The 2023 Ofcom Top 10…List of the most complained about TV

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See article from ofcom.org.uk

Ofcom has published an end of year review. Ofcom writes: Over the course of the last year, we received 69,236 complaints about 9,638 cases. That’s nearly twice as many complaints as we dealt with in 2022 In 2023, we published 23 Broadcast and On Demand Bulletins which announced 57 new broadcast standards investigations, as well the outcome of 46 investigations. We found a total of 35 programmes in breach of our broadcasting rules and are working to conclude the others as quickly as possible. We also published 15 adjudications on complaints from individuals and organisations that complained to us that they had been treated unfairly and/or had their privacy unwarrantably infringed in TV and radio programmes. We imposed sanctions on four broadcasters for content breaches, including a £40,000 fine to the Islam channel and £10,000 to Ahlebait TV , both for broadcasting antisemitic content. We also found GB News in breach of our rules on five occasions after our investigations found it broke our rules that protect audiences from harm twice and our due impartiality rules three times. Most complained about programmes of 2023 Dan Wootton Tonight, GB News, 26 September 2023 — 8,867 complaints Viewers objected to the misogynistic comments made by Laurence Fox about journalist Ava Evans. Ofcom’s investigation of this programme under our rules on offence is ongoing. King Charles III: The Coronation, ITV1, 6 May 2023 — 8,421 complaints The majority of complaints related to a comment made by actress Adjoa Andoh during the live broadcast, which focused on the ‘whiteness’ of the Royal Family on the balcony of Buckingham Palace. While we understand some viewers had strong feelings about this comment, after careful consideration we concluded that the comment was a personal observation which was part of a wide-ranging panel discussion which also touched on other diversity-related topics, and which contained a range of viewpoints. Good Morning Britain, ITV1, 17 October 2023 — 2,391 complaints We carefully assessed complaints about the presenter’s line of questioning towards MP Layla Moran. We considered his live, unscripted remarks were potentially offensive. However, taking the entire interview into account, and in particular a preceding discussion about Hamas using civilians as human shields, we considered the question sought to explore whether civilians were aware of a potential escalation in hostilities, rather than suggesting that Ms Moran or her family were aware of specific plans for the Hamas attack on 7 October 2023. In her response, Ms Moran spoke about her surprise at the scale and sophistication of the attack. In light of this, we will not be pursuing further. Jeremy Vine, Channel 5, 13 March 2023 — 2,302 complaints We carefully considered complaints from viewers about a discussion on the junior doctors’ pay dispute. While we recognise that some references about progression timelines and corresponding pay-scales were not strictly accurate, we do not consider that the errors were sufficient to have materially misled viewers so as to cause harm. Breakfast with Kay Burley, Sky News, 23 November 2023 — 1,880 complaints We carefully considered complaints about the presenter’s line of questioning during an interview with Israeli spokesperson, Eylon Levy. Taking account of Mr Levy’s forceful challenge to the premise of the question about the value of Israeli versus Palestinian lives, and the context of the wider discussion about the terms of the temporary ceasefire, we will not be pursuing further. Lee Anderson’s Real World, GB News, 29 September 2023 — 1,697 complaints Complaints related to Lee Anderson’s interview with Suella Braverman, on the grounds that they are both Conservative MPs. We published our assessment of this programme which found that it included an appropriately wide range of significant views on immigration and border control which were given due weight. Breakfast with Kay Burley, Sky News, 10 October 2023 — 1,640 complaints Complainants alleged Kay Burley misrepresented comments made by the Palestinian ambassador. We are assessing the complaints, before we decide whether or not to investigate. Naked Education, Channel 4, 4 April 2023 — 1,285 complaints We understand that some viewers were concerned about this programme, which included pre-watershed nudity. In our view, the programme had a clear educational focus, and the young participants reflected positively on their involvement. We also took into account that there were warnings to the audience before the programme aired. This Morning, ITV, 18 December 2023, 1,092 complaints Complaints related to comments made by Vanessa Feltz about coeliac disease. We are assessing the complaints, before we decide whether or not to investigate. Love Island, ITV2, 9 July 2023 — 992 complaints The majority of complaints about this episode related to bullying against Scott. We carefully assessed complaints about this series on a range of issues including alleged bullying, homophobia and racism. We recognise that emotionally charged or confrontational scenes can upset some viewers. But, in our view, negative behaviour in the villa was not shown in a positive light. We also took into account that the format of this reality show is well-established and viewers would expect to see highs and lows as couples’ relationships are tested. Viewers also complained about a contestant being voted off and returning to the programme, but this was an editorial decision for the broadcaster.

GB News gets in trouble with Ofcom about nasty remarks by Laurence Fox

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See article from bbc.co.uk

TV censor Ofcom has launched an investigation into GB News over Laurence Fox’s rant about a female journalist, Ava Evans after receiving around 7,300 complaints. Fox was suspended on Wednesday after he was condemned for saying ‘Who would want to shag that? The complaints followed Tuesday night’s episode of Dan Wootton Tonight, prompting its investigation. Dan Wootton has been suspended from GB News seemingly as he smiled or smirked at Fox’s comments rather than opposing them. Wootton said in an apology that he regretted the interview and should have intervened to challenge Fox. Meanwhile Fox has said he stands by every word of what I said.Fox, who also hosts on GB News, made the comments discussing political journalist Evans’ views on creating a minister for men to tackle a mental health crisis. Speaking on BBC Politics Live on Monday, the PoliticsJOE political correspondent said the idea would make an enemy out of women and that mental illness was not specific to men. Addressing the comments on Dan Wootton Tonight on Tuesday, Fox said: We’re past the watershed so I can say this. Show me a single self-respecting man that would like to climb into bed with that woman – ever, ever… That little woman has been fed, spoon-fed oppression day after day after day… We need powerful, strong, amazing women who make great points for themselves, we don’t need these sort of feminist 4.0… they’re pathetic and embarrassing. Who would want to shag that? Media caption, Melanie Dawes, Ofcom chief executive, said: Over the last few days there has been speculation and commentary about our role as the independent broadcast regulator. These are important issues and I wanted to be clear about our rules. Parliament sets objectives on how the broadcast sector should be regulated. We set and enforce rules to achieve these objectives. Contrary to some claims, these rules remain unchanged. They are designed to protect audiences from offensive and harmful material, and to uphold the integrity of broadcast news and current affairs programming, while always ensuring that freedom of expression is front and centre in every decision we take. This is highly valued by audiences and central to our democracy. The decisions we take, always based on facts and evidence once a programme has aired, are vital if we are to protect our vibrant media landscape. We continue to apply and enforce these rules without fear or favour. Offsite Comment: The establishment campaign to shut down GB News 25th September 2023. See article from spiked-online.com by Fraser Myers Adam Boulton has said the quiet part out loud: the elites want to defend their cosy media club.

ITV broadcasts a cut version of No Time to Die

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Thanks to Jon who writes: I Just watched NO TIME TO DIE which premiered on ITV1 – New Year’s Day between 8pm-11:05pm. There were a fair few edits, mostly to remove the strongest elements of the violence e.g. deaths of people during the testing of Heracles in the Cuba bar/party sequence, the killing of the innocent scientists when Heracles is initially stolen, the finale had minor trims made, when Bond is infected. The strong language was all gone. All swearing was removed, bar one use of shit and one use of bloody. The early romance scene at the beginning of the film in the pre-titles sequence between Bond and Madeleine, demonstrating their new married life, was toned down a little to make it less racy, as that aired pre-watershed. And I’m sure the finale, featuring the island going up in flames and Bond’s death, was faded-out early, just as he gives his final speech to Madeleine. Lastly, the credits were crushed to a tiny size (1/6th of the screen size) and sped-up hugely, during the first part, where all the cast are listed, and then put back to full-size, when all the technical crew started. The cuts weren’t noticeable, unless you’d seen the complete version in cinemas or on home viewing formats. And if you didn’t know it was cut, then you’d wonder why it had a 12A rating, as it all seems fairly tame. The sound also seemed to be less crunchy in the fights. So not sure if that was toned-down, or if it just seemed less impactful on TV, than in a cinema with surround sound systems. Still, this is ITV1 we’re talking about, and I still think that they see themselves as moral guardians of family values, like they did in the 1990’s and 2000’s. So is it that surprising they’ve cut this film? Not really! Should we have really expected anything less?! (Rhetorical)

Ofcom’s top TV programmes of 2022

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See article from ofcom.org.uk

Adam Baxter, Ofcom Director of Standards and Audience Protection writes: Over the year, we received 36,543 complaints about over 9,500 issues, and completed 74 broadcast standards investigations. We found in 66 of these cases that our rules had been broken. We also completed 45 fairness and privacy investigations during the year, of which six complaints were upheld. These figures show the weight we place on freedom of expression, and that we only step in when it’s really needed. Importantly, this number doesn’t include complaints about programmes on the BBC. These are handled by the BBC in the first instance. In the summer, we told the BBC that we expect it to improve how it handles complaints from viewers and listeners. And we were pleased to see it recently announce that it would be changing its processes to make it easier for people to complain. 2022’s list of most complained about programmes is, once again, dominated by reality TV — in particular ITV’s Love Island and I’m a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here! Given the large viewing figures, and the headlines and conversations created by these shows — both online and offline — it is not surprising to see them topping our chart. Top ten complaints: Love Island, ITV2, 17 July – complaints related to alleged misogynistic and bullying behaviour by some contestants in the villa. I’m a Celebrity…. Get me out of here!, ITV, 6-27 November – viewers objected to the inclusion of Matt Hancock in the series. Friday Night Live, Channel 4, 21 October – complaints related to a performance by Jordan Gray. Love Island, ITV2, 19 July – complaints related to alleged misogynistic and bullying behaviour by some contestants in the villa. Good Morning Britain, ITV, 15 February – complaints related to comments made by Richard Madeley about death threats made to Keir Starmer. Jeremy Vine, Channel 5, 24 January – viewers complained about a health consultant’s inaccurate statement about numbers of unvaccinated people in hospital with Covid-19. Love Island, ITV2, 18 July – complaints related to alleged misogynistic and bullying behaviour by some contestants in the villa. I’m a Celebrity…. Get me out of here!, ITV, 13 November – viewers objected to bullying behaviour against Matt Hancock. FIFA World Cup Final 2022: Argentina v France, ITV, 18 December – complaints related to politicised comments from Gary Neville. Sky News, Sky News, 10 September – a Justice for Chris Kaba walk was reported as people on their way to pay tribute to the late Queen. Ofcom is investigating whether this breached our rules on due accuracy.

Russian propaganda channel RT is removed from Sky

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See article from thedailyblog.co.nz

Sky TV is no longer broadcasting the propaganda channel RT, previously called Russia Today in light of Russia’s murderous attack on Ukraine. The channel has been completely removed from the Sky EPG.Sky spokeswoman Chris Major said: Sky had decided to suspend showing RT in light of the rapidly unfolding situation in Ukraine. As a responsible broadcaster, we take great care to ensure we comply with the Code of Broadcasting Standards. We have had ongoing dialogue with the BSA over the past few days, and have received complaints from a number of customers. The channel has also been widely removed from social media.

Sky TV details its propaganda plans to nudge people into submitting to planet saving behaviour

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See report [pdf] from bi.team

Sky TV have published a detailed plan about how the company educate, propagandise, nudge, nag and bully viewers into submitting to right think and right behaviour when it comes climate change.Dana Strong Group Chief Executive, Sky explains: At Sky, we believe in a better world, and we’re committed to reducing our impact on the environment by transforming our business to become net zero carbon by 2030. As Europe’s largest media and entertainment organisation, we also want to accelerate our industry’s efforts to drive global progress towards net zero. However, it is now widely accepted that we must shift the behaviour of millions of people to deliver on our collective net zero goals. That’s why when we became the Principal Partner and Media Partner for COP26, we were clear we wanted to lead the way in new standards for the broadcast industry, and to invest in research to better inform our collective approach. Building on the work of BAFTA’s albert consortium, and Sky’s own Planet Test, the next frontier for our industry will be thinking not just about how we can reduce our own carbon footprint, but how we can encourage our viewers to do the same. We know that what we broadcast has the power to change how we as consumers feel and act. What we see on our screens can shock us, inspire us, educate us, and entertain us. By partnering with the Behavioural Insights Team, we aimed to answer a simple question: how does the content we see on our screens influence the sustainable choices we make in our daily lives? In this study from BIT and Sky, we spoke to 3,500 people in all the six markets in Europe where Sky operates. We are hopeful the results of this study will be the beginning of a growing data set that will inspire broadcasters and content creators to work in partnership to encourage – and normalise – less carbon use by consumers. For the first time, we have the empirical evidence to help broadcasters understand how change can be achieved if we work together. We believe that by feeling closer to our planet, to the problems that it faces, and to the solutions available to protect it, consumers will truly feel empowered to act. Now we must all commit and work to deliver this. Offsite Comment: Big Media is turning into Big Brother 8th November 2021. See article from spiked-online.com by Brendan O’Neill TV news used to be about informing people. Now it’s about manipulating us. Now it’s about socially engineering us to make us more green. Now its ambition is to be a powerful tool of persuasion in order to transform viewers from the polluting pests we currently are into the eco-switched-on citizens of the future. At least that’s the conclusion one is forced to draw from the deeply chilling report commissioned by Sky and authored by the Behavioural Insights Team, which is part-owned by the Cabinet Office.

A bitter pill…

The government consults on banning all advertising for food that tastes good enforced by onerous new censorship and red tape requirements that will strangle British companies whilst advantaging US corporate giant.

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See press release from gov.uk See consultation propoals from gov.uk

The UK Government writes: We want your views on our proposal for a total online advertising restriction for HFSS (high in fat, salt or suger) products to reduce the amount of HFSS advertising children are exposed to online. This consultation closes at 11:59pm on 22 December 2020 Consultation description We’re asking questions on: what types of advertising will be restricted who will be liable for compliance enforcement of the restrictions In 2019 the government consulted on restricting advertising of HFSS for TV and online . It asked for views on whether to extend current advertising restrictions on broadcast TV and online media, including consulting on watershed restrictions. In July 2020 the government confirmed its intention to introduce a 9pm watershed on TV . This new consultation goes further and looks at how a total HFSS advertising restriction could be implemented online. It should be read with the 2019 consultation.

US Catholic League complains about Family Guy jokes

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See article from patheos.com See video from YouTube

US religious campaigners of the Catholic League have complained about the latest episode of Family Guy. The 8th November episode launched a few barbs at the catholic church in an episode about a Christening.Catholic League president Bill Donohue has written to South Park producers, Walt Disney, to complain about the jokes poking fun at the church. He asked: Why are so many in Hollywood bent on disparaging our Judeo-Christian heritage? Why do they single out Catholics? Why can’t they treat us the way they treat Muslims and gays? Why is Fox muddying the name of Walt Disney? Donohue detailed the segment of the episode he found offensive: Meg (The Daughter): Where’s the priest? Lois (The Mother) : Oh, the Church ran out of priests months ago because of all the diddling. Now they just have a rabbi fill in. The scene then cuts to a rabbi at a baptismal font where he makes this comment while doing the baptism. Rabbi : Welcome to the Christening. Now, before the child goes in the water, has it been at least 20 minutes since she ate? Joe (Father of Girl being baptised) : Yes, rabbi. Rabbi : Let’s dunk this kid like a doughnut. I hereby Christen this child in the name of Jesus Christ, who was killed by we-don’t-know-who, it’s not important. The last thing we want to do is point fingers. After the Baptism, the rabbi makes a joke about the Eucharist. Rabbi : Congratulations, sweetie, you’re a Christian. From now on, every Sunday you get to eat a hard cookie and pretend it’s a guy.

Retribution…Another religious broadcaster fined for inciting violence

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See article from ofcom.org.uk See Ofcom sanctions decision [pdf] from ofcom.org.uk

Ofcom explained its fine for Panjab Radio: Panjab Radio is a faith and cultural radio station for the UK Asian community, broadcasting in Punjabi. On 24 August 2018 at 22:00 Panjab Radio broadcast the Shamsher Singh Rai Programme, an occasional show on the station, with around four editions per month. The programme focused on Punjabi poetry and featured live calls from listeners expressing their feelings through poetry. During this programme, the presenter advocated, justified and supported violent retributive action against those he considered to have shown disrespect towards Sikh places of worship. He did this without challenge or other sufficient contextual justification. In accordance with Ofcom’s Procedures for the consideration of statutory sanctions in breaches of broadcast licences, Ofcom considered whether the Code breaches were serious, deliberate, repeated or reckless so as to warrant the imposition of a sanction on Panjab Radio. Having considered the representations made to us, Ofcom has decided to impose a financial penalty of £30,000 and to direct the Licensee to broadcast a statement of Ofcom’s findings on a date and in a form to be determined by Ofcom.

Sky Atlantic ends its experiment with showing adult content during the daytime but with PIN protection

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Thanks to Jon

About a month ago Sky Atlantic started showing adult content during daytime but with PIN protection.Sky Atlantic channel had broadcast: THE WIRE at Noon, in daily double-bills THE SOPRANOS in daily double-bills at 4:35pm GAME OF THRONES was shown at 7:45pm. The EPG warned of each show containing strong language/mature content.But now Sky Atlantic has dropped all of its PIN-coded daytime programming, and has returned back to regular, safe, daytime programming instead. So, away goes THE WIRE, RIVIERA, and THE SOPRANOS, and back comes CSI: CRIME SCENE INVESTIGATIONS, BLUE BLOODS and ELEMENTARY – all of which are either cut or rendered family-friendly. Seems the PIN-coding experiment wasn’t worth it for Sky.