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The following is issued on behalf of the Broadcasting Authority:
At its meeting on March 21, the Broadcasting Authority considered three cases in respect of licensees' compliance with statutory requirements and codes of practices on programming standards:
(i) a case of non-compliance with statutory restriction on advertising time by Asia Television Limited (ATV) in the clock hour 9pm-10pm on the Home channel on December 21 and 30, 2008. ATV was advised to observe more closely the relevant provision in the Broadcasting Ordinance;
(ii) a complaint case concerning 124 public complaints about the radio programme "On a Clear Day" broadcast on the CR1 Channel of Hong Kong Commercial Broadcasting Company Limited (CR) from 6am to 10am on January 22, 23 and 30 and February 2. CR was advised to observe more closely the relevant provision in the Radio Code of Practice on Programme Standards; and
(iii) a complaint case concerning 679 public complaints mainly about the programme "Be My Guest" broadcast on the TVB Lifestyle Channel of TVB Pay Vision Limited, and the programme "Scoop" and the relevant news programmes on the Jade Channel of Television Broadcasts Limited (TVB) during the period from March 5-7. The complaints were classified as unsubstantiated.
Further details of the above cases are available in the Appendix.
The Broadcasting Authority also noted that in February, the Commissioner for Television and Entertainment Licensing (CTEL) dealt with 109 cases (209 complaints) under her delegated authority, of which four cases (four complaints) were classified as minor breaches and 61 cases (140 complaints) were unsubstantiated. The remaining 44 cases (65 complaints) were held to be outside the ambit of the Broadcasting Authority Ordinance. The monthly complaints figures dealt with by CTEL since February 2008 are shown in Figure 1. A chart showing the respective natures of the unsubstantiated complaints in February 2009 is at Figure 2. Please visit the Broadcasting Authority website: www.hkba.hk for further information of the complaints.
Appendix:
Case 1 - Non-compliance with Statutory Limit on Advertising Time by Asia Television Limited (ATV)
ATV reported to the Broadcasting Authority that the aggregate advertising time in the clock hour 9pm-10pm on Home channel on 21 and 30 December 2008 exceeded the statutory limit of 10 minutes by 30 seconds and five seconds respectively.
Section 11(1) of Schedule 4 to the Broadcasting Ordinance (Cap. 562) stipulates that, inter alia, the aggregate advertising time of a domestic free television programme service shall not exceed 10 minutes per clock hour between the period from 5pm to 11pm each day.
The Broadcasting Authority noted that ATV had taken the initiative to report the lapses to the Television and Entertainment Licensing Authority and introduced remedial measures, including full-scale training for staff on relevant regulations to prevent the recurrence of similar lapses in future.
The Broadcasting Authority decided that ATV was in breach of the provision on advertising time restriction. ATV was advised to observe more closely the relevant provision in the ordinance and to submit a report on the staff training programme within two weeks of the completion of the training.
Case 2 - Radio programme "On a Clear Day" broadcast on the CR1 Channel of Hong Kong Commercial Broadcasting Company Limited from 6am to 10am on January 22, 23 & 30 and February 2.
The Broadcasting Authority received complaints from 124 members of the public against the radio programme "On a Clear Day". The programme discussed a case of the felling of an old flame tree in Tai O involving the Lands Department. Most of the complaints were directed at the edition broadcast on January 22. The main substance of complaints was that:
(a) the programme host used crude, vulgar and abusive language indiscriminately and excessively to humiliate a government officer. His remarks were unfair and insulting to the officer concerned in making unjustifiable claims and unfounded accusations;
(b) the host's threat to post an obituary for the old flame tree outside the office of the officer concerned was threatening, intimidating and unnerving;
(c) the host made irresponsible and abusive use of public airwaves; and
(d) the programme had a bad influence on society, children and youth.
The Broadcasting Authority noted that (i) the programme was a personal view programme; (ii) in the edition on January 22, remarks like "иノ解解礚礚睛缠瑈常ì甧...常ì甧 (场)...焕礚瑈解镑甧抅濓瑈..." (English translation: Only such words as disgraceful, cheap, shameless, untrustworthy, inferior, substandard, unscrupulous are appropriate to describe you and your department. Words like crooked, shameless, contemptible and disgraceful are not sufficient to describe your unscrupulous...) were used to upbraid the concerned government officer; and (iii) the host also remarked in the same edition that he would post an obituary for the old flame tree on the door of the concerned officer around the Chinese New Year and invited listeners to make suggestions on an appropriate description for the Government's treatment of the old flame tree in Tai O.
The Broadcasting Authority investigated the complaint case according to established practice and concluded that:
(a) Regarding whether the programme had been handled in a responsible manner or had needlessly offended audiences, the Broadcasting Authority considered that there was insufficient evidence to suggest that the relevant licensee had not handled the programme in a responsible manner and that the audience was offended in this case.
(b) Regarding whether the alleged expressions were vulgar or unacceptable for broadcast, the Broadcasting Authority considered the expressions used in the programme were not unacceptable for broadcast in a radio programme not targeting children.
(c)Regarding whether the programme had exerted a bad influence on young persons and children, the Broadcasting Authority considered that as the programme was targeting mature listeners and was broadcast at a time not targeting children, it was unlikely to exert an adverse effect on young persons and children.
(d) Nevertheless, the Broadcasting Authority considered that though the host might have been frustrated over the handling of the felling of the tree, the way he highlighted the name of the officer concerned; made her the subject of personal abuses and attacks on her character, had gone beyond expression of his views on the issue. The authority considered that the host had not taken special care in his use of language in the edition of the programme on January 22 which was capable of adversely affecting the reputation of an individual and the licensee was in contravention of paragraph 34 of the Radio Code of Practice on Programme Standards (Radio Programme Code) (Note 1).
Hong Kong Commercial Broadcasting Company Limited was advised to observe more closely the relevant provision in the Radio Programme Code.
Case 3 - TV programme "Be My Guest" broadcast on the TVB Lifestyle Channel of TVB Pay Vision Limited, and "Scoop" and the relevant news programmes on the Jade Channel of Television Broadcasts Limited (TVB) during the period from March 5-7.
The Broadcasting Authority received 679 public complaints mainly about the programme "Be My Guest" broadcast on the TVB Lifestyle Channel of TVB Pay Vision Limited, and the programme "Scoop" and the relevant news programmes on the Jade Channel of TVB during the period from March 5-7. Most of the complainants disapproved of the concerned female interviewee and the broadcast of the interview excerpts in the concerned programmes on TVB Jade, and alleged that the programmes concerned would exert a bad influence on children and youth.
The Broadcasting Authority endorsed that the complaints were classified as unsubstantiated upon the advice of the Commissioner for Television and Entertainment Licensing as the Principal Executive Officer of the Broadcasting Authority, after careful investigation of the complaints and in exercise of her delegated authority under the Broadcasting Authority Ordinance (Cap. 391).
The authority respected the broadcaster's choice of artiste for interview and selection of topics for broadcast, which are matters of editorial decisions of the broadcaster concerned. Investigation indicated that nothing unsuitable for children's viewing, or for broadcast at the specified timeslots in the TVB Pay Vision's programme "Be My Guest" and TVB's programme "Scoop", nor anything in the TVB's news programme in breach of the relevant code (Note 2) governing presentation of news was found.
According to its established procedures, the Broadcasting Authority will convey these public complaints to the relevant licensees.
Note 1: The provision stipulates that licensees should take special care when their programmes are capable of adversely affecting the reputation of, among others, individuals.
Note 2: Chapter 9 of the Broadcasting Authority Generic Code of Practice on Television Programme Standards governs the presentation of news. The relevant provisions set out the requirements for accuracy, impartiality, fairness, etc.
Ends/Monday, March 30, 2009
Issued at HKT 15:00
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