大象传媒

At its meeting on 30 October 2008, the Editorial Standards Committee of the 大象传媒 Trust concluded that the events surrounding the editions of the Russell Brand show broadcast on 18 and 25 October 2008 had demonstrated an inadequacy in the editorial control and compliance procedures in the non-news areas of the 大象传媒's Audio and Music department, and called for the Director-General to present a plan as to how they would be strengthened.

The Editorial Standards Committee also committed itself to carrying out an independent validation of the effectiveness of the measures taken, once they had been implemented.

锘縏he Editorial Standards Committee investigation into the Russell Brand show identified the following failures within the 大象传媒's Audio & Music department:

• a failure to follow the compliance procedures in place
• a failure of editorial judgement in relation to both privacy and offence
• a failure to exercise adequate editorial control over material supplied by an independent producer

In December 2008, the Executive reported to the Trust that it had introduced the following measures to address those shortcomings:

• a new 'High Risk Programmes Register' had been introduced
• new guidance had been issued to clarify the mandatory requirements for compliance for pre-recorded programmes
• the process was underway to recruit a full-time Head of Editorial Standards for 大象传媒 Audio & Music, as well as a new Controller of Radio 2 and 6 Music, and Compliance Editor for Radio 2 and 6 Music

大象传媒 Audio & Music department had implemented a number of actions to help manage any risks posed when a programme is made by an independent production company owned by the presenter or performer who features in the programme.

In May 2009, The Executive made a further report to the Trust that, with reference to bullet point three, above:

• Paul Smith had been appointed as the Head of Editorial Standards for 大象传媒 Audio & Music; Bob Shennan had been appointed as Controller of Radio 2 and 6 Music; and Joe Graham had been appointed as Compliance Editor for Radio 2 and 6 Music.

In carrying out the Trust's review of the effectiveness of these measures, the review team will be asked to address three specific issues:

• the degree to which the measures adopted by the 大象传媒 address the shortcomings exposed by the events leading up to the broadcasts, as well as the broadcasts themselves
• the effectiveness of the implementation of these measures, including an assessment of the adequacy of any training or other form of promulgation, aimed both at the in-house and the independent production community with a focus on the understanding of risk and clarity as to responsibility at all stages of the process
• the adequacy of the 大象传媒's plans to monitor their implementation, to ensure that any necessary modifications are adopted

锘緼s well as studying the internal reports and findings by the 大象传媒 Trust and by Ofcom related to the original incidents, the review team will also take as their starting point any compliance procedures put in place by the 大象传媒 Audio & Music department since October 2008. They will also conduct interviews with key members of staff in the Audio and Music.

The report will be published on the Trust's web site.

锘縏he review will be carried out by Tim Suter, former Partner for Content and Standards at Ofcom, and Tony Stoller, former Chief Executive of the Radio Authority. The independent validation work will be overseen by the Editorial Standards Committee.

锘緿ate Event

September 2009 Review begins and terms of reference are published

Winter 2009/2010 Review team report to the Trust

Spring 2010 Final report published by the Trust