Complaint
A listener complained the Today programme’s coverage of a speech by the Prime Minister on climate change was not impartial, with “six full critical interviews” offset by only “a few supportive remarks”. The ECU considered whether this met the requirements for due impartiality set out in the ѿý Editorial Guidelines.
Outcome
The Editorial Guidelines recognise it is essential for news programmes to be able to explore and examine the views of relevant people on matters of public policy or major political controversy. The requirement for a programme such as Today when reporting on a controversial issue is to ensure a “wide range of significant views and perspectives are given due weight and prominence”. This may include broadcasting comments which support or criticise Government policy. Apart from a substantial interview with Mr Sunak himself , the ECU noted Today used a range of editorial techniques to meet the requirements for due impartiality, providing, for example, accurate summaries of the Prime Minister’s proposals in each news bulletin and summary. Other interviews on the subject of climate change included accounts of the Prime Minister’s position and the presenters reflected the reasons Mr Sunak had given for the change in policy. They also posed an appropriate range of challenging questions to help listeners to put these contributions into context.
Not Upheld