BBC staff described GB News as “the opposition”, leaked messages reveal.
A GB News investigation found that a BBC employee wrote to his colleagues: “It used to be that ITV was the opposition. Then Sky came along and that was the opposition. Then GB News came along…”
The comment, seen by GB News, was made in January on an internal BBC chat forum called Slack, and was available for all staff to view.
Another BBC employee criticised broadcasters for “regularly [giving] a platform for the likes of Farage without context”.
BBC staff labelled GB News “the opposition”
Harrison Pitt, a senior editor at The European Conservative and a political commentator at the New Culture Forum, told GB News: “The BBC has for too long interpreted impartiality as a duty to host spokespeople for all of the legacy political parties.”
“The only problem is that they agree with each other on more or less every important issue. We invariably miss out on a genuine diversity of opinion.”
“BBC Question Time in particular has become unwatchable. Despite receiving nothing in the way of taxpayer-funded support, GB News has distinguished itself in bucking this complacent trend, platforming a range of perspectives, and for the most part performing a laudable public service.”
“No wonder the legacy media is so keen to strangle this new kid in its cradle.”
GB NewsGB NewsThe post was made in reaction to a government announcement earlier this year introducing stricter scrutiny of BBC output in relation to impartiality.
One employee asked “Is one of the reforms for the government to stop attacking the BBC every time it says something they don’t like?”
Another wrote: “Can I just say how clever this is in the run up to an election. Without saying the BBC is biassed, people will be able to say “The Government is concerned about peoples’ perceptions of BBC Bias”…”
On 15 January this year, one employee asked if anyone else was affected by “microaggressions at the BBC”, linking to a Bloomsberg article discussing “racist” and “sexist” actions such as when a white colleague tells an ethnic minority person “You’re so articulate” as this could be seen as patronising.
Rafe Heydel-Mankoo, a broadcaster and historian, told GB News: “This telling comment reveals the true attitude of many in the BBC. They regard themselves as the establishment and, like any elite, they cannot tolerate anything that challenges their position or views. The BBC’s confrontational “us” v “them” mentality is a far cry from the placid “Auntie” it likes to portray itself as.”
“Across a whole range of issues, GB News represents the views of the majority of the British population. If the BBC regards GB News as its opposition, does this mean it also regards the British people as its opposition too? Given the degree to which the public have been rejecting the BBC’s far left output in recent years, one might be forgiven for thinking so.”
He continued: “What this comment reveals above all is that GB News has succeeded in disrupting the British media establishment. We can now see that the attacks on GB News were motivated as much by fear of a challenger as by snobbery. GB News’s tremendous viewing figures show that the establishment’s risible attempts to dismiss, belittle and cancel the channel have backfired.”
Five BBC employees reacted to the post, confirming that they had experienced microaggressions too.
In response to the BLM riots in the summer of 2020, the BBC’s then head of digital projects (who has since left the organisation), wrote an email, seen by GB News, to her staff discussing the death of George Floyd.
The senior employee urged line managers to ask their employees how “they’re impacted by this and what support they may need”. She stressed not to “expect your black colleagues to educate you on this, it’s not their responsibility”.
For “mental health first aiders” she said it was “problematic” and a “glaring omission” that there were no specific resources to assist people impacted by Black Lives Matter and racism.
The email told employees that “when creating a presentation or creating a Test article, please do not use articles with images and videos of violence against Black people” as it is “re-traumatising”.
Staff were told to be “mindful of off-the-cuff comments [such as] “at least it isn’t like that here”” as she claimed this erased racism in the UK.
The BBC employee also urged colleagues to “educate themselves” with “anti-racist” texts such as Robin DiAngelo’s White Fragility.
Other comments posted by BBC employees include messages labelling Gary Linkear a “hero”, supporting the Left-wing radio host Carol Vorderman and posts criticising The Telegraph and GB News.
The BBC were approached for comment.
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