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Editorial Policy Newsletter No.22

24 July 2009

News

Taste and Standards

Speech Bubble The BBC's extensive research report Taste, Standards and the BBC makes a number of recommendations for programme makers.

The recently published report was commissioned following the Russell Brand Show last year and is the most exhaustive piece of research the BBC has ever undertaken in this area. It included surveys and discussions with 2700 people focussing on strong language, sexual content, standards of behaviour and audience expectations of the BBC and other broadcasters.

The recommendations include: discussions with the commissioning executive, early in the production cycle, to agree parameters of tone and content for new and returning series on television and radio; greater care when a television series moves to a more mainstream channel; clearer audience information about material that some may regard as unsuitable; and an awareness campaign for online guidance ( see below ).

The research will inform forthcoming editorial policy guidance, as well as the general revision of the Editorial Guidelines that is currently underway.

The full report and research data can be read here . The existing Editorial Guidelines on Harm and Offence are here .

Tweet Twitter and other forms of microblogging are not just the current buzz in social media; they also offer present new opportunities for broadcasters. For example, at the start of this year, users of Twitter were among the first to break the news of the US Airways plane's emergency landing on the Hudson River.

However, the new technology also presents a number of challenges - including the verification of user generated content in such an immediate medium and the distinction between the personal and professional use of micro-blogs by BBC staff.

The considerations were discussed at a recent Editorial Policy Meeting, with Technology Correspondent and regular 'tweeter' Rory Cellan-Jones. You can read a blog on the meeting by one of the attendees here .

Editorial Policy has made guidance available on the personal use of social networking sites , the BBC's use of social networking , and user generated content .

Although it pre-dates the development of microblogging, similar issues apply and the guidance still covers many of the pertinent issues. It will be updated as the technology evolves.

Lord Sugar The BBC Trust has cleared Lord Sugar to continue as the star of The Apprentice, ruling that there is no conflict of interest with his new role as Enterprise Champion to the Government. The adjudication follows a complaint from shadow culture secretary Jeremy Hunt.

The Trust's Editorial Standards Committee determined that Lord Sugar's role as Enterprise Champion constituted " active political involvement", but noted that The Apprentice is factual entertainment rather than a serious factual programme dealing with public policy or political controversy. Consequently, the Committee concluded that Lord Sugar's dual roles do not represent a Conflict of Interest - although there is a risk broadcasting The Apprentice in the run up to the General Election would be likely to compromise the BBC's impartiality. The complaint was not upheld.

The Conflict of Interest Guidelines are here , with additional guidelines here for news and current affairs presenters and editorial staff in BBC News, the Nations and Global News. The BBC Trust adjudication can be read in full here .

Labelling on iPlayer

iPlayer New research, commissioned by Editorial Policy, has given an insight into the value of content labelling and PIN protection to iPlayer audiences with children.

An independent poll of 567 adults showed that 43% of them had noticed the content labels while using iPlayer. Of those, two thirds said they used the labelling to determine whether content was suitable for their children to watch.

Overall, more than 8 out of 10 respondents agreed that content labels and PIN protection for parents to block content are a good system for iPlayer. However, nearly two-thirds of the survey said they were not aware that PIN protection was available. The Taste, Standards and the BBC report also showed little understanding amongst audiences that iPlayer has a such a parent password protection scheme to prevent children accessing unsuitable content.

The research suggests that more needs to be done to raise awareness of the protection measures the BBC offers with iPlayer.