OFCOM WARNED NOT TO IGNORE RACE
(15 October 2004)

Broadcasters could legitimately ignore race when vetting their output under a new draft code proposed by the Office of Communications (Ofcom), the CRE warned today. The CRE criticised Ofcom’s decision not to include specific reference to racial and related offence (such as religious offence). Trevor Phillips, CRE chair, warned that this omission could cause broadcasters not to give adequate attention to race, and that race relations could suffer as a result.

He said: These are sensitive times for relationships between communities, both internationally and domestically. If proper attention is not given to what is broadcast and how it is presented, our efforts to improve race relations could well suffer. It is never our intention to censor the media, but broadcasters must be conscious of the potential impact of their decisions and the need to reflect all points of view.

We would have hoped that Ofcom would have taken this opportunity to advise broadcasters on how best to approach the difficult issue of balancing freedom of expression on the one hand and ensuring that Britain’s diverse communities are not unnecessarily divided on the other.

Sadly, this draft Code makes no specific reference to race and thus provides no guarantee that broadcasters will give any consideration to racial matters when vetting their programming or advertising output. This is of grave concern; not least as it is likely that public trust in the regulatory process could be eroded.

Ofcom does not offer any explanation for the omission.

Although reference to race may be included in future ‘guidance’, this guidance has not yet been written and will not be consulted on, effectively denying the CRE the opportunity to input.

The omission will make the regulatory process more complicated and that members of the public will find it difficult to understand.

Ofcom has not taken into account its responsibilities under the Race Relations Act and the Communications Act when drafting the Code. "

Mr Phillips concluded that it is essential that members of the public have recourse to a simple and robust system for addressing complaints about racially offensive media content. He said: "We must never underestimate the power of the media to influence our thoughts and deeds. Equally, we must never forget its potential to cause us offence, hurt and upset.

People often assume that it is only print media, and the tabloid press in particular, that stereotype minorities or use misleading or offensive language and images when referring to vulnerable groups such as Muslims, asylum seekers, or Gypsies and Travellers. This is patently not the case.

We therefore urge Ofcom to heed our recommendation that the final Code should spell out the areas of offence it sees the Code as covering, and provide additional guidance on issues pertinent to racial and related offence."

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