Posts Tagged ‘ofcom’
February 3rd, 2012
BBC’s Persian TV service has faced further
intimidation in Iran. It has been
reported that relatives of BBC staff in London have been detained and threatened by Iranian intelligence agents; top presenters have been targeted by rumours; and one employee has subjected to an online interrogation in London after a family member in Iran was jailed.
Since its launch in 2009 channel has suffered jamming and deliberate attempts to interfere with its signal. Tensions between Britain and Iran have worsened in recent weeks, with British regulator Ofcom
revoking Iranian state broadcaster Press TV’s UK licence last month for breaching the Communications Act.
January 21st, 2012
Ofcom has
revoked the UK licence of Iranian broadcaster Press TV. In December Press TV was
fined £100,000 for broadcasting a 2009 interview with journalist and filmmaker Maziar Bahari, who was then being held in Evin Prison. Press TV has failed to pay the fine. Ofcom also concluded that the station, which featured shows presented by figures such as George Galloway, Yvonne Ridley and Ken Livingstone, was controlled from Tehran, a breach of UK broadcasting regulations.
May 24th, 2011
Iran’s state-run English language channel Press TV could face a hefty fine from UK TV regulators after it broadcast a prison interview with jailed journalist Maziar Bahari.
Ofcom found that the station had breached Bahari’s rights by broadcasting an interview in which he was forced to make a “televised statement about the role of the western media in the post-presidential election demonstrations”. Bahari was detained the summer of 2009, in the aftermath of that year’s Green Revolution. He was released in October after a
global campaign.
July 14th, 2010
The High Court ruling against the controversial disc jockey acknowledged Jon Gaunt’s right to free speech, but failed to uphold it, says Liberty’s Corinna Ferguson
(more…)
July 13th, 2010
On 13 July, radio presenter Jon Gaunt,
lost his judicial review against
Ofcom’s decision to censure him for describing a councillor as a Nazi.
Ofcom had found a breach of the
broadcasting code after Gaunt accused Redbridge Councillor Michael Stark of being a “Nazi”, “health Nazi” and an “ignorant pig” during a live debate on
talkSPORT about a policy banning smokers from becoming foster parents. However, despite the ruling the High Court established significant free speech rights for broadcasters. It recognised that “shock jock” style presenting constitutes political speech and thus must be afforded a great deal of protection. Furthermore, the term “Nazi” could and was used as political slang without denoting a political or ideological position. However, OFCOM’s initial verdict was upheld because Gaunt “lost his rag” and gratuitously offended the councillor by describing him as a an “ignorant pig”. Gaunt intends to appeal the decision.
June 23rd, 2009
Respect MP George Galloway has breached Ofcom’s impartiality rules after calling for listeners to attend anti-Israel protests on his radio show. Read more
here
May 11th, 2009
Gordon Ramsay’s Great British Nightmare breached rules by using “the most offensive” language 115 times in the first 40 minutes, Ofcom has ruled. Read more
here
April 3rd, 2009
Ofcom has fined the BBC £150,000 for breaches of the broadcasting code on Russell Brand’s Radio 2 show in October.
(more…)
