NEIL Oliver’s GB News programme is to be moved online for its live portion as Ofcom has “significant concerns” about the channel’s editorial control.
As part of its judgement into remarks made by Laurence Fox and Dan Wootton Tonight about female journalist Ava Evans, the watchdog expressed concerns over how well regulated the channel’s live news output is.
In its ruling, Ofcom said: “In light of the circumstances of this case, we have significant concerns about GB News’ editorial control of its live output.
READ MORE: Ofcom ruling on Laurence Fox's 'misogynistic' GB News rant - in full
“We are requiring GB News to provide further detailed information about its compliance practices in this area for our consideration, and requesting it attends a meeting at our offices to discuss this.”
It was announced over the weekend that Oliver’s show will now be broadcast live online for two hours on a Friday, with a one-hour edited version on Sunday.
However, GB News did not announce a reason for the change.
Wootton and Fox were both suspended following the incident on September 26, with the latter eventually sacked by the channel.
Ofcom’s investigation found Wootton’s and GB News’ accounts of why an apology was not read out “differed” and noted no other “editorial techniques” were used to address the potential offence.
It added: “We considered this indicated that GB News’ editorial control of the live programme had been inadequate.”
In a ruling, the regulator said Fox’s comments “constituted a highly personal attack on Ms Evans and were potentially highly offensive to viewers”.
“They reduced her contribution to a broadcast discussion on mental health – in her professional capacity as a political journalist – to a judgement on whether she, or women like her who publicly expressed their political opinions, were sexually desirable to men,” Ofcom added.
The watchdog said it found Fox’s comments to be “degrading and demeaning both to Evans and women generally” and “clearly and unambiguously misogynistic”.
It also found that Wootton’s reaction and “limited challenge” in response “did not mitigate the potential for offence; rather, they exacerbated it by contributing to the narrative in which a woman’s value was judged by her physical appearance”.
Ofcom also said it is launching a further investigation into Nigel Farage’s programme on the channel on January 17.
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There are currently more than a dozen other investigations into the channel being undertaken by the watchdog.
Oliver was cleared by Ofcom last month for his claim that Covid-19 vaccinations were causing “turbo cancer”.
The body said, “these brief comments were the presenter’s personal views and di not materially mislead the audience”.
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