29-11-2005, 02:26 PM
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#1 (permalink)
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Administrator
Join Date: Sep 2004
Location: Long Ashton, Bristol
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Bloomberg rapped over Blair interview bias
http://media.guardian.co.uk/site/sto...653482,00.html
Quote:
Bloomberg TV has been penalised by Ofcom for broadcasting a general election interview with the prime minister, Tony Blair, that breached impartiality rules.
The media watchdog received three complaints about the live coverage of the Labour party launch of its business manifesto from Bloomberg's London auditorium on April 23.
The complainants claimed the interview with Mr Blair and two Labour colleagues had not been duly impartial because no equivalent coverage was given to any other political party during the election campaign.
Bloomberg TV argued that the coverage was not uncritical and that Mr Blair faced some hostile questioning from the press and invited audience. It also said that representatives of the opposition parties were invited to the event but had declined to attend.
But Ofcom found that the Labour party was given an extended opportunity to present its policies but that no such coverage, at any time throughout the election campaign, was given to any of the other major parties.
The watchdog therefore ruled against Bloomberg TV for breaching the Ofcom programme code, which requires due impartiality on "major matters" of political controversy.
Ofcom said the requirement for due impartiality was particularly important during elections and that the breach was "therefore considered serious enough to be referred to the content sanctions committee for consideration of a statutory sanction".
The regulator said the imposition of a statutory sanction would be considered where a broadcaster had "repeatedly, deliberately or seriously" breached the code.
The contents sanctions committee said it took INTO phpbb_account Bloomberg TV's good compliance record and accepted the breach was not deliberate.
But the committee said it was "surprised and concerned that Bloomberg TV appeared at times to continue to defend its position that it may not have breached the code", as it was an experienced broadcaster.
"Throughout its coverage of the election, Bloomberg TV had not covered, in a similar context, any other press conference, let alone a manifesto launch, in full with accompanying lengthy interviews with party leaders. This resulted in a service that had not maintained due impartiality for the period of the election," the committee concluded.
Ofcom ruled that Bloomberg TV must transmit Ofcom's statement of finding on three consecutive days at 11am.
Bloomberg TV was contacted by MediaGuardian.co.uk but had not returned calls by the times of publication.
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