[ad_1]
With just 32 words posted on Twitter, one of Britain’s most beloved sports personalities found himself at the center of a national controversy, the likes of which has not been seen since. Partygate.
Gary Lineker’s face splashed on the front pages of more than three dozen newspapers in less than two weeks in a squabble that questioned the impartiality of the country’s public broadcaster, the BBC.
Lineker, 62, is a former professional footballer who started his career as an athlete becoming a commentator on the BBC’s popular football programme. Match the day.
But on March 7, Lineker swapped sports commentary for political commentary on social media, taking aim at the government’s proposed legislation to effectively ban asylum seekers from the UK.
The policy would see people trying to cross the English Channel detained and returned to their country of origin or to a third country, such as Rwanda, whether close to their country of origin or not.
The proposed policy has drawn international condemnation from human rights organizations. He said the Illegal Migration Bill, which was read twice this week, would violate international humanitarian law.
After unveiling the proposed legislation, Lineker retweeted a video of Home Affairs Minister Suella Braverman explaining it by commenting, “My goodness, this is appalling.”
When pressed as to why he thought it was bad, Lineker wrote: “There is no big influx. We are taking in fewer refugees than other major European countries. This is just a very cruel policy aimed at the most vulnerable people in a language that is no different from that of used by the Germans in the ’30s, and I’m broken?”
That could be the end of the story. Moreover, with a following of 8.9 million people, Lineker attracted a lot of criticism from politicians and supporters of the Conservative Party. Within 72 hours, the BBC suspended him for breaching the company’s impartiality guidelines.
‘Straight to the heart’ reputation of the BBC
This only accelerated the scandal; fellow commentators support him and the boycott Match the dayas well as other programs.
“Everybody knows what it is Match the day it means a lot to me, but I’ve told the BBC I won’t do it,” said fellow English football legend Ian Wright. on Twitter. “Solidarity.”
The BBC did the broadcast Match the day last weekend, but without the hosts. An 80-minute highlight reel, usually provided with insight by commentators, is condensed into 20 minutes, airing as a mashup of game clips without voiceovers. Spectators came in droves to watch the slow motion car crash, with half a million people tuning in.
Earlier this week, the BBC has reversed course, asking Lineker to return to Match the dayand issued a full apology.
While Lineker’s aim was to discuss the government’s immigration policy, what the suspension and subsequent restoration did was to turn the ball into a discussion about the BBC’s impartiality, and because of its popularity, became a topic for mass debate.
The director general of the BBC, Tim Davie, highlighted the controversy over the public broadcaster’s lack of clarity about its social media policy for people working at the company in non-news roles.
“The BBC has a commitment to impartiality in the Charter and a commitment to freedom of expression,” Davie said. “It’s a difficult balancing act where people are subject to different contracts and on-air positions, and with different audience and social media profiles.”
Another thing happened
Speaking to a parliamentary committee this week, Melanie Dawes, chief executive of Britain’s Office of Communications (commonly known as Ofcom), which oversees the BBC’s charter, did not mince words, saying the public broadcaster’s reputation for impartiality was on the line.
“Clearly episodes like this go straight to the heart of our wider reputation beyond news and current affairs coverage,” Dawes said.
While the Lineker incident has attracted attention, it is not isolated.
The days before the BBC were strange, hostless Match the day, The Guardian reported that the public broadcaster refused to air an episode of David Attenborough’s latest nature documentary series about environmental degradation in the British Isles. A source at the BBC told The Guardian that the decision “was made to fend off the potential criticism of the political right.”
The BBC has denied the allegations and confirmed that the series was originally only to be five episodes, so the sixth will not be shown on TV but will be available online.
The Guardian also reported this month about emails and Whatsapp messages sent early in the pandemic from BBC editors to journalists asking them not to use the word “lockdown,” specifically expressing Downing Street’s desire to see this language removed from coverage.
And last month, it was reported that the chairman of the BBC, Richard Sharp, had helped former prime minister Boris Johnson secure an £800 million loan, and that he failed to disclose this information when he applied for the chairmanship. Sharp has faced calls to resign.
Heavy, uneven hands
Social media guidelines have become common practice for journalists, as Suzanne Franks, professor of journalism at City University of London, points out. The difference here, he said, is that Lineker is not a journalist, but a sports presenter.
“I think the problem is that the BBC, for some reason, has just had a complete meltdown over this,” Franks said.
The Lineker saga has also shone a light on the unfair treatment non-news presenters receive.
this week, Agent Lineker said clients who believe that they have an understanding with the BBC that they are allowed to speak on the issue of refugees and immigration. This would not have happened before, as other commentators who appear on the BBC have such approval – for example, conservative commentator Alan Sugar is often seen criticizing the Labor Party on various platforms, including social media.
The whole kerfuffle has cast aspersions on the director general himself. Davie previously worked in marketing for Pepsi, but also served in the 90s as vice-chairman of the regional Conservative Party association and ran for council, albeit unsuccessfully.
At the BBC, Davie gave an interview to address the issue, but denied that it had any influence on the administration of the public broadcaster.
“Anyone who knows me, knows that yes, 30 years ago, some political involvement. However [I’m] absolutely unaffected by pressure from one party or the other. That’s not the case, editorially, at the BBC,” Davie said.
Hold the nursing hand
Franks is not sure this is a story about the political leanings of senior officials at the BBC, but it is more likely to be related to the Tories government announcing the plan last year. dramatically cut funding for public broadcasters.
“The BBC, as a public broadcaster, depends on the government and there have been times in its history – and now, unfortunately, is one of them – when it really likes what the government wants and what the government thinks,” he said.
“And when last week this tweet came out saying that the government’s comments about migrants were too much from some language used in 1930s Germany, the BBC was clearly worried, scared.”
Any way you look at it, said Franks, Lineker won this standoff. He never apologised, instead sticking to his word.
“After a few surreal days, I’m glad that we have navigated this way. I want to thank all the incredible support, especially my colleagues at BBC Sport, for the wonderful show of solidarity,” said Lineker. Twitter. “Football is a team game, but the support is huge.”
But in what he offered as his final remarks, he ended where he began, advocating empathy for migrants and refugees.
“But it was difficult the past few days, it just doesn’t compare to having to run away from home from persecution or war to take refuge in a faraway land.”
With files from Lyndsay Duncombe
[ad_2]
Source link