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23 November 2009
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Editorial Guidelines in Full

Editorial Integrity & Independence

• Introduction
• Editorial integrity and independence editorial principles
• Product placement
• Product prominence
• Product prominence in trails
• Promotional material/stories supplied by outside bodies
• Reviewing products or services
• Products used as props in drama, comedy or entertainment
• Use of free & reduced cost facilities, products, services & props
• Media facility & fact finding trips
• Undue prominence & contributors
• Online links to third party websites
• BBC commercial channels & services
• References to commercial products related to BBC programmes & services
• Trails for commercial products related to BBC programmes
• Games shows
• Conflicts of interest
• Advertising & the BBC brand
• Social action programmes
• Programmes about charitable initiatives
• BBC support services
• Joint initiatives
• Trails for support material
• Helplines
• Automated information services

References to commercial products related to BBC programmes & services

The BBC and Independent companies working for the BBC produce and license commercial products and services to enhance and complement our output. However, we must never give the impression that we are unduly promoting any commercial product in our programmes. Any references to BBC related products must be for clear editorial reasons and there should be no element of plugging.

There are legal and regulatory constraints in this area, including undertakings to the Office of Fair Trading. We must take particular care not to promote BBC magazines and we must ensure that:

• no BBC programme or online site mentions a BBC magazine in a way which could be deemed promotional or an encouragement to buy.
• any interviews with BBC magazine editors or writers are clearly editorially justified and such interviewees are not used too frequently.
• no mention is made on air or online of any off air support given by BBC publications. For example, if entry forms for competitions appear in BBC magazines we must not refer to this on air or online.

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