Sky News

Sky News is a 24/7 multimedia news outlet based in Britain with an extensive global reach. Founded by Rupert Murdoch in 1988, it offers a steady stream of rolling news across TV, online and radio platforms. It also produces content for a range of other news services across the globe.

Although Sky News says it operates in line with requirements laid out under UK broadcasting rules, it has faced allegations of bias. In 2015, it was accused of a lack of impartiality over its coverage of the General Election. It also faced allegations of bias during its 2010 General Election coverage, with UK media regulator Ofcom receiving hundreds of complaints. However, the watchdog failed to uphold any of them.

Sky News anchor Kay Burley, who occasionally contributes to the Sunday Mirror, worked in local radio and TV before joining the fledging channel in 1988.

She provoked a news storm in July 2015, after a bizarre interview with Labour MP Dawn Butler concerning Jeremy Corbyn, which led Butler to ask Burley, "what’s wrong with you?"

The Sky News reporter also faced a deluge of complaints on Twitter on March 27, after repeatedly interrupting then-Labour leader Ed Miliband during the 2015 General Election debate. As Miliband broached the subject of defeating his own brother in Labour’s 2010 leadership race, Burley said, "your poor mother." Her intervention provoked 131 complaints to Ofcom leveled at Sky News.

Burley also famously mistook a dark spot on US Vice-President Joe Biden’s head to be an injury before realising he was merely a Catholic observing Ash Wednesday.

She was accused of flippant reporting on the 2011 Oslo bombing and Utoya Island massacre, the worst attacks to hit Norway since World War II. The domestic terror attacks, conducted by far-right fanatic Anders Breivik, left 77 people dead.

Her coverage of the catastrophe shocked viewers, after she tried to interpret a Norwegian man’s reaction to the situation on the ground. "Whatever language you’re listening to, ’Boom’ probably means the same thing," she ventured.

Burley was also criticized over an interview with Labour MP Chris Bryant concerning phone hacking by journalists who worked for the Murdoch-owned News of the World paper.

Bryant, who himself had been a victim of phone hacking, accused Burley of lying. She claimed changing his mobile phone pin would have prevented his privacy from being violated.

"That is simply untrue," he said. "It was nothing to do with pin numbers in my case." After Burley backed down saying this was the impression Sky News had been given, Bryant added: "Well don’t lie. Don’t say what you don’t know, Madam."

When Bryant later demanded an apology from the Sky News anchor for relaying misinformation, she flatly refused, claiming the channel’s viewers weren’t interested in "her view on this subject."

But the Labour MP, who later became shadow secretary for culture, media and sport, sharply contradicted her, saying: "I think they are interested because you have pursued a particular version of your own on what happened here..." He went on to say the story had been underreported due to intimidation.

Sky News anchor Eamonn Holmes, who hails from Northern Ireland, is also a controversial figure. He previously covered snooker, horse racing, darts, the National Lottery and acted as a game show host, before moving into current affairs.

A series of odd and patronizing questions he unleashed during an interview with newly-elected Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn on September 30 left many viewers confounded.

During the bizarre 12-minute exchange, the Sky News presenter adopted football analogies, dubbed Corbyn a "hippy," compared him to "religious leader" and asked him inane questions about the tie he wore during his conference speech.

Holmes went on to embarrass himself further by cutting in on Corbyn mid-sentence, saying: "I’m sorry to interrupt you, I know you were saying lots of things."

He also took heat in 2011, after suggesting a rape victim should opt to take taxis home in future.

The comment, made on ITV’s ‘This Morning’, sparked a backlash from angry viewers who accused him of blaming the victim for leaving herself vulnerable to the attack. Following the interview, scores of irate viewers vented their disgust on social media platforms.

First the victim blaming rape thing, now he's telling people to be prostitues #EamonnHolmes http://t.co/wPrJU8o1

— Caoimhe Ní Dhónaill (@Coifsh) February 1, 2012

On July 20, 2014, Sky News journalist Colin Brazier rummaged through the personal items of a victim of the Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 tragedy. The plane had been shot down on July 17 as it flew over eastern Ukraine.

In the aftermath of the tragedy, Brazier was filmed plucking a bunch of keys and toothbrush out of the luggage of one of the victims during a live broadcast. He then reflected on his actions as the camera continued to roll, saying: "We shouldn’t really be doing this, I suppose."

The footage proved highly controversial, sparking criticism worldwide. Associate Professor of Mass Media Joe Watson, who is based at Baker University in Kansas, described it as a "horrible moment for journalism," while others accused Sky News of invading the privacy of the dead, let along tampering with evidence.

@skynews' Colin Brazier on-the-air going through #MH17 victim's luggage. A horrible moment for journalism. https://t.co/i6wWZmjBEi

— Joe Watson (@wjoewatson) July 20, 2014

Brazier, who had been nominated for the 2014 Royal Television Society Awards, later apologized profusely for the incident, as did Sky News itself. Over 100 complaints were made to Ofcom by viewers appalled by the incident.

Sky News was also accused of breaching outgoing Labour Prime Minister Gordon Brown’s privacy in the run-up to the 2010 General Election. Speaking to Brown, Gillian Duffy, a widow in her sixties, said she was worried about immigration from Eastern Europe.

Although the then-Labour PM dealt with the conversation politely, he was later unwittingly recorded on a mic in his car saying, she was just the sort of "bigoted woman who says she used to be Labour."

Sky News’ decision to broadcast the private conversation between Brown and his staff angered critics, who accused the outlet of violating his privacy and orchestrating a politicized move to boost ratings.

In 2010, the broadcaster was accused of contempt of court over its alleged violation of a media injunction concerning a couple from Kent who had been detained by Somali pirates.

The British media had been blocked from publishing details on the couple’s "health and welfare" prior to their release in November 2010. Lawyers representing the couple had sought the court order over concern the couple’s lives could be put at risk if journalists reported on their kidnapping.



Then-Attorney-General Dominic Grieve alleged that Sky News had violated the injunction on the day they were freed from their captors. The outlet asserted it had "followed the spirit, if not the letter" of the order.



The action was later dropped, the Attorney General’s Office stating that he "reconsidered the public interest test in the light of additional relevant information."