UK X: Who Wants To Live Forever

[Neon Ignition]

I'm disgusted by Linekers actions

If he had a shred of decency he would prove his commitment to impartiality by organising a near £1m loan for the Tory Prime Minister right now!

[huxley]

Yep. This is not the BBC I want and they'll have no money from me until they start doing their job properly.

Epic timing from auntie once more
.

https://www.theguardian.com/media/2023/mar/10/david-attenborough-bbc-wild-isles-episode-rightwing-backlash-fears

[Asura]

I never thought I'd cancel my TV license but the Beeb have got, like, only a couple of business days before sorting this **** out and making one hell of an apology.

[Cassius_Smoke]

Remember when Alan Sugar straight up tweeted saying don't vote for Corbyn?! That's fine apparently, no reputations for him.

[Cassius_Smoke]

The PFA have said that they'll back any players who don't want to speak to the MOTD interviews at the end of the games. Sounds like some footballers are also standing in solidarity.

[fuse]

BBC have been sinking in my estimation for years and years now, but this is an absolutely shocking wrong move by them and one of the most obvious and open examples of their slide into being a government mouthpiece.

Respect and solidarity to all of the presenters, players, commentators and the like that are standing up against this. I am so impressed by everything I'm seeing from that community.

[MartyG]

Do people not understand what being impartial means?

If the BBC criticises whatever government is in power, they are not being impartial. The same applies to critising any other political party or politician. The same applies to praising a government, political party or politician. This is why they don't do it. This is why they didn't do it when there was a coalition, this is why they didn't do it when Labour was in government. This is why they're not doing it now. And nor should they be doing so - the BBC should never be a political mouthpiece, pro or con for any political party. This is what impartiality is, this is why it's core to the BBC charter.

Really I do think that this should generally only apply to news, current affairs, and the presenters of these programmes where they are clearly representing the corporation, and I do think that it's a mistake to suspend Lineker in this case (unless he'd spoken out on the MotD on air), but only because of the perception that it's the BBC bowing to pressure from the government (and that's not what this is).

The real tragedy here is that the Lineker story is now being used as a battle in a continuing culture war by the media (on both sides) and so allowing the terrible government policy (that will never actually make it to the law books) that marginalises an entire group of people to be sidelined because a celebrity tweet gets more advertising clicks.

[fuse]

The issue is to do how they're selectively choosing when and with whom they enforce that impartiality.

[MartyG]

It would have been the same for any high-profile presenter at the BBC - I don't believe there's an example of a BBC presenter likening government policy to that of 1930's Nazi propaganda being sanctioned as not problematic, but I may be mistaken on that.

[Nu-Eclipse]

Do people not understand what being impartial means?

If the BBC criticises whatever government is in power, they are not being impartial. The same applies to critising any other political party or politician. The same applies to praising a government, political party or politician. This is why they don't do it. This is why they didn't do it when there was a coalition, this is why they didn't do it when Labour was in government. This is why they're not doing it now. And nor should they be doing so - the BBC should never be a political mouthpiece, pro or con for any political party.

Really I do think that this should generally only apply to news, current affairs, and the presenters of these programmes where they are clearly representing the corporation, and I do think that it's a mistake to suspend Lineker in this case, but only because of the perception that it's the BBC bowing to pressure from the government (and that's not what this is).

The real tragedy here is that the Lineker story is now being used as a battle in a continuing culture war by the media (on both sides) and so allowing the terrible government policy (that will never actually make it to the law books) that marginalises an entire group of people to be sidelined because a celebrity tweet gets more advertising clicks.

Marty, I'm pretty sure that most people understand this.

The thing is, most people understand that Lineker made these comments on his personal social media space and not live on a BBC broadcast. They also understand that it is terrible optics to take this stance with Lineker when the chairman of said organisation has significant Tory connections, a known history of donating considerable money to the Tories and is currently under investigation for lying about considerable Tory cronyism. Richard Sharp has far more responsibility to uphold impartiality within the BBC than Gary Lineker, a sports presenter, ever has.

The most damning thing, as your rightly point out, about all of this is that it allows for Tory deflection from what Lineker rightly called out as despicably awful Tory immigration policy.

[MartyG]

I'd agree, I said as much above. The policy is despicable and totally unworkable with it - this is what people should be talking about, not Lineker, not the BBC, and not using these as a further splinter in a culture war.

[Neon Ignition]

It's complete mismanagement by the BBC, an utter failure to navigate what was a staggeringly simple situation to deal with. Now they have multiple sports shoes off the air this weekend, national coverage and despite how much focus has gone on Lineker the image that has been made is completely one that is anti-Tory and of the BBC being at that party's whim. It's not helped at all by how a multitude of left and right wing names have backed Lineker whilst the only supporters of the action taken are the BBC head and Tory MP's.

This has already spun into another story that cripples Sunak's efforts to make villains of immigrants so has been worth it despite how ludicrous the origins of the story have been.

If the BBC don't backtrack BB by end of play tomorrow and have everyone back at work having dropped this as an issue then you'll be looking down the barrel of him moving to a rival channel and as soon as that happens, under these circumstances, there'll be no turning back the PR for the BBC and Tories. They don't seem to understand the position they're in and it absolutely undermines that the current BBC chairman needs to go, he's unsuitable for the role on multiple fronts now

[Nu-Eclipse]

It's complete mismanagement by the BBC, an utter failure to navigate what was a staggeringly simple situation to deal with. Now they have multiple sports shoes off the air this weekend

I guess you could say that the BBC have failed to put their best foot forward?

[Neon Ignition]

God damn it, that's why I hate posting on mobile

https://www.theguardian.com/media/2023/mar/11/lineker-row-theatens-topple-bbc-chiefs-and-hit-tory-asylum-plans

Chairman and Director face calls to resign at the BBC whilst Tory Asylum plans now face a bigger backlash

[Cassius_Smoke]

Alex Scott pulled out of doing Football Focus.
I like her attitude. She was told not to wear an armband during the world Cup... Wore it anyway.
Seems like footballers are the ones that might finally bring this government to a head.