Editorial Standards Committee Bulletin, Issued February 2017
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Editorial Standards Findings Appeals to the Trust and other editorial issues considered by the Editorial Standards Committee March 2017, issued March 2017 Decisions by the Head of Editorial Standards, Trust Unit February and March 2017 issued March 2017 Getting the best out of the BBC for licence fee payers Contents Contents 1 Remit of the Editorial Standards Committee 2 Summary of Appeal Findings 4 Panorama: Pensions Rip Offs Exposed, BBC One, 11 July 2016 4 Good Morning Scotland, BBC Radio Scotland, 4 November 2016 5 Good Morning Scotland, BBC Radio Scotland, 31 March 2016 7.36am 6 Appeal Findings 8 Panorama: Pensions Rip Offs Exposed, BBC One, 11 July 2016 8 Good Morning Scotland, BBC Radio Scotland, 4 November 2016 21 Good Morning Scotland, BBC Radio Scotland, 31 March 2016 7.36am 26 Appeals against the decisions of BBC Audience Services not to correspond further with the complainant 32 Decision of BBC Audience Services not to respond further to a complaint about taking down a photograph from BBC News Online 33 Decision of BBC Audience Services not to respond further to a complaint about BBC News coverage of the Labour Party 36 Admissibility decisions by the Head of Editorial Standards, Trust Unit 44 Decision of Audience Services not to respond further to a complaint about BBC News at Six, 31 August 2016 45 Decision of Audience Services not to respond further to a complaint about Chris Packham’s personal use of Twitter on 5 & 8 January and 12 February 2017 49 Decision of Audience Services not to respond further to a complaint about News at Ten, BBC One, 15 February 2017 52 Decision of Audience Services not to respond further to a complaint about bias against the unionist community on BBC Northern Ireland 54 Decision of Audience Services not to respond further to a complaint about Today, Radio 4, 8 December 2016 56 Victoria Derbyshire, BBC News Channel and Today, BBC Radio 4, 1 November 2016; BBC News website ‘Landmark chronic fatigue trial could treat two-thirds’ 58 Decision of Audience Services not to respond further to a complaint about Today, BBC Radio 4, 10 January 2017 66 Decision of Audience Services not to respond further to a complaint about “Fake news inquiry by MPs examines threat to democracy”, BBC News website 68 Decision of Audience Services not to respond further to a complaint about BBC News coverage referring to “think tanks” 72 Decision of Audience Services not to respond further to a complaint about Newsnight, BBC Two, 30 January 2017 74 Decision of Audience Services not to respond further to a complaint about 1900 news bulletin, BBC Radio 4, 4 February 2017 78 Decision of Audience Services not to respond further to a complaint about Sunday Morning Live, BBC One, 6 November 2016 79 Decision of Audience Services not to respond further to a complaint about The Andrew Marr Show, BBC One, 22 January 2017 84 Decision of Audience Services not to respond further to a complaint about Today, BBC Radio 4, 5 December 2016 87 Decision of Audience Services not to respond further to a complaint about Daily Politics, BBC Two, 7 February 2017 89 Editorial Standards Committee Bulletin, issued February 2017 Decision of Audience Services not to respond further to a complaint about Jo Good, BBC Radio London, 26 January 2017 92 Decision of Audience Services not to respond further to a complaint about Newsnight, BBC Two, 16 December 2016 94 Decision of Audience Services not to respond further to a complaint about News at Six, BBC One, 18 January 2017 95 Decision of Audience Services not to respond further to a complaint about an allegation that the BBC is ignoring the effects of mass migration on the NHS 99 Decision of Audience Services not to respond further to a complaint about “Trump’s most extraordinary news conference”, BBC Online, 16 February 2017 101 Decision of Audience Services not to respond further to a complaint about newspaper reviews, BBC Radio 4 and BBC News Channel 105 Decision of Audience Services not to respond further to a complaint about News at Ten, BBC One, 18 January 2017 107 Decision of Audience Services not to respond further to a complaint about the use by BBC News of the term “far-right” 110 Decision of Audience Services not to respond further to a complaint about Today, Radio 4, 6 March 2017 112 Decision of Audience Services not to respond further to a complaint about BBC News coverage of the inauguration and presidency of Donald Trump 114 Decision of Audience Services not to respond further to a complaint about “Berlin lorry attack: What we know”, BBC News website, 24 December 2016 118 Decision of Audience Services not to respond further to a complaint about Newsnight, BBC Two, 28 and 29 November 2016 and The Andrew Marr Show, BBC One, 27 November 2016 120 Decision of Audience Services not to respond further to a complaint about BBC News Online, “Omega-3 oils in farmed salmon ‘halve in five years”, 6 October 2016 124 Decision of Audience Services not to respond further to a complaint about The World at One, BBC Radio 4, 24 January 2017 127 Rail industry news reporting on BBC Radio 2 news and travel bulletins and Midlands Today, BBC One 129 Decision of Audience Services not to respond further to a complaint about Thought for the Day 138 Decision of Audience Services not to respond further to a complaint about “Why are cars so expensive in Ethiopia?”, BBC News website, 16 January 2017 142 Decision of Audience Services not to respond further to a complaint about More or Less, BBC Radio Four, 13 June 2016 145 Decision of Audience Services not to respond further to a complaint 148 Newsday, BBC World Service, 28 September 2016 150 Newsnight, BBC Two, 3 November 2016 153 Decision of Audience Services not to respond further to a complaint about Sherlock, BBC One, 1, 8, and 15 January 2017 155 Decision of BBC Editorial Complaints Unit (ECU) not to uphold a complaint about Strictly Come Dancing, BBC One, 19 November 2016 161 In order to provide clarity for the BBC and licence fee payers it is the Trust’s policy to describe fully the content that is subject to complaints and appeals. Some of the language and descriptions used in this bulletin may therefore cause offence. Editorial Standards Committee Bulletin, issued February 2017 Remit of the Editorial Standards Committee The Editorial Standards Committee (ESC) is responsible for assisting the Trust in securing editorial standards. It has a number of responsibilities, set out in its Terms of Reference at http://downloads.bbc.co.uk/bbctrust/assets/files/pdf/about/how_we_operate/committees/ 2015/esc_tor.pdf The Committee comprises five Trustees: Richard Ayre (Chairman), Sonita Alleyne, Mark Damazer, Bill Matthews and Nicholas Prettejohn. The Committee is advised and supported by the Trust Unit. In line with the ESC’s responsibility for monitoring the effectiveness of handling editorial complaints by BBC management, the Committee considers appeals against the decisions and actions of the BBC’s Editorial Complaints Unit (ECU) or of a BBC Director with responsibility for the BBC’s output (if the editorial complaint falls outside the remit of the ECU). The Committee may consider appeals concerning complaints which allege that: the complainant has suffered unfair treatment in a transmitted programme, item or piece of online content, or in the process of making the programme, item or online content the complainant’s privacy has been unjustifiably infringed, either in a transmitted programme or item, or in the process of making the programme or item or online content there has otherwise been a failure to observe required editorial standards. However, not all requests for appeal qualify for consideration by the ESC. The Editorial Complaints and Appeals procedure1 explains that: 5.10 The Trust will only consider an appeal if it raises “a matter of substance”.2 This will ordinarily mean that in the opinion of the Trust there is a reasonable prospect that the appeal will be upheld as amounting to a breach of the Editorial Guidelines. In deciding whether an appeal raises a matter of substance, the Trust may consider (in fairness to the interests of all licence fee payers in general) whether it is appropriate, proportionate and cost-effective to consider the appeal.3 The Trust may not consider an appeal that is trivial, misconceived, hypothetical, repetitious or otherwise vexatious. The Trust may also decline to consider an appeal which includes gratuitously abusive or offensive language if the complainant refuses to reword it after being invited to do so. 1 http://downloads.bbc.co.uk/bbctrust/assets/files/pdf/regulatory_framework/protocols/2014/complaints_fr_work_ed_complaints.pdf 2 Under the Charter and Agreement, the Trust has a role as final arbiter in appropriate cases, and must provide a right of appeal in cases that raise a matter of substance. 3 For example, if an appeal raises a relatively minor issue that would be complicated, time-consuming or expensive to resolve, the Trust may decide that the appeal does not raise a matter of substance, and decline to consider it. Editorial Standards Committee bulletin, issued February 2017 2 In deciding whether an appeal qualifies for consideration, the Committee may also decide to take only part of the appeal, and consider only some of the issues raised. Where an appeal or part of an appeal qualifies for consideration, the Committee will aim to provide the complainant with its final decision within 80 working days of accepting the request for an appeal. The findings for all appeals accepted by the Committee are normally reported in this bulletin, Editorial Standards Findings: Appeals to the Trust and other editorial issues considered by the Editorial Standards Committee.