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BAI Broadcast Complaints Decisions 2016
2016-11-02 10:42 : Laura Brennan
The Broadcasting Authority of Ireland (BAI)
The Broadcasting Authority of Ireland (BAI) has published the most recent broadcasting complaints decisions.

At meetings held in July and September 2016, the Compliance Committee of the BAI considered five complaints. Of these, one complaint was upheld and four complaints were rejected.

The complaints considered by the Compliance Committee concerned programmes aired on KCLR 96 FM, RTÉ Radio One, RTÉ One TV, RTÉ Two TV and Newstalk.

The complaints related to the following broadcasts:

Upheld

  • KCLR 96 FM: KCLR Live: 23rd Feb 2016

Rejected

  • RTÉ Radio One: The Ray D’Arcy Show: 2nd & 3rd Nov 2015
  • RTÉ Two TV: RTÉ 2-Facebook Election Special: 21st Feb 2016
  • RTÉ One TV: Prime Time: 31st March 2016
  • Newstalk: The Right Hook: 11th May 2016

The Executive Complaints Forum considered and rejected 5 complaints.

The two complaints that were rejected concerning TV broadcasts included a complaint made on the 21st Feb 2016 by Mr. Éamonn Geoghegan regarding the RTÉ 2 programme Facebook Election Special. The complaint was submitted under Section 48(1)(d) (the BAI General Commercial Communication Code - Sections 6.1, 6.2, 6.3, 6.7, 7.1, 7.4(a) and 7.4(d)).

The complainant claimed that: Contrary to the requirements of the BAI General Commercial Communications Code, this current affairs programme was sponsored and also contained product placement. The complainant maintained that the programme was sponsored by Facebook. .

He stated that, in opening the programme, the presenter welcomed the audience to the RTÉ2 Facebook Election Debate 2016, live from Facebook headquarters in Dublin. The complainant stated that the presenter mentioned social media but no other social networking sites during the programme. The complainant claims that this was scripted and clearly shows a lack of editorial control from RTÉ due to the nature of the sponsorship from Facebook.

The complainant believes that such sponsorship could have caused the presenter to sidestep the issue of Corporate Tax rates and he states that, to a great extent, the topics did avoid this issue except during the debate on Education when Mr. Eamon Ryan of the Green Party started the conversation about Corporate Tax.

Other issues brought by the complainant concerned that the Facebook logo was promoted throughout the programme, and that all graphics were presented with the Facebook logo and were very different to normal graphics used by RTÉ News and Current Affairs. The complainant stated that this infringes the code under Product Placement. The complainant also stated that the end credits of the programme only featured RTÉ, which shows that it was not considered a co-production with Facebook.

RTÉ the broadcaster states that the collaboration offered the public service broadcaster the opportunity to connect with an audience often characterised as having little interest in current affairs, belied by their engagement on a media platform such as Facebook.

The Committee further noted that the programme was broadcast on RTÉ 2, a channel that traditionally targets a younger audience than RTÉ 1, and the content, venue and use of Facebook information were considered editorially appropriate means for engaging an audience on a television service which generally has a younger demographic.

In view of the above, the Committee did not agree that the programme infringed the Broadcasting Act or the BAI General Commercial Communications Code in the manner specified by the complainant. Accordingly, the complaint has been rejected.

However, in considering this complaint, the Committee noted that the inclusion of Facebook in the title of the programme could have potentially misled audiences as to the nature of the arrangement between RTÉ and Facebook. Therefore, the Committee would advise that the broadcaster have regard to this view in the production of future programmes of this nature.

The second complaint concerning a TV broadcast was made by Friends of the Irish Environment. The complaint concerns Prime Time, which is a current affairs programme broadcast at 9.30pm. The complaint refers to a report on the debate surrounding planning proposals for Trump International Golf Links and Hotel, at Doonbeg, Co. Clare.

The complaint was submitted under the Broadcasting Act 2009, Section 48(1)(a)(fairness, objectivity and impartiality in current affairs) and Section 48 (1)(b)(offence and harm); the BAI Code of Fairness, Objectivity and Impartiality in News and Current Affairs (Section 4: Rule 4.2) and the BAI Code of Programme Standards (Principle 6 - Protection of Public Interest).

The complainant stated that in the Prime Time report, the arrival of Mr. Donald Trump to Ireland was shown, including a red carpet, harpist and singer; a traditional Irish musical welcome. However, the presence of the Minister for Finance, Mr. Michael Noonan T.D. greeting Mr. Trump was not shown, although the Minister’s presence was given prominence on RTÉ News and in the print media at the time of Mr. Trump’s visit.

The complainant believed that by excising the Minister from the greeting, Prime Time undermined the BAI Code of Programme Standards and failed to abide with the requirement to ensure current affairs is fair, objective and impartial. The complainant believes that concealing from the Prime Time audience the presence of the Minster for Finance at the airport to greet Mr. Trump was invidious censorship and undermined the public interest which he states is concerned with ‘the public’s ability to fully understand the way in which public life is being conducted in Ireland’.

RTÉ state that it was a very interesting, but not critical part of the story, that the golf course and hotel were owned by such a globally-recognisable figure as Mr. Donald Trump. For this reason, the character of the welcome accorded to Mr. Trump when he arrived on his visit to Ireland, warranted only a few second within the filmed report. Prime Time then used the best piece of footage available to perform that function. Nothing was concealed from the audience.

Having considered the broadcast and the submissions from the complainant and the broadcaster and having had regard to the Broadcasting Act 2009, Section 48(1)(a)(fairness, objectivity and impartiality in current affairs) and Section 48 (1)(b)(offence and harm); the BAI Code of Fairness, Objectivity and Impartiality in News and Current Affairs (Section 4: Rule 4.2) and the BAI Code of Programme Standards (Principle 6 - Protection of Public Interest), the Committee has decided to reject the complaint.

The Committee noted that Broadcasters, as independent media organisations, have appropriate freedom to decide the editorial approach to be taken to a subject matter. While noting that the greeting of Mr. Trump by the Minister of Finance in 2014 was a matter of controversy, the focus of the programme broadcast in 2016 was the potential impact of the proposed sea wall and not the relationship between Irish businesses, the Irish State and foreign investment. In that context, the Committee’s view is that the exclusion of footage of Minister Noonan meeting Mr Trump did not give rise to any issues provided for in the BAI’s codes or the Broadcasting Act.

Visit BAI Online for more details of all these decisions





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