Latest news with #StateOfTheNation
The Standard
29-05-2025
- General
- The Standard
Philippines' Marcos expected to announce more cabinet changes
Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. gestures as he delivers his second State of the Nation Address (SONA), at the House of Representative in Quezon City, Metro Manila, Philippines, July 24, 2023. REUTERS/Lisa Marie David/File Photo
The Independent
17-03-2025
- Politics
- The Independent
Six more investigations discontinued by Ofcom after GB News rulings quashed
Six more investigations have been discontinued by media regulator Ofcom after the High Court quashed its impartiality rulings against GB News over politicians acting as newsreaders. The media regulator said on Monday that reviews into episodes of programmes fronted by Reform UK founder Nigel Farage on GB News and others would not go ahead. These also included investigations into episodes of various programmes with former minister Jake Berry, ex-MEP Alex Phillips and former deputy Reform UK leader David Bull on Talk, and Labour MP David Lammy on LBC. Ofcom said last week that it 'withdrew the three other breach decisions against GB News', which included episodes of programmes on the channel fronted by husband and wife team Esther McVey, a Tory MP, and Philip Davies, who was an Conservative MP until the general election. But Ofcom launched an investigation on Monday into GB News programme Headliners, which featured comments about the LGBT+ community. Angelos Frangopoulos, the chief executive of GB News, welcomed the watchdog's decision, and said he did 'not believe that there was a breach of the rules' in the Headliners programme. GB News took Ofcom to the High Court after it found that two programmes with Sir Jacob Rees-Mogg, when he was an MP, violated rules that state news must be reported with due accuracy and 'presented with due impartiality', and that politicians cannot act as newsreaders except when 'editorially justified'. In February, High Court judge Mrs Justice Collins Rice said the regulator's decisions were 'vitiated by error of law' and that Ofcom 'conflated a news programme and a current affairs programme' in its ruling about the two episodes of the State Of The Nation show from 2023. Ofcom previously welcomed the ruling, and said it would 'review and consult on proposed changes to the broadcasting code to restrict politicians from presenting news in any type of programme to ensure this is clear for all broadcasters'. Mr Frangopoulos said: 'Since the recent landmark High Court ruling finding that Ofcom acted unlawfully, a total of 11 cases against GB News and other UK broadcasters have now either been quashed, unwound or abandoned. 'Following the withdrawal of five breach decisions against GB News, now Ofcom has revealed that it is 'not pursuing' the case against the GB News programme, Farage and five others from other UK broadcasters – another vindication of GB News editorial decision making.' He added that they will 'vigorously defend the channel and our presenters' freedom of speech rights'. An episode of comedy programme Headliners on January 22 received more than 1,382 complaints to Ofcom after presenter Josh Howie talked about a sermon given by a US bishop, who advocated for LGBT+ inclusion. On Monday, an Ofcom spokeswoman said: 'We are investigating whether this programme broke our rule which requires that material which may cause offence must be justified by the context.' The media regulator is investigating it for a breach of the broadcasting rule on offence. Howie, who appeared to suggest that 'full inclusion' would include paedophiles on the show, defended his comments saying on X that he is doing a 'comedy show' with comedians from across the political spectrum. Complainants objected 'to comment made by the presenter in this programme which complainants considered associated the LGBTQ+ community with paedophiles'. Ofcom said more complaints, a total of 71,851, were submitted from activist group the Good Law Project who started a petition online about the episode. The watchdog announced last year it was investigating an episode of Mr Lammy's LBC show and the Farage programme on GB News for 'rules requiring news and current affairs to be presented with due impartiality, and preventing politicians from acting as news presenters'. Mr Lammy, who was a presenter and on the Labour front bench before becoming Foreign Secretary after the general election, announced Sir Jeffrey Donaldson's resignation as DUP leader live on air on March 29 2024. Mr Farage's programme on GB News dates from January 17 2024, before he became leader of Reform UK again and an MP for the first time. Other reviews looked at then Tory MP Mr Berry's TalkTV programme through two investigations as it was broadcast online and via Local TV on December 12 2023, Reform UK supporter Ms Phillips' show on May 22 2024, and Mr Bull standing in for journalist Mike Graham on July 19 2024 on Talk show Morning Glory.
Yahoo
17-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Six more investigations discontinued by Ofcom after GB News rulings quashed
Six more investigations have been discontinued by media regulator Ofcom after the High Court quashed its impartiality rulings against GB News over politicians acting as newsreaders. The media regulator said on Monday that reviews into episodes of programmes fronted by Reform UK founder Nigel Farage on GB News and others would not go ahead. These also included investigations into episodes of various programmes with former minister Jake Berry, ex-MEP Alex Phillips and former deputy Reform UK leader David Bull on Talk, and Labour MP David Lammy on LBC. Ofcom said last week that it 'withdrew the three other breach decisions against GB News', which included episodes of programmes on the channel fronted by husband and wife team Esther McVey, a Tory MP, and Philip Davies, who was an Conservative MP until the general election. But Ofcom launched an investigation on Monday into GB News programme Headliners, which featured comments about the LGBT+ community. Angelos Frangopoulos, the chief executive of GB News, welcomed the watchdog's decision, and said he did 'not believe that there was a breach of the rules' in the Headliners programme. GB News took Ofcom to the High Court after it found that two programmes with Sir Jacob Rees-Mogg, when he was an MP, violated rules that state news must be reported with due accuracy and 'presented with due impartiality', and that politicians cannot act as newsreaders except when 'editorially justified'. In February, High Court judge Mrs Justice Collins Rice said the regulator's decisions were 'vitiated by error of law' and that Ofcom 'conflated a news programme and a current affairs programme' in its ruling about the two episodes of the State Of The Nation show from 2023. Ofcom previously welcomed the ruling, and said it would 'review and consult on proposed changes to the broadcasting code to restrict politicians from presenting news in any type of programme to ensure this is clear for all broadcasters'. Mr Frangopoulos said: 'Since the recent landmark High Court ruling finding that Ofcom acted unlawfully, a total of 11 cases against GB News and other UK broadcasters have now either been quashed, unwound or abandoned. 'Following the withdrawal of five breach decisions against GB News, now Ofcom has revealed that it is 'not pursuing' the case against the GB News programme, Farage and five others from other UK broadcasters – another vindication of GB News editorial decision making.'
The Independent
28-02-2025
- Politics
- The Independent
GB News wins High Court challenge over Jacob Rees-Mogg shows
The High Court has quashed Ofcom 's decisions that GB News twice broke impartiality rules during shows hosted by Sir Jacob Rees-Mogg when he was an MP. Sir Jacob read out a breaking news bulletin about Donald Trump's civil sexual assault trial during his Jacob Rees-Mogg 's State Of The Nation show in May 2023. The former Tory frontbencher also spoke to a GB News journalist reporting live from Nottingham on June 13 2023 in another edition of his programme, asking about the fatal stabbings carried out by Valdo Calocane in Nottingham. The segments were 53 seconds and three-and-a-half minutes-long respectively, and after an investigation concluded in March last year, Ofcom stated they had breached two of the rules in the broadcasting code. These rules state that news must be reported with due accuracy and 'presented with due impartiality', while the second says: 'No politician may be used as a newsreader, interviewer or reporter in any news programmes unless, exceptionally, it is editorially justified.' Sir Jacob, who lost the constituency of North East Somerset to Labour by more than 5,000 votes in the last general election, had been business secretary, Brexit minister and leader of the House of Commons under the Conservative government. GB News brought a legal challenge over the findings, telling the court in London at a hearing in January that the regulator had misinterpreted the code and Sir Jacob's TV show was a current affairs programme. Ofcom defended the challenge, with its lawyers telling the court that a newsreader is defined as someone who 'reads content that is news', and the code must apply to 'news in any form'. In a judgment on Friday, Mrs Justice Collins Rice said the regulator's decisions were 'vitiated by error of law' and that Ofcom 'conflated a news programme and a current affairs programme'. She continued: 'A programme cannot be a news programme and a current affairs programme at the same time. 'The statutory scheme deals with them differently. 'Blending the two as a response to such perceived blending by broadcasters is not a solution within the current scope of the statutory scheme.' In her 29-page ruling, the judge quashed the two decisions and sent them back to the regulator to be reconsidered. She added: 'It remains open to Ofcom, in law, to pursue investigations into either or both broadcasts as a potential breach.' Following the ruling, an Ofcom spokesperson said: 'We accept the court's guidance on this important aspect of due impartiality in broadcast news and the clarity set out in its judgment. 'We will now review and consult on proposed changes to the broadcasting code to restrict politicians from presenting news in any type of programme to ensure this is clear for all broadcasters.'
Yahoo
28-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
GB News Wins Landmark Legal Battle With UK Media Regulator Ofcom Over Trump Report
GB News has won a landmark legal battle with UK media regulator Ofcom over a report by presenter Jacob Rees-Mogg about Donald Trump. In a High Court ruling, a judge found that Ofcom was unlawful in determining that GB News breached broadcasting rules in two separate editions of Mogg's State Of The Nation show. More from Deadline James Cameron Says New Zealand Citizenship Is "Imminent" Amid Trump's "Sickening" Administration: "It's Inescapable" FCC Chairman Brendan Carr Suggests That Skydance-Paramount Merger Review Is Far From Finished Warner Bros. Discovery Drops Diversity & Equity Language Amid DEI Rollbacks - "Our Overarching Work In This Space Will Now Be Referred To As Inclusion" Ofcom argued that Mogg, a former Conservative minister, veered into newsreader territory when telling viewers in May 2023 that a jury had found Donald Trump guilty of sexually assaulting writer E. Jean Carroll. The regulator said this, and a separate report on Valdo Calocane killing three people in Nottingham, constituted a breach of rule 5.3 of the UK broadcasting code, which states: 'No politician may be used as a newsreader, interviewer or reporter in any news programmes unless, exceptionally, it is editorially justified.' In reaching this conclusion, Ofcom ruled last March that State Of The Nation could be characterized as both a 'news programme' and a 'current affairs' show, the latter of which is exempt from rule 5.3. The court found that the statute underlying British broadcasting rules treats news programmes and current affairs shows as being distinct. Because State Of The Nation was predominantly a current affairs show, the court said rule 5.3 did not apply. 'I am minded to quash the two decisions in this case,' said Mrs Justice Collins Rice. 'Because they applied rule 5.3 to news in any form outside the confines of a news programme, and because they conflated a news programme and a current affairs programme. Rule 5.3 does not apply outside news programmes. This was a current affairs programme and not a news programme.' GB News CEO Angelos Frangopoulos said: 'This landmark decision by the High Court vindicates GB News' position as the fearless defender of free speech in the United Kingdom. Our court victory is hugely significant for the entire British broadcasting industry. We are proud that we were the only media company prepared to have the courage of our convictions.' He added: 'I call on the government and Parliament to consider the seriousness of this fundamental failure by Ofcom. GB News is thriving with record audiences because it is focussed on serving all of the nation's communities and delivering on its mission to be The People's Channel.' An Ofcom spokesperson said: 'We accept the court's guidance on this important aspect of due impartiality in broadcast news and the clarity set out in its judgment.' Significantly, Ofcom added that will now consult on redrafting rule 5.3 of the broadcasting code 'to restrict politicians from presenting news in any type of programme to ensure this is clear for all broadcasters.' Rule 5.3 was written nearly two decades ago, at a time when it was not envisaged that a news channel would have lawmakers hosting shows on a nightly basis. Critics of Ofcom's approach have been calling for a review of the rule for more than a year. Chris Banatvala, Ofcom's former director of standards, told Deadline last year: 'It would be wise, given broadcasters are coming up against the code, for Ofcom to have a rigorous discussion and a possible consultation around this matter and be open about why changes may or may not be needed.' Best of Deadline All The Songs In 'Running Point' On Netflix: From Tupac To Steve Lacy 2025 TV Series Renewals: Photo Gallery How To Watch The 2025 Oscars Online And On TV
