Cork's Red FM star Neil Prendeville has had his knuckles wrapped after the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland partially upheld a complaint by a Traveller rights group who claimed a segment on his show was “offensive” and “harmful”.
Louise Harrington, on behalf of Cork Traveller Women’s Network, made a complaint to the BAI over a segment on his show on June 16, 2010 at 10:30am, in relation to an interview with Councillor Ken O’Flynn, of Cork City Council, regarding living conditions on the Spring Lane halting site and in the context of a report, ‘No End in Site’, from the Ombudsman for Children’s Office (OCO).
The complainant is of the view the broadcast contained inaccurate and misleading information and was presented in a manner that was not objective or impartial.
Ms Harrington also complained she believes the topic of illegal dumping adjacent to the site was presented in the broadcast in a misleading manner which suggested the site residents were the perpetrators of the dumping.
Among her concerns also included was that she felt the broadcast was “offensive and harmful to residents of the site and to Travellers, more generally.”
“The complainant states that the interview included many anti-Traveller stereotypes and characterised site residents as unreasonable, dishonest, criminal and violent.
“The complainant believes that the tone of the interview and the multiple accusations of criminality, antisociality and blame, stigmatise and create mistrust of Travellers in society.
“The complainant believes the interviewee implied that parents on the site are neglecting and abusing their children, which was not challenged by the presenter.
“The complainant states that this serious allegation caused grave offence to parents living on the site. The complainant states that residents of the site have advised the Cork Traveller Women’s Network (CTWN) that this interview was harmful to them, with some expressing concerns about future harm to their prospects of securing better accommodation and how they may be treated by prospective neighbours if offered standard housing.
“The complaint also cited an example of one person informing CTWN of being ignored by other parents at school drop-off, who had been discussing this broadcast, and experiencing embarrassment and shame and feeling concern for how her daughter would be treated.”
But Cork’s Red FM responded to the complaint, saying that “there are clearly very different opinions on the factual content that the contributor made to the programme.”
In a statement to the BAI, the broadcaster states that the production team for the programme spoke to members of the Traveller community in Cork to get their perspective on conditions at Spring Lane site and some of those conversations were due to lead to on air contributions, but these individuals subsequently opted not to speak on radio.
They said: “The broadcaster notes that it cannot opt not to cover topics if the alternative view is not available or willing to discuss it publicly. The broadcaster claims that this programme has always given the Traveller community members an opportunity to discuss such issues.
“The broadcaster maintains that the presenter, in the interview with the Councillor, referred to “your version” and challenged the comments regarding children and alcohol consumption. The broadcaster claims it always tries to provide both perspectives on items discussed on the programme. The broadcaster offered to have the Cork Traveller Women’s Network or the Cork Traveller Visibility Group on the programme to discuss this issue and give their perspective.”
The BAI upheld the complaint, in part. The committee found Mr Prendeville “failed to sufficiently challenge the contributor’s views and the broadcast did not provide a wide variety of views on the subject or reflect the views of those who chose not to participate in the programme.”
But they did not find sufficient evidence of inaccuracies or misleading content, but the committee was critical of the broadcaster’s response to this complaint which demonstrated a lack of regard for its obligation to reflect the views of members of the Traveller community in Cork who the broadcaster said were contacted by the production team but who chose not to participate in the programme.
The BAI stated: “The Committee formed the view the broadcast had not engaged seriously with the OCO report and its contents and the Committee was severely critical of the quality of journalism demonstrated in the broadcast, which did not meet the requirements of fairness, objectivity and impartiality in the Code.”
“The committee noted the contributor made serious allegations concerning the residents of Spring Lane halting site, which were not adequately challenged by the presenter. The Committee formed the view that these allegations and the manner in which they were treated in the broadcast presented stereotypical views about Travellers and showed no respect for the people who live in the Spring Lane halting site.
“The committee did not believe that the context in which the programme was broadcast was a factor in this infringement of the Code. The Committee also found there was insufficient evidence to say that the broadcast contained harmful material as it is defined in the Code, that is, material that causes, mental, psychological or physical harm.
“However, the committee was of the view the broadcast contained an inappropriate and unjustifiable representation of the residents of Spring Lane halting site and of Travellers generally and that the content amounted to a stigmatisation of Travellers. The committee concluded the broadcast had infringed rules 4.1, 4.2 and 4.22 of the BAI Code of Fairness, Objectivity and Impartiality in News and Current Affairs and Principle 5 of BAI Code of Programme Standards. Accordingly, the committee upheld the complaint, in part.”
At meetings held in October 2021 and January 2022, the BAI considered and rejected 22 complaints, relating to shows on Clare FM’s Morning Focus with Alan Morrissey on July 12, 2021 and Newstalk’s Pat Kenny Show on October 13, 2021.
And 16 complaints to Claire Byrne Live on October 18, 2021 were also rejected.
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