Summary of complaint
We received complaints from people who felt the programme displayed bias against Gary Lineker, with particular reference to two messages from viewers read out at the end of the programme.
Our response
Throughout the programme we looked at the issues highlighted by the row over Gary Lineker鈥檚 social media use and the 大象传媒 Editorial Guidelines in detail, hearing a range of nuanced views, some of which were supportive of Gary Lineker.聽 We discussed this story with our contributors, including an in-depth interview with former Director General of the 大象传媒 Mark Thompson; we also heard from television executive Peter Salmon, who has previously worked closely with Mr Lineker.聽
We always invite our audience to share their thoughts with us, and in this context Laura read out the views of a couple of those who had contacted us on this topic.聽 This was one aspect of our overall coverage of this story, during which we offered fair and duly impartial analysis of what this signified for Gary Lineker and the 大象传媒, and the wider political implications.