Sinead Butler
Mar 12, 2023
content.jwplatform.com
The BBC has been at the forefront of the news because of their suspension of Gary Lineker - and their coverage of the whole affair has been rather meta.
Lineker was suspended from presenting Match of the Day in an impartiality row after he criticised the government's controversial asylum policy on Twitter, comparing the government's language on the matter to 1930's Germany.
Last night's show ended up being just 20 minutes long due to there being no presenters as Lineker's colleagues Ian Wright, and Alan Shearer, announced they would boycott BBC shows in solidarity with him.
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As this has been a huge story, BBC News - like many other TV news channels - have being covering the situation.
But as TV critic and broadcaster Scott Bryan noted, this can be a tad confusing.
On Twitter and TikTok, he shared a clip of the BBC News coverage on Gary Lineker where the news anchor said: "We have asked the BBC to give an interview to BBC News today."
@scottygbryan #BBCNews asking the BBC for an interview on the BBC #garylineker
There were many that were perplexed by this sentence and shared their thoughts in the comments.
One person said: "Is this the same as putting Google into Google search?"
"This honestly sounds like a Monty Python skit," another person wrote.
Someone else added: "Insert Spider-Man meme."
"My brain just stopped braining," a fourth person commented.
In a bid to clear up any confusion, BBC News picked up on Bryan's point and provided an explanation in their online reporting.
"It can look a bit complicated when BBC News is covering a story about the BBC. As Scott Bryan, who has a podcast on Radio 5 Live highlighted on Twitter," it wrote.
"But with stories like today's BBC News journalists treat the BBC in the same way as any other organisation the news service reports on."
BBC News added: "And like with any other organisation, BBC News has to ask BBC management or BBC services for responses and contact the BBC Press Office for official statements."
Elsewhere, other BBC presenters have supported Lineker by pulling out of football shows on Saturday (March 11) - such as Football Focus host Alex Scott, Final Score presenter Jason Mohammad, and more.
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