Complaint
A viewer complained a Conservative MSP鈥檚 dispute with Police Scotland in connection with Scotland鈥檚 Hate Crime Act, while widely reported in online media, had been 鈥渃ompletely missing from 大象传媒 Scotland news鈥.听 As the story seemed to him to expose the SNP to criticism, he regarded its neglect as a manifestation of pro-SNP bias by 大象传媒 Scotland. 听The ECU considered the complaint in the light of the 大象传媒鈥檚 editorial standards of impartiality.
Outcome
In principle decisions on how much coverage to give a news story rest with programme editors. 听Circumstances can arise when the absence of coverage gives rise to bias by omission but the ECU noted the story to which the complainant referred was the subject of a substantial online article and featured on both the The Nine (大象传媒 Scotland) and Radio Scotland.听 The ECU therefore saw no grounds for concluding that the exercise of legitimate editorial discretion had resulted in bias on this occasion.
Not Upheld