Radio Authority Publishes Election Fairness Guidelines

The Radio Authority has published an Election Special of its Programming and Advertising Review for January to March 2001. It is designed to act as a guide to radio stations in maintaining balance and fairness under the increased pressure of election time.

One of the most serious decisions made by the Radio Authority during the three month period was to issue a “yellow card” to ITN News Direct, the London FM news station. The warning was issued because the Authority felt the station was operating outside its remit with regard to technical quality, the use of picture-based scripts and a lack of emphasis on London-oriented stories. A meeting on 10 May determined that improvements had been made in all three areas and the card has been withdrawn in the light of current output, although monitoring continues. The yellow card is designed to act as an early warning to stations breaching their format, letting them know that unless they return to their format, further regulatory action could ensue.

From January to March the authority also considered 118 written complaints about commercial radio stations. 69 of these concerned programming and related matters, of which 16 were upheld. The Programming and Advertising Review replaces the printed copy of the quarterly bulletin, which is now available on the authority’s website.

Radio Authority: 020 7887 4294 www.radioauthority.org.uk

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