GB News hits the air with Andrew Neil

The news with debate channel launched at 8pm this evening.

GB News has taken to the air after months of planning and rehearsals. The network opened with former BBC personality, and going even further back Sky News’, Andrew Neil. In a mission statement, he told viewers,

“Welcome to the launch of GB News, Britain’s news channel dedicated to covering the news that matters to you and to giving a voice to those who have felt sidelined or even silenced in our great national debates.

“Because if it matters to you, it matters to us. GB News will not slavishly follow the existing news agenda. We are not a rolling news channel, nor will we be providing conventional news bulletins. But on all of our programmes and platforms, you’ll always know what’s going on and what the country is talking about.”

There have been lighting and sound issues. © GB News

Aiming to cover and discuss issues that, according to the network, the BBC, ITN and Sky shy away from the 18-hours of live programming will ‘concentrate on the stories that matter to you and that others are neglecting’ while also ‘will encourage debate and conversation to include voices you don’t often hear on other news broadcasts’. As Neil continued,

“We will broadcast news programmes throughout the day that are appointments to view, built round passionate presenters with character, flair, attitude, opinion — and a sense of humour. They will concentrate on the stories that matter to you and that others are neglecting.

“And even when we are covering the same stories as others we will come at them in a very different way. We have put together a line up of youth and experience, of familiar faces and fresh ones, women as well represented as men, as are all our country’s diverse ethnicities — and all parts of our country too. Our team of national and regional reporters covering the whole of the UK is the backbone of GB News — embedded in communities they know because that’s where they hale from.”

Without naming anyone or any corporation, there were, if not digs, pointed notes, that the output will not turn into Good Morning Britain presenter rants or be slanted to one view of an organisation. Accusations thrown at the BBC News output in recent times.

“Delivering the huge range of stories and voices that reflect the views and values of our United Kingdom What unites us all is the firm belief that now is the time to do news differently. We are committed to covering the people’s agenda. Not the media’s agenda. We will not lecture you or talk down. And nobody will be allowed to hector… GB News will not be yet another echo chamber for the metropolitan mindset that already dominates so much of the media. It is our explicit aim to empower those who feel their stories, their opinions, their concerns have been ignored or diminished. We are proud to be British — the clue is in the name.

“And, while we will never hold back from covering our country’s many flaws and problems, we will not come at every story with the conviction that Britain is always at fault, usually to blame when things go wrong and generally useless. We won’t forget what the B stands for in our title. We will cover the good news as well as the bad. Because even in grim times there is much that is great and uplifting to report and celebrate about our country.”

While there are no news bulletins, there are a lot of weather forecasts. © GB News/Met Office

Progammes will mix the latest goings-on, with reporters across the UK, and in-studio and link-up discussion on the day’s news. The aim to also be more inclusive to the nations and regions, and not London-centric.

“We will encourage debate and conversation to include voices you don’t often hear on other news broadcasts. We will sometimes court controversy. But we want civilised discourse. Not shouting matches. No matter how heated our discussions become — and we like heated discussions — we will always demand respect for opposing points of view. We won’t dwell much on the latest gossip of the Westminster bubble, which too often obsesses about matters of no importance to anybody else. We will puncture the pomposity of our elites in politics, business, media and academia and expose their growing promotion of cancel culture for the threat to free speech and democracy that it is.

“We will be more concerned with what will raise prosperity and create jobs in our left-behind towns than what some over-privileged and ahistoric students decide to hang on their walls in Oxford. Social mobility and a fair chance in life for all will matter more to us than the wasteland to nowhere that is identity politics.”

Rounding up, Neil commented on ‘fake news’ and again another hit at the mainstream media on ‘dis-information’ and ‘distortion of facts’,

“…if you want fake news, lies, disinformation, distortion of the facts, conspiracy theories — then GB News is not for you. Because in everything we do we will be guided by the highest journalistic standards, written into the contracts of everybody who works at GB News. Robust, even disputatious debate. Of course. A much wider variety of voices than you currently hear in broadcasting. Certainly. But never the promotion of matters we know to be untrue. Or the pushing of facts that are convenient to a viewpoint but have not been properly checked. And when we do make mistakes — as we will — we will correct them, quickly and without quibble.

“Along the way we hope to have fun. We hope you will too. GB News will aim to inform, inspire and entertain. We start the journey tonight. We hope you will join us. Because if it matters to you, it matters to us.”

The first hour, hosted by Andrew Neil, saw GB News introducing us to their on-screen talent including Sky Sport’s Kirsty Gallacher, ITN’s Alistair Stewart, BBC News’ Simon McCoy and News of the World showbiz person Dan Wootton.

There were a few initial sound and lighting problems, possibly the first hour ‘recorded as live’ due to a lesser output quality than what arrived after 9 pm.

Dan Wootton hosts a debate on GB News’ launch night © GB News

Content-wise, it has aimed to bring ‘across the board’ views and opinions from left, centre and right, but has seen thus far Dan Wooton (9 pm-midnight) throw in a few personal views, something rarely seen in UK news broadcasting on serious matters. The star guest Alan Sugar gave plenty of soundbites for social media while sofa debate ranged from Covid restrictions, The Queen’s cake cutting, the ITV News Central reporter ‘looking down’ at a heckler and Boris Johnson at the G7. Nigel Farrage of course turned up to talk about social media and Donald Trump’s bans.

The set, like Daybreak when it launched, is far too dark. This will be quite an issue during daylight hours – possibly it will be lighter during the day. Parts of the set look terribly cheap, the ‘Argos desk’ where Neil sat, (and the awkward position of the guest opposite looks more Mastermind than chat), and the glass wall looking into the control room and newsroom suffering badly from reflections.

As mentioned there are sound issues, reports play at a lower level than the studio output while the studio echos and needs some soundproofing, the lighting in parts of the set needs boosting and the director/vision mixer are slow on the cuts, leaving errors on air far too long. The graphics are decent enough, and at least they are bright and welcoming.

But it’s only day one, so it will get better – and it looks better than any of the Local TV stations currently on air. Why GB News didn’t buy those up for key slots we’re not sure, it seems you can fill your regional quota on those by running scrolling news along the screen, which GB News do anyway.

Digital Spy became the hit it was not for its news content but via its forums, this is something maybe GB News needs to launch; a GB Forum or the like, to avoid other social media offerings that they suggest have limited truthful news being posted.

GB NEWS: Freeview 236, Sky HD 515, Virgin Media HD 626, YouView 236, Freesat HD 216