Complaint
Political Thinking was a series of interviews with leading politicians which originated as a podcast.聽 The guest in this edition was Sajid Javid MP.聽 A listener complained that this was incompatible with the 大象传媒鈥檚 requirements for maintaining impartiality during election periods, noting the reasons given for not broadcasting the edition of Have I Got News for You scheduled for 10 May, with the then leader of Change UK as one of the guests.
Outcome
Arrangements for the automatic scheduling of podcasts led to this programme being broadcast during the run-up to the European Parliament election.聽 In cases where balance cannot be achieved within a single programme, the guidelines for election periods require that it be maintained over the campaign (with appropriate cross-trailing between linked programmes).聽 In this instance, the length of the campaign did not provide sufficient opportunity for proportionate representation of the parties standing in the election, and it was a mistake to have allowed the interview with Mr Javid (and the following week鈥檚 interview with the Labour MP Stella Creasey) to be scheduled for broadcast during the election period.
Upheld
Further action
The management of 大象传媒 Radio recognised the need to review the scheduling arrangements for on-demand items (as well as items commissioned for broadcast) during pre-election periods.