Letters: Ofcom not exploited
Jon Snow is absolutely right when he says that Ofcom’s complaints function must not be used by governments “to curb … investigative reporting [to] hide from public scrutiny” (A watchdog exploited, 5 February). But, contrary to the suggestion contained in your headline, Ofcom did not allow the Sri Lankan government to exploit our procedures, when it complained about Channel 4 News broadcasting footage of the apparent atrocities committed against the Tamils.
Ofcom has an excellent track record in defending freedom of speech for legitimate investigative journalism (for example, our decision in Channel 4’s Undercover Mosque).
In this Sri Lankan case, Ofcom did not take forward the Sri Lankan government’s fairness complaint and rejected its impartiality and accuracy complaint.
Ofcom has a statutory duty to ensure that broadcasters comply with the broadcasting code, irrespective of the identity of any complainant. As the Channel 4 News presenter points out – only parliament can change that.
Chris Banatvala
Director of standards, Ofcom
Related posts:
- Letters: Sri Lanka and C4
- A watchdog exploited | Jon Snow
- Channel 4 can’t play it both ways when it comes to the law
- Letters: Sri Lanka camps
