Because the second item on the agenda was the news that, from next May, a 63-year-old presenter would no longer be at the helm of a popular weekly television show.
A full six minutes of reporting and analysis were devoted to the fact that Gary Lineker was finishing his 25-year stint on Match of the Day. He’s not even leaving the BBC: he will front live football coverage until the final of the World Cup in 2026. But, still, a bloke’s employment position was reckoned the second most important international news story of the day.
Which, if nothing else, provides conclusive proof that Lineker has become one of those rare figures in broadcasting: he is way bigger than the show he presents.
Indeed, after he comprehensively outflanked the BBC’s director general last March, when his disciplinary suspension for antigovernment social media posts was speedily reversed following the entire football reporting team withdrawing their labour in solidarity, there is an argument that he is bigger than the corporation itself.
Everything about him – from the scale of his salary (in its most recent annual report, the BBC said Lineker earns between £1,350,000 and £1,354,999) through the success of his own broadcasting company, to his political opinions – has become a staple of the news cycle. For some fulminating figures on the right, he has been magnified into the very epitome of the overpaid woke media establishment.
Bu hikaye The Independent dergisinin November 13, 2024 sayısından alınmıştır.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Giriş Yap
Bu hikaye The Independent dergisinin November 13, 2024 sayısından alınmıştır.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Giriş Yap
Murray to coach Djokovic for Australian Open title
Andy Murray will coach his longtime rival Novak Djokovic before and during the Australian Open in January.
Jones's complex legacy adds intrigue to must-win clash
It was with not inconsiderable disappointment that news came through on Friday afternoon that illness had laid Eddie Jones low and the Japan head coach would be unable to conduct a planned press conference.
Mighty Springboks ensure Wales end year without win
Wales slumped to a 12th successive Test match defeat and head coach Warren Gatland saw the pressure ramped up on him as world champions South Africa won 45-12 at the Principality Stadium.
Jackson profits as Chelsea put the chaos behind them
In typically unconvincing fashion, Chelsea march on, thanks to the striker who is now, nestled nicely in Erling Haaland’s slipstream, perhaps the Premier League’s second-most-effective marksman.
Arsenal's heartbeat returns to restore missing quality
The Emirates rose to its feet as soon as it became clear Martin Odegaard would be departing.
City slump to fifth straight defeat after Spurs mauling
Five in a row has taken on a different meaning for Manchester City and Pep Guardiola.
‘No zero-risk flight paths remain over Middle East’
Aviation group warns of dangers ranging from attacks by Houthi rebels to overloads of air traffic control systems
Satellites spy North Korea’s huge imports of Russian oil
North Korea has allegedly imported more than a million barrels of oil from Russia this year, flouting United Nations sanctions, according to satellite analysis.
Cop29 secures last-minute $300bn climate finance deal
Delegates finally agree after a dramatic day of prolonged negotiations and loud protests echoing through corridors
Rabbits with missing eyes and ears had deadly virus
Dozens of rabbits found dead with missing eyes and ears had a \"dangerous\" and \"highly contagious\" form of hepatitis, according to the RSPCA.