Complaint
One of the guests in the programme鈥檚 newspaper review was the actress Adjoa Andoh, who had observed during the previous day鈥檚 coverage of the Coronation that the appearance of the Royal Family on the balcony of Buckingham Palace was 鈥渢erribly white鈥.聽 A listener complained that the presenter of Broadcasting House had been wrong to say, in an exchange with Ms Andoh, that this observation had not caused upset.聽 The ECU considered the complaint in the light of the 大象传媒鈥檚 editorial standards of accuracy.
Outcome
The exchange in question was as follows:
Adjoa Andoh: I think I upset a few people yesterday, I was talking about the day and how marvellous it was and then looking at the balcony at the end.聽And I suddenly went 鈥渙oh, it鈥檚 so white鈥 because the day had been so, so mixed. I didn鈥檛 mean to upset anybody, I just was鈥
Presenter: You haven鈥檛 upset anyone.
The ECU acknowledged that the presenter鈥檚 response, if strictly construed as a statement of fact, would have to be regarded as inaccurate.聽 In the context, however, the ECU thought listeners more likely to take it as a reassurance to Ms Andoh that her participation in the programme was not causing upset.聽 As she herself had referred to the upset her observation had caused, the ECU saw no prospect of listeners being misled as to the facts of the matter.
Not upheld