Broadcast Prism One story, split by channel. See the full spectrum.

Channels

The Broadcasters

What each UK TV news channel chose to amplify, what they left out, and how their agendas relate — across the full archive.

Channel 5

Leans health

17%
9% avg

1h 50m · no contested language

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BBC One

Leans sport

14%
7% avg

4h 42m · contested language: moderate (8)

“The days of Whitehall fighting the devolution power into the regions and nations are over for good”
⚑ contested
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BBC Two

Leans politics

56%
34% avg

1h 27m · no contested language

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Channel 4

Leans international

15%
11% avg

2h 25m · contested language: moderate (7)

“No, not at all.”
⚑ contested
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GB News

Leans immigration

34%
7% avg

5h 21m · contested language: high (60)

“it's so disingenuous”
⚑ contested
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ITV

Leans sport

20%
7% avg

2h 24m · contested language: moderate (2)

“Emmy was right there, she was right there to live and they just never delivered her safely.”
⚑ charged
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Sky News

Leans politics

58%
34% avg

3h 52m · contested language: high (42)

“There is a black hole.”
⚑ contested
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⚑ Contested and charged quotes reflect the language a broadcaster used, not a judgement of its accuracy.

All-Time Comparison

Coverage, omissions, contested language, agenda volatility and distinctiveness across the full archive. Click a column to sort.

Channel Coverage Blind spots Contested Volatility Distinctiveness
GB News 5h 21m 0 60 Stable Contrarian
BBC One 4h 42m 0 8 Moderate Independent
Sky News 3h 52m 0 42 Moderate Contrarian
Channel 4 2h 25m 0 7 Moderate Mainstream
ITV 2h 24m 0 2 Moderate Contrarian
Channel 5 1h 50m 0 0 Reactive Contrarian
BBC Two 1h 27m 0 0 Moderate Contrarian

Distinctiveness measures how far a channel's topic mix sits from the cross-channel average; it is a description of emphasis, not a judgement.

Agenda Alignment

Cosine similarity of each pair of channels' topic mix. Darker means more alike. Channels are ordered so similar broadcasters sit next to each other.

BBC One
ITV
Channel 5
Channel 4
GB News
BBC Two
Sky News
BBC One
77
48
57
38
42
64
ITV
77
47
42
31
30
42
Channel 5
48
47
36
32
34
26
Channel 4
57
42
36
61
54
58
GB News
38
31
32
61
43
41
BBC Two
42
30
34
54
43
44
Sky News
64
42
26
58
41
44
Most Aligned
Most Divergent

Editorial Fingerprints

How much each channel over- or under-covers a category versus the network average, in percentage points.

Channel 5
health +8
media +8
environment +5
politics -19
international -6
immigration -5
BBC One
sport +6
media +5
transport +3
politics -10
immigration -6
international -2
BBC Two
politics +22
crime +12
international +6
health -9
immigration -7
sport -7
Channel 4
international +4
immigration +2
health +2
sport -2
politics -2
economy -1
GB News
immigration +26
politics +3
economy +2
international -10
media -6
health -3
ITV
sport +13
international +11
media +3
politics -18
crime -6
immigration -5
Sky News
politics +24
social +3
war +2
crime -7
immigration -6
international -3

Broadcaster Agenda Comparison

Comparing the cumulative share of airtime dedicated to each category across all channels, across the full archive.

Channel 5
politics: 15.7% · 17m 12s Andy Burnham: 5m 18sDefence: 4m 1sNigel Farage: 4m
crime: 19.1% · 20m 55s Domestic Violence: 7m 33sGrooming Gangs: 4m 57sJager Strang: 2m 55s
immigration: 2.6% · 2m 50s Immigration: 2m 50s
health: 17.3% · 18m 58s NHS: 9m 34sPCOS: 4m 12sWeight Loss Drugs: 2m 26s
international: 5.3% · 5m 51s Venezuela Earthquake: 5m 51s
sport: 3.6% · 3m 54s Commonwealth Games: 3m 4sWorld Cup: 50s
media: 14.3% · 15m 43s Wimbledon: 6m 55sPiers Morgan: 5m 31sPenelope Keith: 2m 54s
economy: 3.2% · 3m 32s Energy Bills: 3m 32s
transport: 3.0% · 3m 19s Driving Theory Test: 3m 19s
other: 3.6% · 3m 55s Royal Family: 3m 55s
environment: 5.9% · 6m 31s Heatwave: 3m 58sWildfires: 2m 33s
war: 0.2% · 12s Russia-Ukraine War: 12s
entertainment: 3.6% · 3m 59s Elton John: 3m 59s
business: 2.3% · 2m 30s Halifax: 2m 30s
accident: 0.3% · 19s Crocodile Attack: 19s
BBC One
politics: 24.5% · 1h 9m 9s Defence: 27m 36sAndy Burnham: 21m 58sEducation: 6m 19s
crime: 13.1% · 36m 59s Police Misconduct: 8m 35sPeople Smuggling: 7m 23sJames Holder: 4m 5s
immigration: 1.4% · 4m 5s Immigration: 4m 5s
health: 9.7% · 27m 28s Maternity: 12m 46sNHS: 3m 19sPTSD: 3m
international: 8.6% · 24m 20s Venezuela Earthquake: 21m 6sUS Supreme Court: 2m 32sDonald Trump: 42s
sport: 13.8% · 38m 50s World Cup: 31m 9sBen Stokes: 6m 7sKatie Swan: 1m 34s
media: 11.7% · 32m 59s Wimbledon: 19m 46sPenelope Keith: 8m 26sDwayne Johnson: 4m 47s
economy: 0.8% · 2m 18s Energy Bills: 2m 18s
transport: 4.3% · 12m 14s Shetland Tunnels: 5m 6sDriving Theory Test: 2m 38sEU Border Checks: 2m 21s
other: 2.8% · 7m 55s Royal Family: 7m 55s
environment: 1.7% · 4m 45s Fridges: 2m 22sEuropean Heatwave: 1m 23sSewage: 1m
war: 0.7% · 2m Russia-Ukraine War: 2m
entertainment: 0.9% · 2m 30s Farmer Elton: 2mVictor Willis: 30s
business: 0.7% · 2m 1s TG Jones: 2m 1s
culture: 1.2% · 3m 30s Bayeux Tapestry: 3m 30s
science: 1.1% · 3m 6s Dinosaur: 3m 6s
accident: 0.7% · 1m 59s Crocodile Attack: 1m 59s
local: 0.8% · 2m 15s Harbour Festival: 2m 15s
technology: 0.8% · 2m 12s Drones: 2m 12s
defence: 0.6% · 1m 38s Royal Navy: 1m 38s
BBC Two
politics: 55.9% · 48m 43s Andy Burnham: 29m 47sDefence: 15m 26sNuclear Test Veterans: 3m 30s
crime: 26.8% · 23m 23s Grooming Gangs: 23m 23s
international: 17.2% · 15m Donald Trump: 15m
Channel 4
politics: 32.1% · 46m 31s Defence: 22m 52sAndy Burnham: 19m 3sEducation: 4m 36s
crime: 16.5% · 23m 53s Prison Overcrowding: 21m 11sRape Sentencing: 2m 42s
immigration: 9.8% · 14m 10s Immigration: 14m 10s
health: 11.3% · 16m 23s NHS: 8m 48sMaternity: 7m 35s
international: 14.6% · 21m 9s Donald Trump: 8m 35sVenezuela Earthquake: 3m 56sVenezuela: 3m 22s
sport: 5.0% · 7m 11s World Cup: 7m 11s
media: 5.8% · 8m 22s Sandra Oh: 8m 22s
environment: 2.2% · 3m 12s Water: 3m 12s
war: 2.8% · 4m 4s Russia Fuel Shortages: 4m 4s
GB News
politics: 37.1% · 1h 59m 1s Andy Burnham: 40m 1sDefence: 38m 41sLabour: 15m 57s
crime: 12.9% · 41m 19s Grooming Gangs: 22m 28sParnell Square: 9m 54sHenry Novak: 7m 20s
immigration: 33.5% · 1h 47m 42s Immigration: 1h 47m 8sAsylum Seekers: 34s
health: 6.3% · 20m 13s NHS: 13m 5sJunior Doctors: 7m 8s
international: 1.2% · 3m 53s Donald Trump: 3m 53s
sport: 4.9% · 15m 41s World Cup: 15m 41s
media: 0.6% · 1m 51s JK Rowling: 1m 51s
economy: 3.5% · 11m 22s Energy: 6m 50sUK Wealth: 2m 54sUK Economy: 1m 38s
ITV
politics: 16.2% · 23m 22s Andy Burnham: 11m 56sDefence: 6m 39sForced Adoption: 4m 47s
crime: 8.9% · 12m 47s Grooming Gangs: 4m 59sStalking: 2m 36sRape Sentencing: 2m 19s
immigration: 2.9% · 4m 14s Immigration: 4m 14s
health: 9.4% · 13m 31s NHS: 8m 17sMaternity: 2m 57sChildren's Mental Health: 1m 56s
international: 21.7% · 31m 12s Venezuela Earthquake: 31m 12s
sport: 20.1% · 29m 1s World Cup: 22m 21sBen Stokes: 4m 37sCommonwealth Games: 2m 3s
media: 10.0% · 14m 24s Penelope Keith: 5m 10sSerena Williams: 5m 10sWimbledon: 4m 4s
economy: 1.9% · 2m 47s Energy Bills: 2m 18sBritish American Tobacco: 29s
other: 1.9% · 2m 48s Royal Family: 2m 48s
war: 0.3% · 22s Russia-Ukraine War: 22s
entertainment: 4.7% · 6m 46s Victor Willis: 4m 32sTaylor Swift: 2m 14s
royal: 1.9% · 2m 47s Prince Harry: 2m 47s
Sky News
politics: 58.2% · 2h 14m 56s Defence: 51m 45sLabour: 22m 38sForced Adoption: 22m 4s
crime: 7.5% · 17m 26s Henry Novak: 8m 57sRape Sentencing: 3m 11sGrooming Gangs: 2m 19s
immigration: 1.9% · 4m 19s Immigration: 4m 19s
health: 10.4% · 24m 8s Maternity: 22m 29sJunior Doctors: 58sCrocodile Enclosure: 41s
international: 7.4% · 17m 9s Venezuela Earthquake: 10m 2sCuba: 7m 7s
sport: 3.9% · 9m 3s World Cup: 9m 3s
media: 3.9% · 8m 59s Penelope Keith: 8m 59s
war: 3.1% · 7m 6s Russia-Ukraine War: 7m 6s
social: 3.8% · 8m 50s Travellers: 8m 50s
politics (35%)
crime (13%)
immigration (10%)
health (9%)
international (9%)
sport (8%)
media (6%)
economy (2%)
transport (1%)
other (1%)
environment (1%)
war (1%)
entertainment (1%)
social (1%)
business (0%)
culture (0%)
science (0%)
royal (0%)
accident (0%)
local (0%)
technology (0%)
defence (0%)

Topics That Travel Together

Topic pairs that tend to surface on the same days. Percentage is how often they appear together out of the days either appears.

  1. Wimbledon + World Cup 100%
  2. Venezuela Earthquake + Immigration 100%
  3. Andy Burnham + Maternity 100%
  4. Andy Burnham + Junior Doctors 100%
  5. Andy Burnham + Royal Family 100%
  6. Maternity + Junior Doctors 100%
  7. Maternity + Royal Family 100%
  8. Junior Doctors + Royal Family 100%
  9. NHS + Defence 100%
  10. NHS + Energy Bills 100%
  11. NHS + Oxbridge 100%
  12. Defence + Energy Bills 100%