Nick Robinson has said the reputation for impartiality built over decades by the UK’s broadcasters faces an existential threat from the growing influence of partisan political figures on newer channels.
The presenter of Radio 4’s flagship Today programme and former BBC political editor said he feared a new era of US-style mixing of news and views if the UK continued down its current path.
“News and highly partisan views are now routinely broadcast alongside each other on radio and TV news channels. Presenters tell viewers and listeners what they think,” Robinson told Press Gazette.
“Serving politicians host their own shows and interview their own party colleagues, even during election campaigns. None of this, we’re told, is a breach of the rules. If so, the rules I’ve operated under both at the BBC and ITV for more than 30 years have been changed without anyone being told, let alone asked if they agree.”
Robinson said the UK had a reputation for having a media landscape where broadcast journalists could scrutinise people in positions of power with impartiality and without fear of reprisal.
“You go round the world, and [people] say: ‘You have got something we wish we had. You have got media we can trust’,” he said, “You’ve got fearless interviewers who can ask tough questions of any world leader and of their own leaders, you’ve got this based on [the concept] of impartiality.”
The broadcaster said viewers could have confidence that journalists were not asking questions to further the agendas of powerful vested interests, but because they “think that they are questions sometimes that the public would want to hear and see answered”.
He added: “That is an incredibly powerful prize: you build it up over decades and you throw it away like that. And that’s why I’m fearful.”
Asked about the new broadcast rivals such as GB News and TalkTV, Robinson turned the conversation with Press Gazette towards the US, where the rightwing network Fox News recently reached a $787.5m settlement in a lawsuit over claims it knowingly broadcast false theories about the 2020 presidential election.
“The question I think we’ve got to ask ourselves is: are we sure it couldn’t happen here? Not today, not tomorrow, but one day?”
Ofcom said: “Our rules – which make clear that news and current affairs must be presented with due impartiality – came into force in 2005 following public consultation, and reflect the duties set for Ofcom by parliament in this area. Our code makes clear that the approach to due impartiality may vary according to the nature of the subject, the type of programme and channel, and the likely expectation of the audience.
“We take into account all these important contextual factors in deciding whether or not a programme is duly impartial.”
