever you look so it’s no good being snooty about newspapers or tv programmes.
There’s no such thing now as absolute fact reporting it all depends on who’s saying it and possibly always did but more than ever nowadays.
We have to see and read multiple sources to even get near the truth.
That being said we can all use our own common sense about absolute fake accounts and news.

I don’t think there is anything ‘snooty’ about calling out bias. If somebody disagrees with a poster who calls it out with some justification, I’d hope and expect there to be a well informed alternative view put forward, rather than personal accusations flying around.

Oreo

There’s bias wherever you look so it’s no good being snooty about newspapers or tv programmes.
There’s no such thing now as absolute fact reporting it all depends on who’s saying it and possibly always did but more than ever nowadays.
We have to see and read multiple sources to even get near the truth.
That being said we can all use our own common sense about absolute fake accounts and news.

I take the point about bias and the need to read widely, but I don’t think that lets news programmes off the hook. I expect them to tell the truth as best they can, or at least present a fair balance of views.

When most reporting is drawn from mainstream media sources, which often share similar assumptions, it limits how independent that coverage can really be.

Nothing "snooty" about expressing an opinion and a preference, Oreo

No one has to watch GB News, it's not funded by a licence fee, and in the great scheme of things is quite small compared to the BBC and Sky News. Some people obviously want their news with a more Right wing slant and that's their choice. It's like complaining about the Daily Mail's bias, when you can buy The Morning Star , which is strongly left wing.

Cumbrianmale56

No one has to watch GB News, it's not funded by a licence fee, and in the great scheme of things is quite small compared to the BBC and Sky News. Some people obviously want their news with a more Right wing slant and that's their choice. It's like complaining about the Daily Mail's bias, when you can buy The Morning Star , which is strongly left wing.

👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻 exactly.
I don’t really want a right wing slant or a left wing slant but I enjoy many of the presenters and contents, particularly the breakfast time parts.I like Anne Diamond amongst others.

foxie48

Nothing "snooty" about expressing an opinion and a preference, Oreo

There’s much snootiness on here usually about The Daily Mail and those who read it isn’t there, for a start.I think the same people probably go on about GB News.It’s amazing how much they know about the DM and GB News considering how little they rate them.🤔

If you know who funds something it tells you a lot. A glance at headlines when passing a newsagent can tell you a lot, too. It is not necessary to read a paper regularly to know its political orientation. Few people have time or inclination to read numerous papers, so we select from what is available. There are few, if any, left wing ones - as mentioned, the Morning Star is communist, so very much a minority interest, and I had to google to see if the Socialist Worker is still in print (it is, but it is mainly online, with a weekly print edition). The Guardian is Liberal, The Mirror is fairly left, the i and the Independent are centrist, and the others are all firmly right wing.

Bias is one thing - the choice of vocabulary in reportage is one example of bias - and the gatekeeping of which stories are reported as big news and which are ignored or given 'dead donkey' status is another. It is all but impossible to write a news story with no bias at all, as we all have views and news can be very traumatic. When papers use populist jibes and soundbite propaganda however, it is a step too far for many, and I don't think that it is hypocritical to feel a deep mistrust of a publication such as the DM without being a regular reader.

The Express is also regularly dissed, when in fact it has exposed many things that needed the disinfectant of sunlight.

Oreo

foxie48

Nothing "snooty" about expressing an opinion and a preference, Oreo

There’s much snootiness on here usually about The Daily Mail and those who read it isn’t there, for a start.I think the same people probably go on about GB News.It’s amazing how much they know about the DM and GB News considering how little they rate them.🤔

Has anyone mentioned the DM in this thread? I certainly didn't, I merely mentioned the difference between news reporting and entertainment. fwiw, it's pretty much the same distinction that Ofcom makes, if something is said to be a news report it is required to be factual, accurate and unbiased and every media broadcast is judged by the same standard.

Ofcom stipulates that “ news reporting” is required to be factual, accurate and none biased. It’s not snooty to have share that standard.

Anyone ofcourse can access their favoured news outlet/s that reflects their own political views even though on independent measurement those news outlets perform lower on fact and bias compared to other news outlets. Bias and fact reporting is less important to some as some have posted.

Each to their own and both types will post their respective views on N and P forum on Gransnet.

Well there are seven pages so surely the DM will have copped it somewhere along the line😜
GB News is a mix of news and entertainment along with any topical items, very much, certainly in the mornings, like all the other Breakfast shows.That’s when I tend to watch it.

Afaiac people can read or watch what they like provided it is legal and paid for. What I dislike is people taking a biased and distorted opinion from the media and presenting it as factual, accurate and unbiased when it's not. That's what this thread was about and if people are unable to discriminate between entertainment and news reporting IMO it's an issue for our democracy.

There used to be a law, that your product had to be what it claimed it was.
If GB News is an entertainment programme, and not a fact checking news broadcaster, then it should change its name.
There is no harm in being an entertainment programme.
Call it what it is.

Afaiac (? !!):'as far as I am concerned'.

Papers report news; they also include comment, which of necessity shows some bias on the part of the writer.

It is called freedom of expression and readers are left to draw their own conclusions.

Maremia I wonder what the BBC should be called?

foxie48

There's a difference between news reporting and entertainment. tbh I don't expect to be entertained by a news report but I do expect accurate, factual and unbiased news reporting and for Ofcom to step in and fine media when they fail.

Agree entirely but distortion is not just for entertainment, it’s done for blatant political manipulation, the whole Brexit reporting was just that. A lot of features in the media are biased by some pressure group of another, presented as fact but just opinion.

eazybee

Afaiac (? !!):'as far as I am concerned'.

Papers report news; they also include comment, which of necessity shows some bias on the part of the writer.

It is called freedom of expression and readers are left to draw their own conclusions.

If they are opinion pieces, they are just that, someone's opinion but they are not a news report and as long as people appreciate the difference that is fine. News reporting often includes opinion pieces and good reporting tries to include a balance that reflects a number of different views eg if Badenoch is asked for her opinion on eg the current situation in Venezuela, I expect her to give a conservative perspective but she is not reporting the news, she's commenting on it from her standpoint. The issue that I see is that GB News will frequently have presenters and guests who share a similar viewpoint and some of their viewers might (or might not) think they are watching the news when clearly they are not.

love0c

Maremia I wonder what the BBC should be called?

The same. What it says on the tin.
B - British
B - Broadcasting - broadcasts news, entertainment and education across various media
C - Corporation, in this case a non-profit making public corporation.

Allira

love0c

Maremia I wonder what the BBC should be called?

The same. What it says on the tin.
B - British
B - Broadcasting - broadcasts news, entertainment and education across various media
C - Corporation, in this case a non-profit making public corporation.

Many give it other names

Biased Broadcasting Corporation
Brussels Broadcasting Corporation

Perhaps, in view of world events and the threat both from the USA and Russia it is time stop denigrating the U.K. and begin to pull together, and show solidarity.

Good for Starmer for not supporting Trump re Greenland. He needs to be very strong on this otherwise there will be another situation like Russia and the Ukraine.