CNN International has again been found in breach of the UK's broadcasting regulatory rules as imposed by the Office of Communications.  The programme in question was Connect the World broadcast on 6th January 2010, and related to a segment during the programme which carried sponsorship by the online VOIP firm, Skype.

Under UK regulations, news broadcasts cannot be sponsored in any way.

Ofcom said in their most recent broadcast bulletin;

Connect the World is a news and current affairs programme. The programme contains a short segment called Connector of the Day, in which a well known figure is interviewed by the presenter and is also asked questions which have been submitted by viewers. The Connector of the Day segment is sponsored by Skype.

A viewer was concerned that the Connector of the Day segment included matters of current affairs and issues reported in the news and questioned whether it was appropriate for sponsorship.

On viewing the programming, Ofcom noted that the seven minute segment occurred 45 minutes into the programme . After a commercial break, a sponsorship credit was broadcast in which the voiceover stated: Connector of the Day is sponsored by Skype. The Connector of the Day segment takes place in the same studio and is hosted by the same presenter, Becky Anderson, as the rest of the Connect the World programme.

The Connector of the Day guest was Michael Steele, the Chairman of the US Republican National Committee. The segment began with background information about the guest and referred to his new book: Now Steeles new book outlines his justifications for taking on the [US] President. Self-styled as a redeemer of conservative values, Michael Steele is our Connector of the Day.

During the interview, Mr Steele explained:

My responsibility though is to galvanise the party, to get it focussed on the mission in hand which is the upcoming elections. The ones we just finished for example in 09, the elections in Virginia and New Jersey for Governor, we were very successful and its because we were able to have our candidates take our principles, the things that we fundamentally believe as conservative Republicans and apply them to the various policies of the day.

The presenter later asked Mr Steele:

Three leading Democrats we hear are now not seeking re-election in 2010. What do you make of that and how does your party plan to take advantage of that?

Mr Steele responded:

These are mums and dads and blue collar workers who are taking the time to tell their elected officials to stop moving in a certain direction, to do things a certain way and I think when they feel that the elected officials arent listening they respond. And I think that these individuals whove decided not to run for re-election realise it will be a very tough argument to make to the people back home.

One of the two viewer questions put to Mr Steele was:

Is the everything Obama does is bad approach really helpful. And what things has Obama done in the last year that you support?

Mr Steele responded:

I dont want people to think that Republicans automatically oppose everything the administration is doing. That is not the case. For example in the area of national security and foreign policy, he has turned the Republicans in the Senate in particular, to stand with him on the decisions that hes made with respect to the prosecution of the war in Afghanistan, and certainly with the recent bombing attempt at Christmas, to help sort of help lay out and make the case for the course he wants to take. So there are those opportunities for us to come together. There are those differences though, and people should not read that because we disagree or have a different point of view, that we dont want to work with the Administration. We do.

The second of the two viewer questions put to Mr Steele was:

What is your package to re-establish the American Dream in the short term?

Mr Steele responded:

What Republicans are saying right now is with respect to the economy, lets trust the instinct of the entrepreneurs out there who create the jobs. Seventy per cent of the jobs that are held and are created in this country are by small business owners. So lets trust them to grow us out of the recession. Lets not put our faith first in government programmes and creating government related jobs, but lets create private sector jobs that stimulate the economy and create that infrastructure that you need financially to move into the future. On healthcare for example, we propose a host of issues that we think can complement the underlying concerns that Americans have with respect to cost. Tort reforms, small business pools, those types of things have been proposed but rejected. National security, again weve stood with the President in making sure that this country and the direction he wants to take and lead on national security is something that we achieve. So youre right, weve got to be in a position as a party to also put what we want to do on the table and thats what were trying to do now.

Ofcom asked the broadcaster for its comments under Rule 9.1 of the Code, which states that news and current affairs programmes on television may not be sponsored.

Response

Turner said that:

The segment format of the Connector of the Day is explicitly not a news and current affairs format, even though it sits in a current affairs show. CNN invites guests for the segment who have no relationship with the immediate news agenda of the programme in which the segment is placed. The guests are asked to answer questions which have been posed by CNNs viewers, not CNN, and are selected so as to avoid any connection with current events. Information provided about the guest is factual information for context.

Turner continued that the Code does not prohibit a politician being featured within a sponsored programme. The broadcaster submitted that It was explicit that the interview was in the context of a book [the guest] had recently published. CNN said that the segment did not contain news and current affairs: there was no news of the day which was touched upon, nor did the segment discuss or reflect immediate recent events.

Turner added that in the sequence of questioning, no questions posed by CNN and then the viewers touched on the news or immediate recent events, and throughout were framed in broad thoughtful and philosophical context.

Decision

Rule 9.1 of the Code prohibits news and current affairs programmes on television from being sponsored. This rule is directly derived from the requirements of the Audiovisual Media Services (AVMS) Directive. It supports the important principle that news and current affairs must be reported with due accuracy and presented with due impartiality. A broadcasters editorial control over the content of its news and current affairs programming should not be, or appear to be, compromised.

The Code states:

A current affairs programme is one that contains explanation and analysis of current events and issues, including material dealing with political or industrial controversy or with current public policy.

In this case, Ofcom noted that during the interview clear references were made to recent news events, i.e.:

• the Republicans success at the elections which had occurred two months before on 3 November 2009; and
• the fact that three leading Democrats had just announced (within a day of this edition of Connect the World), that they would stand down at the next US Senate mid-term elections in November 2010.

Further, during his response to the first of the two viewer questions, Mr Steele referred to Obamas current policies on national security and foreign policy as well as the Republicans support for those policies, i.e.:

For example in the area of national security and foreign policy, he [President Obama] has turned the Republicans in the Senate in particular, to stand with him on the decisions that hes made with respect to the prosecution of the war in Afghanistan, and certainly with the recent bombing attempt at Christmas, to help sort of help lay out and make the case for the course he wants to take.

The second viewer question put to Mr Steele was, What is your package to re-establish the American Dream in the short term?, to which he referred to the Republicans current policies on the economy, healthcare, business and national security.

Ofcom disagreed with the broadcaster that It was explicit that the interview was in the context of a book [the guest] had recently published. Ofcom noted that the book was only mentioned on two brief occasions during the segment, i.e. Steeles new book outlines his justifications for taking on the President and Have you had a response from Obama to your book yet?, to which Mr Steele replied, Not yet. In fact Im very much looking forward to sitting down with the President at some point and discussing and talking with him

While a politician may appear in a sponsored programme, discussions or topics covered cannot be about news, or feature explanation or analysis of current events and issues, including material dealing with political or industrial controversy or with current public policy. Further, it appeared to Ofcom that Turner had argued that the questions put to Mr Steele could not be construed as current affairs content because they had not been put to him by CNN directly, but by viewers. Irrespective of the source of material, it is principally the subject matter that determines whether content meets the Codes definition of current affairs.

In this case, Ofcom considered that Mr Steele was asked to provide by both the presenter, and by means of the questions submitted by viewers, his explanation and analysis of both President Obamas and the Republican partys current policies. The segment also contained discussion of the current news issue of the three leading Democrats who had just announced their intention not to stand at the next election.

Having taken these issues into account, Ofcom found the programme in breach of Rule 9.1 of the Code.

This breach will be held on record in relation to the following licences:

• TLCS 103 licensed to Turner Broadcasting System Europe Limited.
• DTPS 042 licensed to Turner Entertainment Networks International Limited.

Ofcom has significant concerns with Turners compliance with Rule 9.1 of the Code. In light of this, Ofcom is requiring the broadcaster to attend a meeting to discuss these concerns. Further, Ofcom is putting the licensee on notice that any further breaches of Rule 9.1 will be taken extremely seriously and in such circumstances Ofcom may consider further regulatory action.

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