Ireland’s broadcasting code places the onus on broadcasters and media outlets to ensure there is transparency around the political and business interests of panellists and pundits appearing on their programmes, the media regulator has said.
Aoife MacEvilly, commissioner for broadcasting at Coimisiún na Meán, was speaking to the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Media.
The committee met on Wednesday in the aftermath of the controversy over pundit and former politician Ivan Yates’s work as a political commentator during the presidential election campaign after providing media training to Fianna Fáil candidate Jim Gavin, an involvement he never disclosed.
Mr Yates will address the committee later on Wednesday evening.
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In the earlier committee session, Fianna Fáil TD Malcolm Byrne asked Ms MacEvilly whether Mr Yates did anything unlawful or illegal.
She said she appreciates that the controversy is “the focus” of the committee’s interest, but that Coimisiún na Meán is “not going to comment very specifically on the case in hand”.
In a general sense, Ms MacEvilly said the broadcasting code applies to broadcasters rather than individuals.
The onus is on them to have “measures in place to ensure that they can be aware” of their contributors’ interests – “whether personal, financial or otherwise” – that could conflict with the fairness or impartiality of their programming.
“I think the expectation for audiences is that the broadcaster would indicate if there is an interest or the reason that somebody has been brought on to comment on a particular topic, that is relevant to that,” Ms MacEvilly said.
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If a “particular interest” is declared, the broadcaster should either “provide transparency” or else decide “whether the person, due to that interest, should actually participate or not, and potentially withdraw the person”.
Coimisiún na Meán is currently conducting a review of the Yates controversy with RTÉ and Newstalk.
