Ken Bruce’s radio show is under investigation for a potential breach of broadcasting rules after his new employer demanded that the government change the law to force criminal defendants into courtrooms.
The former Radio 2 presenter moved his morning show to the commercial outlet Greatest Hits Radio in March and it is having to deal with an Ofcom inquiry into the station’s “Face the Family” campaign, which was promoted on the programme.
Greatest Hits Radio tried to mobilise its listeners to push for a change in the law to require offenders to appear in court to hear their sentence. The campaign followed several high-profile cases where offenders – including the killers of Zara Aleena and nine-year-old Olivia Pratt-Korbel – failed to appear in court to hear victim impact statements and sentencing.
Listeners to Bruce’s show who tuned in for his Popmaster quiz in mid-April would have heard Greatest Hits Radio newsreaders promoting the campaign. The newsreaders directed listeners towards a parliamentary petition started by staff at the station’s parent company, Bauer Media, that demanded MPs debate a change in the law.
Under Ofcom’s rules, individual presenters are allowed to promote their personal political viewpoints so long as they demonstrate due impartiality and recognise the existence of alternative points of view. This allows the likes of LBC’s James O’Brien and TalkTV’s Piers Morgan to use their shows to broadcast strong views on politics.
But the same broadcasting code bans television and radio stations from promoting the opinions of a station’s owners and senior staff on matters of political controversy. GB News is already being investigated for the same potential breach as Greatest Hits Radio after it launched a campaign to save cash.
This rule limits the ability for broadcasters to run newspaper-style campaigns on behalf of its owners, although Bauer-owned local radio stations have often run such campaigns in the past, with Manchester’s Key 103 playing a role in securing “Clare’s law” on behalf of domestic violence victims.
An Ofcom spokesperson said: “We have opened an investigation into Greatest Hits Radio relating to its ‘Face the Family’ campaign. Our rules require all broadcasters to ensure that their programmes – whatever their genre – exclude all expressions of the views and opinions of the person providing the service on matters of political and industrial controversy or current public policy. This reflects the statutory requirements in the Communications Act 2003 as set by parliament.
“Ofcom guidance explains the ‘person providing the service’ is the licensee, the company officers and persons with an editorial responsibility for the service – rather than the individual presenters or guests that appear in the broadcaster’s programming. Our investigation does not seek to question the merits of the campaign itself.”
Bauer Media said: “We are working with Ofcom to better understand the ‘Face the Family’ campaign investigation, which ran in news bulletins in two local areas of the UK. The series is the latest in our tradition of local campaign journalism, which helps people who feel unheard have a voice. We are confident in our journalism and are committed to helping Ofcom with its investigation.”
