U.K. radio station breaches Ofcom rules after mistakenly airing reports claiming King Charles had died
Radio Caroline has been found to have breached U.K. broadcasting rules after mistakenly airing pre-recorded reports claiming King Charles had d!ed in May.
The Office of Communications (Ofcom) issued its ruling Monday, Aug. 10, after receiving two complaints about the incident, which interrupted regular programming on the station.
The reports were broadcast during The Barry Marsh Show on May 19. Three pre-recorded statements about Charles, 77, were played, with the third claiming that “news media” had confirmed the King had d!ed.
The station then played the national anthem before repeating one of the statements. Ofcom said this was followed by around 16 minutes of silence before the regular program resumed.
The presenter later apologized after learning that the reports had been broadcast by mistake and confirmed that Charles was not d!ad.
“I’ve just been informed that we’ve played in error some information a little earlier,” the presenter said. “It is incorrect, it’s a technical issue, and of course we apologize.”
Ofcom said the incident breached two sections of its Broadcasting Code covering accuracy in news reporting and the prompt correction of significant mistakes.
Radio Caroline explained that the presenter was broadcasting remotely while a staff member was carrying out maintenance on a studio computer.
During the maintenance, the staff member found three files that had been prepared for use in the event of Charles’ d!ath. Although the files came with instructions requiring presenters and managers to follow certain procedures before they could be broadcast, the staff member played them out of curiosity.
The files interrupted the presenter’s remote stream and went out on air. The staff member stopped them after realizing what had happened and left the office.
The presenter, who was on a call at the time, did not initially realize the incorrect material had been broadcast. Once he became aware of the issue, he contacted a station engineer who was already investigating what had happened, and the regular program was restored.
Ofcom said Radio Caroline’s handling of the incident amounted to breaches of the requirements that news be reported accurately and that significant mistakes normally be acknowledged and corrected quickly.
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