The self-proclaimed “people’s channel,” GB News, is facing another Ofcom investigation following a complaint that its Don’t Kill Cash campaign may break the strict rules precluding broadcasters from expressing views on “political and industrial controversy or current public policy”.
The campaign encourages viewers to sign a petition, which says: “I call on the Government to introduce legislation to protect the status of cash as legal tender and as a widely accepted means of payment in the UK until at least 2050.”
The channel, which launched in 2021, claimed that “people who rely on cash are increasingly being left behind by the relentless march of technology” and “more and more shops, cafes and pubs are choosing to only accept card payments.”
GB News is no stranger to Ofcom – among recent investigations into the channel’s operation is the ongoing one over its choice of former Tory cabinet minister Esther McVey, MP for Tatton in Cheshire, and her husband, Philip Davies, the MP for Shipley near Leeds, as the ideal candidates to interview chancellor Jeremy Hunt over his budget in March.
The channel also visited Manchester this month as a largely unheralded sponsor of The Drum’s Roses Awards. The event reportedly saw GB News’ commercial director Nicole O’Shea “abused by a baying mob,” leading to channel CEO Angelos Frangopoulos issuing an open letter condemning the UK ad industry as normalising “intimidation and humiliation,” and also revealing that the channel’s commercial operations are based in Manchester, adding: “Some of our strongest audiences are in the North West. We based our commercial leadership team in Manchester for a reason.”
This was something of a revelation as the GB News website offers only email addresses as a form of contact, and in Prolific North’s experience does not respond to requests for comment.
