Complaint
The channel鈥檚 output that day included a ticker tape which read 鈥淒onald Trump describes Kamala Harris as a radical liberal and a bum鈥. 聽A viewer complained this was an inaccurate and biased summary of his speech and inappropriate language to include before the watershed. 聽The ECU considered whether the coverage met the relevant standards set out in the Editorial Guidelines.
Outcome
The impartiality guidelines allow that output may legitimately focus on a particular aspect of any issue, provided there is a clear editorial justification for doing so. 聽The ECU noted the line accurately highlighted a significant aspect of a speech and other points were drawn out in the wider reporting on the channel throughout the morning. 聽It did not therefore agree with the complainant that the reference served to endorse hate-speech nor that it was indicative of bias. 聽The language used, however unpalatable to some, did not in the ECU鈥檚 view breach generally accepted standards for the time of broadcast.
Not Upheld