New Alternative News Channel "GB News" chaired by Andrew Neil launching - read OP before posting

22-10-2021 07:55PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118059790#Comment_118059790

Starkey apologised for the way in which he phrased the remarks. We should not condemn public intellectuals to the dustbin of history based on some poorly worded single sentence. He apologised - we should accept that and move on accordingly. Indeed, on Farage last night, Starkey re-affirmed the position that his remarks were "stupidly" phrased.

Starkey isn't posh. He was brought up in a state school, worked hard to make it to one of the few grammar schools in Kent, and worked his way up through university.

As I say, it was a refreshing conversation - and I do hope that GB News hires Starkey on the back of it.

listermint · 22-10-2021 07:58PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118059831#Comment_118059831

Nah he's posh. You know the reformed type that get posher as they progress away from their origins. They do their utmost to move away from who and what they were. I suppose it's a role they play to slot into the world of wealth the so avidly want to rub shoulders with. There's strangely alot of that in the UK. Which is still a classist place

MisterAnarchy · 22-10-2021 08:42PM

Lazarus has returned from the dead .

Welcome back, I'm sure everyone else is as happy as I am to see you back.

breezy1985 · 22-10-2021 08:47PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118060124#Comment_118060124

All his other accounts got banned 🤣

breezy1985 · 22-10-2021 08:53PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118059831#Comment_118059831

A minor point but it wasn't a Grammer school in Kent but a school in Cumbria near the river Kent on the other end of the country in the town he grew up

23-10-2021 09:47AM

GB News set to recruit 60 new staff in an attempt to boost its digital output. They've also hired the editor of the Sunday Express, Michael Booker, who will become the channel's editorial director.

Good to see a push for digital, as that's where they can expand reach and audience potential.

Timberrrrrrrr · 23-10-2021 10:22AM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118061637#Comment_118061637

The channel is dying, it will be forced to go "digital" because soon the won't be able to afford the rent for the "studio" or be able to pay the electricity bill.

pixelburp · 23-10-2021 10:47AM

Yeah, this isn't expansion, it's a pivot precisely because its broadcast strategy has been a demonstrable failure. There's certainly a market for polemics online but those seeking them can find plenty of free options on YouTube; with younger, more relevant presenters than has beens or bitter "cancelled" types.

23-10-2021 10:59AM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118061749#Comment_118061749

A channel that's dying wouldn't hire an additional 60 new staff.

MisterAnarchy · 23-10-2021 11:11AM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118061869#Comment_118061869

It will be closed by the end of the year, we have fervently been told that so many times by the zealots on here.

So confident were they in their belief, that not one would take my bet of it being closed by the end of the year.

pixelburp · 23-10-2021 11:36AM

I don't think it will close within the year. But it's a curiously defensive bias that insists GB News' is a roaring success. It isn't, the cold stats are there no matter how it's spun. The station hasn't translated its limited focus into eyeballs or financial success. So either one continues trying to make a (dying) medium work with a shrinking revenue stream, or you hire staff to pivot elsewhere in the hopes of a renewed bump (rather than a Dead Cat Bounce). The emphasis on "digital" shows losses are being cut.

This is not unique to GB News either: many physical publications tried this when the first signs appeared that magazines, blogs etc were being squeezed out; the pivot taken was often to video, with frequent failure following because you can't just change one's focus overnight. GB News may find "digital" an even harder nut to crack given it's a much broader, more competitive market.

23-10-2021 12:02PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118061979#Comment_118061979

Nobody has argued that GB News is a "roaring success". Far from it, the figures could and should be healthier.

That said, GB News is not a roaring failure, either. It has performed far better digitally than was originally believed. That's not "pivoting"; it's merely what businesses do; adjust to where the market and future growth can be. That's not a failure, that's just how business works. You capitalize on your strengths, and consolidate your weaknesses.

Furthermore, GB News isn't the only show in town. The new Murdoch channel with Piers Morgan is going to boost right-wing politics yet further.

All in all, there is reason for optimism either way.

Tony EH · 23-10-2021 12:10PM

It's been nothing but a failure, even in the broadest of terms.

I know you desperately feel the need to shill for this thing, but really...at the very least...try to be a bit honest about it.

Penn · 23-10-2021 12:35PM

I wouldn't say their digital is doing that well either, with drops in subscriber gain and video views on YouTube

https://socialblade.com/youtube/c/gbnewsonline

Their other social media seems very static too, with no real growth.

As has been repeated ad nauseum, they're not doing anything to attract new viewers, and that's before News UK launches which will almost certainly pull from their viewer base.

What will a greater push into digital do?

23-10-2021 12:37PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118062077#Comment_118062077

Their online numbers are pretty poor though. Like they don't tend to even have videos that go viral. Even RTE can manage that and I'm pretty sure RTE tend to generally outperform them on YouTube.

pixelburp · 23-10-2021 12:52PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118062077#Comment_118062077

Quibbling over degrees of underwhelming results seems redundant when it's obvious yirue enthusiasm for this channel clouds reality. There's no evidence their digital, social media outlets are performing especially well. Teh hard truth is they're not attracting new eyeballs, and have failed to generate the kind of viral traction a modern media outlet would be seeking.

Maybe that's what those 60 are being hired to identify, those ways to create the required buzz from a digital platform, but right this minute the numbers do not speak to optimism, only a slowly degrading orbit. At a glance it might look fine, the view still decent, but you're still dropping slowly, inexorably. Gravity eventually wins.

And that's before one consider the reality that it's one thing to say you're hiring 60 people - another to actually find quality candidates. Christ we've been interviewing the last 2, 3 months and still can't find good enough candidates for 2 open roles. If GB News are serious, they're going to struggle to find quality candidates willing to enable a polemical channel.

Timberrrrrrrr · 23-10-2021 01:01PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118061869#Comment_118061869

It needs 60 "new staff" to work from home posting shìte on thier youtube channel because there won't be a studio anymore.

Timberrrrrrrr · 23-10-2021 01:04PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118062077#Comment_118062077

When you say

"It has performed far better digitally than was originally believed. "

What's the evidence for that?

As for Murdochs new channel? That will be the death knell for GB "news"

Penn · 23-10-2021 01:46PM

It also has to be taken into account if these 60 staff are all new positions, or how many may be replacing staff who have left. I think I read in a few articles that Andrew Neil wasn't the only one who didn't like the direction the channel was heading in, and some staff may have left given that the channel is slumping and could be a black mark on their CV if they stay too long.

Theoretical, obviously, but there's a difference between hiring 60 new staff, and hiring for 60 new positions.

ancapailldorcha · 23-10-2021 01:58PM

So, it's taken the business gurus at GB News months to twig that most people are getting their news and commentary online and that maybe they should target that market? And this is what passes for innovation at GB News? I've seen some dodgy defences for them here but this tops the lot.

23-10-2021 02:15PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118062336#Comment_118062336

If you are suggesting Murdoch's new right-wing enterprise is going to be even more successful than GB News, who am I to be irked by that outcome?

That sounds positively good; and competition is never a bad thing - regardless of who eats who.

frag420 · 23-10-2021 03:07PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118062077#Comment_118062077

Surely they should have done their research first to understood where the “market” for xenophobia and general shite-talk was before launching a TV channel in someone’s garage?

Timberrrrrrrr · 23-10-2021 03:23PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118062674#Comment_118062674

No, it will take the few viewers GBeebies has, but will also be a failure.

23-10-2021 03:45PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118062918#Comment_118062918

Piers Morgan!?

They've also hired an ITV director who worked closely with Morgan on all his top-rated TV shows.

Who knows who else they may attract in the meantime.

To suppose, without even seeing the product, that it will be a failure is nothing more than premature evaluation.

23-10-2021 03:48PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118062861#Comment_118062861

I've been watching GB News for 5-months or so and have not heard a single xenophobic comment on the channel. Not one.

If you can produce one, I'm all ears.

Until then, your conclusion is baseless and hysterical.

Timberrrrrrrr · 23-10-2021 03:56PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118063008#Comment_118063008

Oh they may well get Morgan, but depending on the content they may not get the viewing figures they want.

Morgan on morning TV talking shìte about is different to Morgan on another channel spouting right wing hate.

You seem to think that Morgan being on board will automatically mean everyone who watched him before will be happy to tune in.

listermint · 23-10-2021 03:59PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118062674#Comment_118062674

Genuinely find it insanely weird that people actually spent their time batting for corporations of whatever flavour. It's so weirdly odd that it's somewhat sublime how the internet has made people want to eat themselves.

23-10-2021 04:11PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118063083#Comment_118063083

That's the beauty of the capitalist system; the cream always rises to the top.

listermint · 23-10-2021 04:14PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118063124#Comment_118063124

Silly statement because it's so untrue on so many levels.

You are so pro such a station because it doesn't have a market. It doesn't have a market because it's not cream as you put it. That's the funniest part of your entire raison d'etre. Its a beautiful irony.

pixelburp · 23-10-2021 04:16PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118063124#Comment_118063124

You obviously have no learning on the subject if you genuinely believe that, that the market corrects itself towards the best answer. It's hilariously naive for one. You'd think someone boastful of their business prowess would at least understand the lopsided power of marketing and money thrown around

New Alternative News Channel "GB News" chaired by Andrew Neil launching - read OP before posting

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