Broadcast News – The BBC’s Editorial Guidelines

Maintaining Impartiality

 News & Current Affairs

News and current affairs programmes may deal with any issue, cause, organisation or individual. People who work on these programmes should have no outside interests or commitments which could damage the BBC’s reputation for impartiality, fairness and integrity.

Presenters and reporters primarily associated with the BBC.

Those known to the public primarily as presenters of, or reporters on, BBC news programmes or programmes about current affairs, must be seen to be impartial. It is important that no off-air activity, including writing, the giving of interviews or the making of speeches, leads to any doubt about their objectivity on-air. If such presenters or reporters publicly express personal views off-air on controversial issues, then their on-air role may be severely compromised. It is crucial that in both their BBC work and in non BBC activities such as writing, speaking or giving interviews, they do not:-

   *  state how they vote or express support for any political party
   * express views of or against any policy which is a matter of
     current party political debate
   *  advocate any particular position on an issue of current public

controversy or debate
*   exhort a change in high profile public policy. 

 

 

 

If, in an exceptional case, such a presenter or reporter writes or speaks off-air in favour of one position on an issue of current public controversy, this could give rise to concerns about impartiality. The relevant Director or Head of Department should give very careful consideration as to whether there is an actual conflict of interest and whether they should declare their interest on-air or not present items or conduct interviews on the issue.

Permission must be sought from the relevant Director, Head of Department or their nominee before outside writing or speaking commitments are undertaken about current affairs or matters of current public controversy or debate.(See section 3 below).

When making judgements about what off-air activities are acceptable, the Director or Head of Department should take into account the degree to which a news or current affairs reporter or presenter is directly identified with the BBC and therefore how far their views are likely to be construed to be the views of the BBC. There may be particular constraints on those who bear titles such as “BBC…Editor” or “BBC…correspondent”.