Sir, – As the head of broadcast compliance at RTÉ during a number of elections and referendums, including that on the Eighth Amendment, and previously a producer and commissioning executive with the station, could I clarify some fundamental misunderstandings in Hugh Linehan's column on the documentary "The 8th" ("Did RTÉ fail the balance test by broadcasting The 8th?", August 14th)?
In terms of RTÉ’s responsibility to the public and under its own editorial guidelines, the Broadcasting Act 2009 and Broadcasting Authority of Ireland (BAI) editorial codes, there is no difference between a documentary commissioned by the station and a completed one for which the broadcast rights are acquired. The distinction made by Hugh Linehan is non-existent. And the fact that Netflix does not have similar editorial responsibilities is irrelevant. There is no “balance test” on RTÉ programming and never has been. The goal of my former RTÉ colleagues when covering issues of contentious public discussion is fairness, alongside objectivity and impartiality. One, just one, of the ways to achieve fairness during a referendum or election is through equitable – not necessarily equal – coverage of different points of view. The constant misuse of “balance’” in place of “fairness” – including, to be fair, by some RTÉ presenters – creates the impression that timing, or “clockwatching”, as Hugh Linehan calls it, is the only way to achieve fairness. The impartial handling of interviews and discussions by reporters and presenters is at least equally important, underpinned by an objective understanding of the different points of view. During a referendum, RTÉ journalists bear in mind that, while there may be a variety of perspectives on the question to be decided by the voter, in the end that decision is binary: Yes or No. When a referendum is over, the public broadcaster’s responsibility for editorial fairness does not evaporate, although it can become more complex.
I agree that “The 8th” was a lively and accomplished account of the experience of participants in the Yes campaign. But in the absence of a documentary on the opposing campaign – and I also agree with Mr Linehan that a documentary on that uneasy coalition could be fascinating – the representation by the public service broadcaster of a very difficult period of recent Irish history is incomplete. And arguably unfair to the 34 per cent of voters who said No, a significant part of the public to which RTÉ is responsible. – Yours, etc,
DAVID McKENNA,
Dublin 8.