The Compliance Role for other Departments
Media Planning
Separate guidelines and protocols (available from the legal & compliance department) set out in detail the procedures to be followed in respect of:
- Programme trails/promotions/ launch tapes;
- Presentation announcements;
- On-air warnings and flaggings;
- Legal apologies and corrections;
- Ofcom adjudication summaries;
- Promotions for Programme
- Support material;
- Appeals;
- Helplines;
- Competitions;
- Phone line details e.g. for voting or solicits for programme contributors.
Warnings and Flaggings
Each day the announcer for each Channel must run all warnings, flaggings and potentially problematic or sensitive announcements for that day past the duty lawyer from the legal & compliance department and record this in the daily ‘warnings and flaggings log'.
All relevant staff will be informed who the duty lawyer is for a particular day by a weekly duty lawyer memo, which contains the lawyer's full contact details.
Note: references to the ‘presentation department' later in this Handbook are, in the case of Channel 4, intended to refer to ‘Media Planning'.
Press Office
The material published by the press office (e.g. press tapes for review purposes and press launch clip tapes) is not regulated by Ofcom but can be the subject of legal action, such as libel, in the same way as programmes and can give rise to viewer trust and other corporate issues. Channel 4 is potentially liable for what newspapers publish on the basis of tapes/DVDs of preview/review copies of our programmes. Programmes may have a range of issues which make pre-broadcast publicity potentially problematic - this may include issues with contributors. It is vital therefore that press strategy for potentially contentious or sensitive programmes is discussed and agreed in advance with the commissioning editor and programme lawyer. All billings and press releases must be seen in advance by the programme's makers and the commissioning editor to ensure they are accurate and to identify any problems. Billings and press releases should also be cleared by the programme lawyer before publication, especially where the programme is in any way contentious or sensitive. The programme lawyer must also be consulted, along with the commissioning editor, before tapes/DVDs are sent to the press.
There is an agreed protocol covering this often highly sensitive area and copies are available from the legal & compliance department.
Other departments in the channel such as corporate relations or sponsorship may also put together clip tapes of the channel's programming. Please note that this material is the subject of this agreed protocol in a similar fashion to press material.
Creative Services, Trails and Marketing
All trails must be viewed and approved by a programme lawyer, or in some cases a compliance adviser, in the legal & compliance department, who will advise on any edits required, when the trail can be scheduled and whether, in exceptional cases, a warning is required. The commissioning editor must also view the trail for their programme before broadcast. Normally, for programmes with factual elements the programme maker should also see the trail in advance to identify any problems relating to viewer trust, accuracy or contributors. Marketing for all programmes of a sensitive or contentious nature must be discussed at an early stage with the commissioning editor and the relevant programme lawyer in the legal & compliance department who must approve the final version.
There is an agreed protocol covering this often highly sensitive area and copies are available from the legal & compliance department.
Viewer Enquiries
A separate guide (available from the legal & compliance department) also sets out in detail the procedures to be followed in respect of reference from the viewer enquiries department to the legal & compliance department of communications which potentially raise legal or compliance issues.
Where a particularly contentious programme is to be broadcast the commissioning editor responsible should give appropriate advance notice to the viewer enquiries department and, on the advice of the relevant programme lawyer, draft appropriate wording to assist the viewer enquiries department in dealing with calls.
Where a programme is likely to or does give rise to a significant number of complaints the commissioning editor, in consultation with the legal & compliance department and the Viewers' Editor, should draft a standard response to assist the viewer enquiries department in dealing with callers and respond to emails and letters.
Digital Channels
Channels including E4, More4 and Film4 have their own Editorial, Legal & Compliance procedures and reference-up procedures, copies of which are available from the legal & compliance department. In addition, editorial and compliance managers play a key role in the compliance process, including organising compliance for live streaming and reversioning of post-watershed shows which are repeated pre-watershed, identifying problems in the schedule and arranging warnings. These procedures should be read in the light of the principles outlined in this document.
New Media
There are separate written and/or established procedures for editorial staff involved in commissioning and producing content for dissemination on all new media platforms, particularly websites (including podcasting), mobile, red button and radio, to ensure that appropriate consultation takes place with lawyers from the legal & compliance department before material requiring advice is published/broadcast. These procedures must be viewed in the context of the principles outlined in this document and in particular the requirements of the Editorial Referral-Up section above.
Detailed guidelines and processes for the conduct of competitions, whether they are entered for free on the channels' websites, or involve a premium rate service, are in place. Similarly, all online and premium rate voting is governed by detailed rules and guidance designed to ensure the integrity of processes involved.
VOD
Video on Demand (‘VOD') is regulated by the Association for Television-On-Demand (‘ATVOD') and its code of practice, which must be followed. It is very similar to the Ofcom Code. One of its key provisions is that the Ofcom Code's requirements are adhered to. VOD's Compliance Manager deals with all regulatory content issues in close liaison with the programme lawyers in the legal & compliance department. Important issues include adequate systems for the protection of under 18s, the suitability of programmes for availability on VOD (catch-up and archive have different considerations), the need for carefully worded guidance and warnings and procedures for the take-down of programmes where required. There are special considerations concerning promotional material and clips for the VOD services. Further details are available from the VOD Compliance Manager.
Sponsorship
The sponsorship department should liaise regularly with the legal & compliance department on the suitability of sponsors for particular programmes, as well as the nature and content of proposed sponsor credits. Where appropriate this process must also involve the commissioning editors for the programmes concerned. Commissioning editors must always be made aware by the sponsorship department of sponsorship of any of the programmes for which they are editorially responsible. Any issues should be referred to the legal & compliance department, at the earliest appropriate stage, so that scripts can be considered and potentially problematic material dealt with before any filming takes place.
Channel 4 News
Channel 4 News has its own Compliance Manual and reference-up procedures. Please refer to the Head of News & Current Affairs or the Controller of Legal & Compliance for more details.
Radio
Radio will have its own procedures and protocols modelled on those in place for television and other visual media. The Ofcom Code also applies to radio and so does the Handbook and these referral-up procedures. References, therefore, to viewers includes listeners to radio programmes.