Complaint
A viewer complained that this programme had repeatedly failed to provide an adequate description of the Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA) when its Communications Director appeared as a guest.听 The ECU considered the complaint in the light of the Editorial Guidelines on accuracy, which include the following provision about the affiliations of contributors to programmes:
We should not automatically assume that contributors from other organisations (such as academics, journalists, researchers and representatives of charities and think-tanks) are unbiased. 听Appropriate information about their affiliations, funding and particular viewpoints should be made available to the audience, when relevant to the context.
听
Outcome
The call for 鈥渁ppropriate information鈥 about contributors is not a blanket requirement, as there may be times when little or no additional information is needed, either because it is not directly relevant to their contributions or because their views are apparent from what they say. 听In the case of The Papers, a review of newspapers and websites covering a wide range of topical issues, the ECU agreed some information was necessary for the IEA, in particular reference to its free market orientation. In most cases viewed by the ECU over a six month period no such information was given, and this fell below the 主播大秀鈥檚 standards of accuracy.
Upheld
Further action
The finding was reported to the Board of 主播大秀 News and a note was sent to staff reminding them of the need to provide appropriate information about such bodies as the IEA.