Complaint
During the programme the presenter, Fiona Bruce, asked for an audience show of hands on the question of whether there should be an immediate general election, and summarised the result as “that’s almost all of you…not quite all of you but almost…â€. A viewer complained that this was inaccurate, and skewed the subsequent debate. The ECU considered the complaint in the light of the ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½â€™s standards of accuracy and impartiality.
Outcome
As ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ News had acknowledged in correspondence with the complainant, Ms Bruce had been mistaken in her counting of hands, having “only had a few seconds to quickly scan the audienceâ€. From a still image of the event, it appeared to the ECU that about half the audience had not raised their hands, so Ms Bruce’s summary fell short of the ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½â€™s standards of accuracy and this aspect of the complaint was upheld. The subsequent discussion, however, included a range of views on the subject from panelists and audience members, prompted by the presenter, which had the effect of ensuring the output was duly impartial
Partly upheld
Further action
The finding was reported to the Board of ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ News and discussed with the journalists responsible.