Mailwatch(ed) Forum

Once upon a time Sky News was the better alternative for TV news channels, but in the recent pat (since the election) it has gone downhill fast.

The main offender has been Beth Rigby, who seems to have a particular hatred for Keir Starmer, but now also joined by Sam Coates.

Rigby today has Tweexed that the Chancellor has got it all wrong because a hairdresser in Grimsby said so (they have hairdressers in Grimsby? Who knew?) and Coates is snidely complaining that Starmer has spent time out of the UK talking to out allies and cementing the relationships weakened by the Tories.

Is this connected to the appointment of David Rhodes as Executive Chairman? He once worked for Fox News and is a News Corp (Murdoch) apparatchik, who led the programme to introduce a Fox News-type channel into the UK for Old Rupes. Which failed.

A new editor - Jonathan Levy - is also in place. He has been at Sky a long time but seems now to be putting his own stamp on coverage.

I think this bias can be seen in their coverage of the Amsterdam Pogrom - from Wiki:

On the 9th of November Sky News released a video report on the November 2024 Amsterdam attacks citing the fact that the violence was kickstarted by Israeli football fans chanting anti-Arab slurs and tearing down Palestinian flags from various properties. Shortly afterwards Sky News removed their coverage only to reupload an edited version seemingly removing culpability from the Israeli football fans for starting the violence, prompting outrage on social media.

We really need Leveson 2.

Wasn't Leveson 2 specifically about the Police and the Press?

Leveson 3 then...

During Covid and Partygate Beth Rigby got lots of criticism from the right wing media for holding Boris Johnson to account. She was merely doing what a good journalist should have done but now she sees to think that she needs to be equally hard on Starmer to create some kind of balance. The only problem with this approach is that Starmer is nothing like Johnson. Starmer does not lie or seek to deceive like Johnson used to do so he should be treated differently.

Much of the budget stuff on Sky News and GMB seems to come from business groups and trade organisations who have axes to grind rather than talking to economists who can give a more rounded account of what impact the budget might have on the economy.

You’re missing a “not” there, Satnav.

Well spotted.

I think you are overlooking the appointment of David Rhodes (Feb 2023) and Creepy Uncle Rupert's increased interest in the channel.

Isn’t it owned by Comcast? Which doesn’t much make sense for Murdoch’s interest after his own thing failed.

satnav wrote: ↑Mon Nov 11, 2024 8:56 pm During Covid and Partygate Beth Rigby got lots of criticism from the right wing media for holding Boris Johnson to account. She was merely doing what a good journalist should have done but now she sees to think that she needs to be equally hard on Starmer to create some kind of balance. The only problem with this approach is that Starmer is nothing like Johnson. Starmer does not lie or seek to deceive like Johnson used to do so he should be treated differently.

Much of the budget stuff on Sky News and GMB seems to come from business groups and trade organisations who have axes to grind rather than talking to economists who can give a more rounded account of what impact the budget might have on the economy.

You've pretty much hit the nail on the head there. The desire to be seen as tough as they were on the Tories is what is driving a lot of Sky's coverage. This is what happened to an extent in America with reporters there feeling they had to hold Biden to the same standard as Trump. Another factor is boredom, Westminster journalists are bored and so are desperately trying to drum a scandal of some sort.

It’s all getting a bit Norsefire over there.

I think William the Conqueror may have beaten that - in September, admittedly.

Poland has come up with a legal wheeze to return a flood of people that Putin and Lukashenko are sending westward; sign a bit of paper saying they’d like migrant status. And therefore aren’t applying for asylum so can send them back to Belarus.

The Irony is the government have been deporting migrants but they don't count for some reason.

If the boats stop coming the government needs to shout about or it'll forgetten in a fortnight and Farage will be onto his next immigrant fear-mongering grift.

Andy Burnham is taking a lead and sticking the blame on Farage and his Brexit gang https://x.com/BBCPolitics/status/186824 ... gLuXQ&s=19

Sky seem to be pushing the 'Rachel from accounts' slur. Yesterday it was Kay Burley, today Mark Austin.

Austin also uncritically interviewed Luke Tryl, trashing Keir Starmer, without mentioning he is an ex Tory SPAD, that he has worked for right-leaning organisations and has an output which is friendly to the Tories and hostile to Labour.

Various business groups were very positive about Reeves today. Did that get any coverage?

Not that I saw, just a piece on how Starmer was losing...

Tryl has set himself as some sort voter whisperer who understands the ordinary voter unlike those Westminster bubble types.

Kay Burley has resigned (on air) from Sky News, where she has squatted like a Kafkaesque spider creature since 1989.

Many plaudits from other lightweights such as Rigby.

Rumour (unsubstantiated) that she is headed for GB News...

Did she say why she as quitting ?

She’s no Peter Finch.