TRIC Awards publishes tweet congratulating Nigel Farage for winning News Presenter of the Year after it DELETED original post and sparked fury from GB News host
- Mr Farage said he ‘committed the cardinal sin of questioning’ TV viewing figures
- TRIC awards made new tweet congratulating Farage after deleting previous post
A prestigious television awards ceremony has U-turned after deleting a tweet congratulating Nigel Farage on winning an award.
Nigel Farage blasted the Television and Radio Industries Club (TRIC) Awards for ‘deleting’ a tweet yesterday that announced him as winner of News Presenter of the Year.
The former Brexit Party leader, 59, accused the organisation of taking down the congratulatory message because he ‘committed the cardinal sin of questioning the Barb figures.’
After a furore online, the TRIC Awards today posted a new message congratulating Mr Farage on his win.
A triumphant Mr Farage then posted: ‘The Tric Awards have now redone their tweet. Democracy wins!’
After a furore online, the TRIC Awards today reposted its message congratulating Mr Farage on his win, but turned off replies
A triumphant Mr Farage posted: ‘The Tric Awards have now redone their tweet. Democracy wins!’
A tweet by TRIC announcing Nigel Farage as News Presenter of the Year has seemingly been deleted
The ‘Barb’ figures show the TV ratings of programmes and are compiled daily by the Broadcasters’ Audience Research Board.
Mr Farage criticised the way viewing numbers are collated during his acceptance speech and on his show last night, accusing the industry of ‘marking their own homework’ and being ‘out of touch.’
In a video shared on Twitter today, Mr Farage fumed: ‘Well it would seem I’ve committed the ultimate cardinal sin of broadcasting by questioning the Barb figures.
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‘By questioning the fact that the industry owns the very organisation that rates its programmes.
‘Well today, TRIC, the organisation that put together the awards yesterday, deleted their tweet announcing that I had won News Presenter of the Year.’
He branded the move a ‘disgrace’, adding: ‘It would seem that all of these people hate the British public, it’s not me they hate, it’s the people that voted for me they hate, and that’s why the whole thing needs a massive shake up.’
The former UKIP leader said GB News ‘will be complaining in the strongest terms.’
During his show on the broadcaster last night, Mr Farage said: ‘Barb are 5,300 boxes that are in people’s homes around the country, and guess who owns the organisation that publishes the viewing figures… all of the other broadcasters.
‘They are allowed effectively to choose the panel and to mark their own homework… and how can you judge in a country of 66million people… how can we judge that audience by just 5,300 boxes?
‘The whole thing is a complete and utter farce… there are massive advertising revenues that come off the back of those Barb figures, but that’s the way it’s been forever and nobody has ever got up and challenged it.’
MailOnline has contacted Mr Farage, GB News and TRIC for comment.
It comes after Mr Farage called on his hecklers to ‘keep the abuse coming’ as it ‘says a lot more about you than about me!’ after he was named the best news presenter in the country at the 2023 TRIC Awards yesterday.
Nigel Farage, 59, accused the TRIC organisation of taking down the congratulatory message because he ‘committed the cardinal sin of questioning the Barb figures’
Nigel Farage poses with a beer and his award as he thanked the public for voting for him
The GB News host, 59, was the surprise award winner at today’s 2023 TRIC Awards in London
Mr Farage wasted little time in berating the booing audience and told them some would ‘lose their jobs’
The host was booed after he beat established veteran journalists Eamonn Holmes and Susanna Reid to the award, before he told industry award attendees ‘You should be frightened because you will lose your jobs’.
He railed: ‘I am really rather proud to have this because I’m a new boy – I have only been doing this for a couple of years. So a huge thank to all those good, ordinary folk who live outside the M25 for voting for me.
‘I suspect had the industry had their say, I very much doubt I would have won.
‘I’m certain three GB News presenters would not have been in the shortlist of five which should be very instructive for the rest of the industry.’
As he began to be heckled, he declared: ‘Please keep the abuse coming, because it says a lot more about you than about me.
‘Whether they are BBC or not I don’t mind but learn this and think about this.
‘There’s a massive gap in the market, you’ve all become too much the same.
‘What we are doing is creating a new identity brand in British broadcasting.’
Nigel Farage attends The TRIC Awards 2023 at Grosvenor House before his award was announced
Mr Farage got his award after beating Eamonn Holmes, Piers Morgan, Stephen Dixon and Susanna Reid.
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He added: ‘I led a party which became mocked and derided at lunches like this that went on to win a national election.
‘In those days the polling industry who didn’t understand us. Here’s my one serious point – please take it on board…’
He then referenced host Judge Rob Rinder at the back of the stage, adding: ‘Poor Rob he can’t even open his eyes, he’s finding it so tricky, so awkward, so difficult.
‘This industry is worth about 12 or 15 billion pounds a year. It matters culturally, it matters so many different ways in our country.’
He added that the way the industry was measuring ratings was ‘out of touch.’
Mr Farage said over jeers: ‘Oh I can hear the noise, there’s a lot of money at stake, any idea of competition and you should shout, you should be frightened because you will lose your jobs.’
He was initially met by a mixture of cheers and then huge boos and shouts of ‘off’.
Host Rinder reminded the room the categories were voted for by the public.
He said even though he didn’t agree with Mr Farage everyone needed to listen more to other opinions.
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