Legal
Services
Latest News
| |
Bulletin
|
 Printer friendly page
|
|
Broadcasting Regulation Newsletter – September/October 2010
|
Date: 09/12/2010
|
Bringing you regular news of key developments in broadcasting regulation.
DCMS
Secretary of State details plans for decentralised TV services, 28 September 2010
In a speech to the Royal Television Society, Jeremy Hunt has indicated the Government intends to decentralise broadcasting to encourage a network of local media stations to evolve. The Government proposes to remove all local cross-media ownership rules, to redefine “public service broadcasting” to emphasise local content, to legislate to clarify which public service broadcasters should be listed on the front page of electronic programme guides and to work with the BBC to encourage partnership with local media providers.
Speech
OFCOM
Undue prominence: Sky Sports News, 29 July 2010
A sizeable hoarding displaying three pints of Guinness, together with Guinness branding, took up much of the frame in a short report on the Galway Races. This breached the Ofcom Code rule prohibiting undue prominence of a product or service. Sky explained that it occurred because the production team had to resolve a technical issue to enable the report to be broadcast live, and had only about 30 seconds before the broadcast to consider compliance issues. After the initial broadcast of the live report, Sky had decided not to repeat it because of the prominent Guinness branding. The Executive Producer had also discussed the issue with the key staff involved, and Sky promised to ensure that all relevant staff would be retrained on ensuring compliance of live output. On this basis, Ofcom decided to treat the complaint as resolved.
Ofcom's decision
Offensive language: Top Gear, BBC2, 1 August 2010
The Ofcom Code was breached when Jeremy Clarkson described James May’s Ferrari as looking like a “simpleton – should have been called the 430 Speciale Needs”. While the comment was obviously intended as a joke and not aimed directly at an individual with learning difficulties, Ofcom considered that it could easily be understood as ridiculing people in society with a particular physical disability or learning difficulty and might be very offensive to some viewers. Ofcom treated the two complaints it had received as resolved, however, because of immediate steps taken by the BBC in response to complaints received by the BBC, including removing the comments from the iPlayer version and from the repeat version broadcast several days later.
Ofcom's decision
Political advertising: Marie Stopes International Advertisement, Channel 4, May and June 2010
Ofcom received 270 complaints that an advertisement by Marie Stopes International (MSI) broadcast by Channel 4 was political in nature. The advertisement showed three women in everyday settings. Each time, a caption appeared with a name and the words “is late”. The voice-over said: “If you’re pregnant and not sure what to do, Marie Stopes International can help.” Political advertising is prohibited on television and radio. An advertisement may fall foul of the prohibition either because of the character of the advertiser or because of the content and character of the advertisement. In this instance, Ofcom found that the advertisement did not breach the Code. MSI was not a body whose objects were “wholly or mainly of a political nature”. Nor was the object of the advertisement “bringing about changes of the law … or otherwise influencing the legislative process” or “influencing public opinion on a matter which … is a matter of public controversy”. (The relevant tests are set out in the Communications Act 2003.)
Ofcom’s decision
Political advertising: “Bedtime Stories” advertisement for Act on CO2, various broadcasters, October 2009
Ofcom received 537 complaints that an advertisement by Act on CO2, a joint initiative between four Government Departments to co-ordinate Government efforts to reduce businesses’ and individuals’ “carbon footprints”, was political in nature. The advertisement did not breach the prohibition on political advertising because, although it fell within the prohibition, there is a statutory exception for advertisements of a “public service nature” placed by or on behalf of Government Departments. The advertisement included an image of a young girl turning off a light switch, and ended with a message providing viewers with a further source of information about specific actions they could take. These features were sufficient for the advertisement to be classed as of a public service nature.
Ofcom’s decision
Privacy: complaint by Ms K on her own behalf and on behalf of her son (a minor), EastEnders, BBC1, 11 and 12 March 2010
Two episodes of EastEnders included brief audio of Ms K and footage of her son, during labour and immediately after her son’s birth. This did not infringe their privacy. Although the footage was of an intimate and personal nature, it was very brief and unlikely to render Ms K and her son identifiable. Importantly, the footage was already in the public domain because Ms K had made an arrangement with the National Childbirth Trust for the birth to be filmed and the footage disseminated by way of a DVD which the NCT advertised as being available free of charge to “any mum-to-be in the UK”.
Ofcom’s decision
BBC TRUST
Offensive language: This World – Gypsy Child Thieves, BBC2, 2 September 2009
The use of the word “Gypsy” in the programme’s title and the term “Gypsy crime” in the programme did not breach the BBC Editorial Guidelines. The BBC Trust concluded that in the UK the word “Gypsy” was in use by the relevant community and by the wider community, and that, although the usage of the word was undergoing a transition in terms of acceptance, its use had not been substantially abandoned. The programme makers had used the phrase “Gypsy crime” as shorthand for specific crime committed by specific groups of people in the specific contexts depicted in the film. The BBC Trust found that the phrase did not suggest that all Roma were criminals or have Fascist connotations (as had been suggested by the complainants and Amnesty International). The word “Gypsy” and the phrase “Gypsy crime” were clearly contextualised and the programme overall was “a very strong piece of journalism about a very difficult subject”.
BBC Trust's Finding
For further information, please contact:
Eleanor Steyn
342
Simkins' early warning bulletins are for general guidance only. Legal advice should be sought before taking action in relation to specific matters. Where reference is made to Court decisions facts referred to are those reported as found by the Court. Please note that past bulletins included in the Archive have not been updated by any subsequent changes in statute or case law.
<< back to articles & bulletins
|
|