The Sky News Thread

If you're suspended, you're still employed and still bound by any terms of your contract. Getting out of those would be via negotiation (like Jon Holmes on his move from RadioX to TalkRadio) or by managing to do something gets your contract terminated.

Here's two questions though - is she employed (or simply contracted to provide presenting services to Sky) and is she suspended (from memory, the comms at the time didn't use that particular term of art, but merely said it was decided that it would be best that she wasn't on air for six months)

This is the sort of stuff I’ll miss from TVF (though will presumably continue at the new place). Could be completely inconsequential...but who knows?!

But my point was that if she resigns - and unless there is some restriction on working after the resignation in the terms of employment with Sky - then she can work for whoever she wants, starting whenever she wants.

Kay Burley may well have formally handed her notice in a while ago.

If an employee really wants to go there is little actually keeping them at the organisation, Would you put someone on air that doesn't want to be there.

I suppose why was/is Kay Burley ‘off air’ for six month when the other two sanctioned given three months? Was it *just* because she acted in a worse manner? Was it because she’s the most high profile name and is a presenter not a reporter? Or maybe that’s because she’s off air for her notice period, so will in fact not return?

Sky’s statement came relatively quickly though and Stephen & Niall have said publicly that they were covering for three months each, Stephen adding on Twitter that he’s due back to weekend duties in June. So it doesn’t seem like plans are underway beyond June. Kay also said she looked forward to returning to Sky in her statement following Sky’s back in December.

However if Kay - as a result of her birthday bash or completely unconnected - was leaving Sky, it would seem a little daft to be off air for three months and then come back for three months before leaving for a rival channel. We’ve already seen Colin taken off air after it was announced he was joining GB News.

Maybe because it was her party and she arranged it? Didn't she have some round her house as well?

I do think its a significant development. There is space in her bio to leave it there and why suddenly remove it this far into her off air period? I would be sad to see her leave Sky News which is clearly a place she has loved working at and was proud to say she was a founding member up until a few days or a week ago but I don't look at Beth Rigby in the same way since she returned and I avoid Inzamam Rashid reports since he returned door stepping Piers Morgan on his first day back about race and the second day very inappropriately in my view shouting out at a school to the Duke of Cambridge is the royal family racist. It was not the time or the place to do that. He should have kept his head down for a while after the multiple rules breaks he made and the holiday he went on during his suspension but instead came back as bombastic as ever

When people don't follow the rules themselves seeing them criticize others on a daily basis does not work - They have lost credibility with me and I may feel the same about Kay should she return

The daily climate show sounds interesting but I do hope we don't lose Anna Jones from the 10pm shift 3 days a week for her to do a 30 minute slot. I presume she will pre record a weeks episodes in 1 go or at least the weekend ones. If not it would be a massive waste to have her on for such a short time even if she does finally get her own programme

Finally for anyone reading this from Sky News. I've praised you a lot over the years and criticized a lot of things about the presentation but I want to say how well you have all managed over the last year to bring us the amazing coverage of the pandemic. From Ed Conway and his charts to reporters embedded in care homes and ICU wards. Those pictures really brought home the reality of the situation and the reasons why we should all have stuck to the rules. I do not believe that the media were scaremongering in any way. The numbers themselves scared us and they were just reporting the reality of the situation

I agree with pretty much everything you have said but don't forget that Kay does like to 'play' with her followers somewhat and might just be messing with us. I suppose the next few days it will all become clear - we'll see!!

And it could also be a negotiating ploy with Sky News. Maybe she wants it to look like she is potentially leaving so she can maybe elicit a better deal from Sky. I would imagine a lot of high profile presenters are using an offer from GBNews as a strategy to get a better deal with their current channel.

Anyway, we’ve probably exhausted the realms of speculation on this one and I guess it won’t be resolved by the time TVF closes so we’ll leave it as an open topic!

Maybe she’s timing her departure from Sky News until after TVF closes. So let’s see at 00:01 tomoz