Ofcom Will Conclude GB News Probes Before Publishing Study On Politician-Hosted Shows

GB News currently has multiple shows hosted by sitting Tory MPs. (Screengrab via GB News/YouTube)

Media watchdog Ofcom is putting the brakes on a pivotal research study about politicians doubling as news presenters as the regulator grapples with a series of high-profile rulings involving GB News.

Ofcom promised last year to unveil an audience study on the issue but revealed to Deadline that the report’s release is on hold.

“Our research project is ongoing and not yet complete,” a spokesperson told the publication. “We will publish it in due course. Our first priority is to conclude the live investigations.”

This decision is intertwined with Ofcom’s intense scrutiny of GB News, the right-leaning opinion-led broadcaster that employs multiple sitting politicians, like Tory Deputy Chair MP Lee Anderson and MP Jacob Rees-Mogg, as show hosts and which is the focus of five live investigations.

The Ofcom probes are centred around Rule 5.3 of the Broadcasting Code, which bars politicians from taking on roles as newsreaders or reporters in news programs.

In its defence, GB News bills its shows as current affairs commentary and not news reporting.

Deadline quoted former Ofcom legal directors Chris Banatvala and Trevor Barnes, who underlined the urgency of assessing the robustness of current rules to the evolving broadcast media landscape in the UK.