Bernd Becker 
Former BBC chairman Andrew Neil has said that the broadcaster’s coverage of Brexit was a “disaster”. He also criticised the BBC for not being prepared for the EU referendum.
The andrew neil takes a break from gb news is an article that was published on the The Guardian. It is about how the former chairman of the now defunct GB News, Andrew Neil, thinks that it was a disaster.
Andrew Neil has blasted his previous employer (photo courtesy of Rex/GB News).
Andrew Neil has slammed GB News, calling the news channel a “disaster” that has led him “near to a breakdown.”
Neil revealed earlier this month that he was quitting GB News as chairman and presenter after just eight episodes of his main program on the channel, which debuted in June.
While he originally said that he would appear as a talking head guest on the program, after Neil’s appearance on Question Time, bridges have been burnt, and the journalist has stated that he would never appear on GB News again.
In a long interview with the Daily Mail, the 72-year-old claimed the station’s technological issues left him “in despair,” and that he was “on the verge of a collapse.”
Neil claimed he told managers that the station was not ready to debut in June, but they went through nonetheless, resulting in significant technical problems such as system failures and inadequate lighting that made it difficult for viewers to see the presenters.
‘It simply got worse and worse,’ the former journalist claimed. We were ready to go on the air when the whole system fell down. It needed to be restarted, and we only had 15 seconds to do it.
‘That was a tremendous amount of pressure. It meant you couldn’t concentrate on your journalism. “Will we make it through the hour?” you wondered all the time. I knew I had to go at the end of the first week. It was starting to have a negative impact on my health. I wasn’t sleeping at all. I was waking up about two or three a.m.
‘I had a knot in my gut all the time. When I finally did wake up, I’d feel great, but then I’d recall all of the difficulties I’d had with GB News, and this knot would appear, refusing to leave me for the rest of the day.’
The station was beset by technical difficulties. (Photo courtesy of PA)
Neil went away for the weekend with his wife Susan, and it was there that he decided to perform four additional concerts, despite the contractual implications.
They even spoke about how they would fund a legal fight, choosing to sell his New York residence, and Neil eventually walked away from a £4 million deal.
‘It was a huge choice, but I honestly couldn’t care less if it was £40 million,’ he added. If I had continued, I would have died.’
Apart from the technological issues that beset GB News, Neil’s primary motivation for departing was the station’s direction.
Neil insisted before the channel launched that it would not become the British Fox News, but now he fears that the hiring of ‘shock jocks’ like Dan Wootton and Mark Dolan, as well as constant debates on topics like Brexit, Black Lives Matter, and the so-called culture wars – Neil himself hosted a show called Woke Watch – are leading it down that path.
He said that as chairman, although his “face was on the tin,” he had “no say what was going inside the tin,” adding, “I said: “This is a catastrophe, and my reputation is on the line.” The fact that everyone saw my face on the tin was ultimately what did me in – and it was my own foolishness for getting into it. Andrew Neil’s channel it was.’
Neil is concerned that the program is becoming too similar to Fox News. (Photo courtesy of GB News)
Neil referred to his tenure at the station as “the worst eight months of my professional life.”
‘At no time did Andrew express concerns about the editorial orientation of GB News going to the right,’ a GB News spokesman said. The board of directors, like with every company, is in charge of making decisions, and GB News is no exception. Andrew had the same rights and powers as other board members in terms of raising concerns, and he was privy to all decisions.’
GB News has further information.
An evening program hosted by Nigel Farage, a nightly show hosted by Mark Dolan, and a show dubbed “Free Speech Nation” hosted by Andrew Doyle are currently on the GB News schedule.
While Farage’s program has been well-received, GB News’ daily viewing numbers have been quickly declining since its debut, and it will face new competition in the shape of Piers Morgan, who is slated to host News UK’s new TV channel.
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Andrew Neil, former chairman of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), has said that the BBC’s new online news site GB News was a disaster. Reference: andrew neil net worth.
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