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Â鶹Éç
publishes latest Programme Complaints Unit and Governors' Programme
Complaints Committee findings
The
Â鶹Éç today (Tuesday 29 April 2003) publishes the latest findings
of the Programme Complaints Unit (PCU) and those of the Governors'
Programme Complaints Committee for the period 1 January to 31 March
2003.
In
this quarter the unit dealt with a total of 709 complaints concerning
239 items.
45
complaints were upheld (18 of them partly) – 6.5% of the total
number of complaints received.
Of
the items investigated, complaints were upheld against 25 items
– 10.5% of the total.
The
PCU report contains summaries of the findings in those cases.
This
Bulletin also records the annual figures as well as the quarterly
ones: overall 1,596 complaints were dealt with this year, compared
with 794 last year.
In
a forward to the PCU Bulletin Director-General Greg Dyke discusses
the reasons for the rise in the number of complaints:
"The
difference is entirely due to the facility for complaints by email
on Â鶹Éçi, which we opened last August. More than six months in, we're
beginning to get a clear picture of how it works.
It
isn't that people are complaining about double the number of broadcasts
(though there has been an increase, which I would expect when you
make it easier to complain). It's mainly that the programmes which
do press a button bring in far more complaints."
The
Governors' Programme Complaints Committee (GPCC) takes appeals from
complainants who are not happy with the response they have received
from Â鶹Éç Management.
It
also published its findings for the same period. It came to a decision
on seven appeals in this quarter, five of which raised matters of
fairness and accuracy and two of which concerned matters of taste
and decency. Of these, it upheld one appeal in part.
In
a foreword to the bulletin, Chairman of the Governors' Programme
Complaints Committee, Sir Robert Smith, commented:
"Central
to the considerations of the Committee this quarter were the issues
raised by Â鶹Éç News' coverage of the Middle East.
"Three
of the five appeals relating to fairness and accuracy raised audience
concerns about the way in which such coverage was framed and signposted,
and about the language used to report on events.
"In
coming to its decisions, the GPCC considered these appeals against
the impartiality requirements of the Â鶹Éç Producers' Guidelines,
and indeed the Charter.
"It
met with senior news executives to discuss the issues raised, and
concluded overall that the Â鶹Éç had complied with these requirements
in the programmes under review.
"The
Committee recognised however, the importance of using pre-transmission
announcements to ensure that audiences are clear about how a programme
was framed."
Notes
to Editors
The
Programme Complaints Unit deals with letters of complaint which
give reason to believe that something broadcast by the Â鶹Éç's licence
fee-funded services may have fallen seriously short of the standards
set out in the Â鶹Éç Producers' Guidelines.
Complaints
about other matters, such as policy, changes to the published schedule,
technical standards or questions of personal preference, are forwarded
to the appropriate areas of the Â鶹Éç for attention.
The
unit is commissioned to investigate complaints impartially and to
recommend appropriate redress.
Generally
this involves viewing or listening to a recording of the material
and pursuing the complainants' points with the programme-makers
and editorial executives directly responsible.
The
Governors' Programme Complaints Committee (GPCC) consists of five
Governors of the Â鶹Éç, to whom the full Board of Governors have delegated
the power to consider appeals.
The
GPCC's conclusions are reported to the full Board.
It
is the specific function of the GPCC to consider appeals against
decisions and actions of the Programme Complaints Unit or of the
Directors of Â鶹Éç Divisions in dealing with serious editorial complaints.
The
GPCC considers appeals in relation to complaints about programmes
transmitted, or material carried, by the Â鶹Éç's domestic public services
on radio, television and online, and which allege:
•
that the complainant has suffered unfair treatment in a transmitted
item;
•
that the complainant's privacy has been unjustifiably infringed,
either in a programme or item as transmitted or in the process of
making the programme or item, or
•
that there has otherwise been a failure adequately to observe the
Â鶹Éç's editorial guidelines.
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