Post by Teddy Bear on Jul 30, 2008 21:44:44 GMT
Despite Mark Thompson telling us what great value the BBC is, the fact that approximately 3000 licence fees must be used to pay the fine imposed on it for the various telephone scams perpetrated that have so far come to light cast severe doubt on this statement.
He obviously doesn't understand the values needed by society else he wouldn't dare use that word. Anyone who pays the BBC to do what they do are contributing to the core destruction of this society and no argument could convince me otherwise.
It's 'great value' to those like Thompson who milk the society and give little in return.
He obviously doesn't understand the values needed by society else he wouldn't dare use that word. Anyone who pays the BBC to do what they do are contributing to the core destruction of this society and no argument could convince me otherwise.
It's 'great value' to those like Thompson who milk the society and give little in return.
BBC fined £400,000 by Ofcom for deceiving viewers
The BBC has been fined £400,000 by the broadcasting watchdog for faking competition winners and deceiving viewers on a string of radio and flagship television programmes.
By Nicole Martin, Digital and Media Correspondent
Last Updated: 1:38PM BST 30 Jul 2008
Ofcom imposed the fine, the largest it has ever handed the corporation, in relation to eight phone-in competitions on TV shows such as Comic Relief, Sport Relief and Children in Need, and radio shows, including The Jo Whiley Show on Radio 1 and Russell Brand on BBC6.
In all these cases Ofcom found that viewers were duped by production staff who made up the names of winners or even posed as contestants themselves.
Its investigation also found that in some cases production teams encouraged listeners to enter competitions even though they had no chance of winning.
The regulator said: "Ofcom considered that these breaches of the (broadcasting) code were very serious. In each of these cases the BBC deceived its audience by faking winners of competitions and deliberately conducting competitions unfairly.
"Overall, Ofcom found that the BBC failed to have adequate management oversight of its compliance and training procedures to ensure that the audiences were not misled."
In March last year a member of the production team posed as a winner on a phone-in competition on Comic Relief on BBC One, and a similar scenario happened on a Sport Relief phone-in in July 2006. On Children in Need, in 2005, the name of a fictitious winner was read out on air.
On the Russell Brand show on BBC6 Music, a member of staff posed as a competition winner in an edition of the show that was billed as live but was in fact pre-recorded.
Other BBC shows involved in the ruling include the Liz Kershaw Show on BBC6 Music, the Clare McDonnell Show on the same digital station, and the children's series TMi on BBC2 and CBBC.
The BBC Trust, which holds the corporation to account, said it regretted that the fine would lead to a loss of licence fee payers' money
"Ofcom's decisions today relate to cases considered by the BBC Trust in 2007 which led to remedial action by the BBC and significant changes in the way the BBC compiles competitions and programmes," it said. "The Trust regrets that these serious breaches by the BBC have led to a financial penalty being applied by Ofcom and the loss of licence fee payers' money as a result."
It added: "We recognise that the penalty in these cases reflects that the breaches were serious, deliberate and in some cases repeated. These editorial failures were serious and, through our work, we are confident they have been taken seriously by those involved.
The penalty comes almost a year after the BBC was fined £50,000 for faking a competition winner on Blue Peter, while the corporation faces another fine for fixing an online poll which had asked children to name the show's cat.
ITV has previously been fined £5.67 million for cheating viewers out of millions of pounds. The BBC is protected against huge fines because it is a publicly funded organization.
The BBC has been fined £400,000 by the broadcasting watchdog for faking competition winners and deceiving viewers on a string of radio and flagship television programmes.
By Nicole Martin, Digital and Media Correspondent
Last Updated: 1:38PM BST 30 Jul 2008
Ofcom imposed the fine, the largest it has ever handed the corporation, in relation to eight phone-in competitions on TV shows such as Comic Relief, Sport Relief and Children in Need, and radio shows, including The Jo Whiley Show on Radio 1 and Russell Brand on BBC6.
In all these cases Ofcom found that viewers were duped by production staff who made up the names of winners or even posed as contestants themselves.
Its investigation also found that in some cases production teams encouraged listeners to enter competitions even though they had no chance of winning.
The regulator said: "Ofcom considered that these breaches of the (broadcasting) code were very serious. In each of these cases the BBC deceived its audience by faking winners of competitions and deliberately conducting competitions unfairly.
"Overall, Ofcom found that the BBC failed to have adequate management oversight of its compliance and training procedures to ensure that the audiences were not misled."
In March last year a member of the production team posed as a winner on a phone-in competition on Comic Relief on BBC One, and a similar scenario happened on a Sport Relief phone-in in July 2006. On Children in Need, in 2005, the name of a fictitious winner was read out on air.
On the Russell Brand show on BBC6 Music, a member of staff posed as a competition winner in an edition of the show that was billed as live but was in fact pre-recorded.
Other BBC shows involved in the ruling include the Liz Kershaw Show on BBC6 Music, the Clare McDonnell Show on the same digital station, and the children's series TMi on BBC2 and CBBC.
The BBC Trust, which holds the corporation to account, said it regretted that the fine would lead to a loss of licence fee payers' money
"Ofcom's decisions today relate to cases considered by the BBC Trust in 2007 which led to remedial action by the BBC and significant changes in the way the BBC compiles competitions and programmes," it said. "The Trust regrets that these serious breaches by the BBC have led to a financial penalty being applied by Ofcom and the loss of licence fee payers' money as a result."
It added: "We recognise that the penalty in these cases reflects that the breaches were serious, deliberate and in some cases repeated. These editorial failures were serious and, through our work, we are confident they have been taken seriously by those involved.
The penalty comes almost a year after the BBC was fined £50,000 for faking a competition winner on Blue Peter, while the corporation faces another fine for fixing an online poll which had asked children to name the show's cat.
ITV has previously been fined £5.67 million for cheating viewers out of millions of pounds. The BBC is protected against huge fines because it is a publicly funded organization.