Complaint
The programme included a report on the general election campaign in the Upper Bann constituency, followed by a discussion with two guests, one described as a “political commentator†and the other as a “former SDLP MLAâ€. John O’Dowd, the Sinn Fein candidate in the constituency, complained that the latter was in no sense an independent commentator (having signed the nomination papers of his SDLP opponent) and that the item was unfair to him and lacked impartiality in relation to his party.
Outcome
The guest in question was not presented as an independent commentator, and the description of her as a “former SDLP MLA†gave listeners sufficient indication of her likely viewpoint. However, she was given considerable opportunity to dispute Mr O’Dowd’s statement in the report that “There’s only two parties that can win this seat. It’s either the DUP or Sinn Fein†and to put the case for voting for the SDLP in the constituency. While this did not amount to unfairness to Mr O’Dowd personally, it fell short of due impartiality in relation to his party.
Partly upheld
Further action
The management of Â鶹ԼÅÄ Northern Ireland briefed the teams involved on key learnings as these related to due impartiality and the handling of discussions of this sort. They subsequently took care to ensure that commentators who had signed the nomination papers for candidates in the general election were not invited to take part in constituency-specific discussions and also that any relevant party political affiliations were made clear to Â鶹ԼÅÄ audiences.