Neil was an analogue artefact struggling to break through in an online world
So it’s farewell to Andrew Neil. While the former chairman and lead presenter of GB News had decades of print and television experience, it was clear from the start of his latest venture that he was an analogue artefact struggling to break through in an extremely online world. GB News was attempting to take the boundless anger and energy of rightwing posting and turn it into television. But Neil, to put it bluntly, is not a poster.
Despite the former BBC heavyweight’s assurances that the channel would not “slavishly follow the existing news agenda”, and would cover all areas of the country with the fairness and compassion to “reflect the views and values of our United Kingdom”, it seems that Neil’s attempt to revolutionise British broadcasting has fallen flat on its face. This may be because GB News was chasing an audience that doesn’t really exist – trying to combine traditional elements of prestige news (BBC veterans, experienced TV producers) with the furious viral pace of online woke-bashing. The hated metropolitan elite – also known as Neil’s friends and colleagues – lost interest pretty quickly when it was clear not many people were watching. But the audience for rightwing rage-posting doesn’t necessarily want an old-fashioned TV channel, especially one that can’t keep pace with the rapid cycles of increasingly unhinged conversation on YouTube and Twitter.