Disclosure
in commercial radio current affairs programs
Part 1 Introductory
1 Name
of standard [see Note
1]
This standard is the Broadcasting Services
(Commercial Radio Current Affairs Disclosure) Standard 2000.
2 Duration
This standard commences on 15 January 2001.
3 Object
of standard
The object of this standard is to encourage
commercial radio broadcasting licensees to be responsive to the need for a fair
and accurate coverage of matters of public interest by requiring the disclosure
of commercial agreements that have the potential to affect the content of
current affairs programs.
4 Application
of standard
This standard applies to all commercial radio
broadcasting licensees who broadcast current affairs programs.
5 What
this standard does
This standard requires:
(a) on‑air disclosure during current
affairs programs of commercial agreements between sponsors and presenters that
have the potential to affect the content of those programs; and
(b) on‑air disclosure during current
affairs programs of the payment of production costs by advertisers and
sponsors; and
(c) licensees to keep a register of commercial
agreements between sponsors and presenters of current affairs programs and make
it available to the ABA and the public; and
(d) licensees to ensure that a condition of
employment of presenters of current affairs programs is that they comply with
relevant obligations imposed by the Act, the codes and this standard.
Part 2 Terms
used in this standard
6 Definitions
In this standard:
ABA means the Australian Broadcasting
Authority.
Act means the Broadcasting Services Act
1992.
advertisement means:
(a) material broadcast a substantial purpose of
which is to draw public attention to, or to promote, directly or indirectly, an
organisation, a product, service, belief or course of action; and
(b) consideration has been provided by or on
behalf of an organisation or a supplier of the product or service to a
licensee, or to a presenter, part‑time presenter, or an associate of a
presenter or part‑time presenter for the broadcast of that material.
associate of a presenter means:
(a) any person (including, without limitation, a
corporation or a trustee of a trust) who has, or purports to have, the right to
provide the services of the presenter or;
(b) any corporation or trust in which the
presenter has a greater than 50% company or beneficial interest, as the case
may be, or any corporation of which the presenter is a director.
associate of a part‑time presenter means:
(a) any person (including, without limitation, a
corporation or a trustee of a trust) who has, or purports to have, the right to
provide the services of the part‑time presenter or;
(b) any corporation or trust in which the part‑time
presenter has a greater than 50% company or beneficial interest, as the case
may be, or any corporation of which the part‑time presenter is a
director.
code means a code of practice for licensees
registered by the ABA under section 123 of the Act.
commercial agreement means an agreement,
arrangement or understanding, whether committed to writing or not:
(a) one of the purposes of which is that a
presenter or part‑time presenter or an associate of a presenter or a part‑time
presenter:
(i) promotes a third party and/or its
products or services or interests, or
(ii) refrains from making negative
comments about a sponsor, or
(iii) provides consultancy services in
respect of publicity, promotion or public relations, in exchange for any
benefit or valuable consideration; or
(b) which imposes
obligations on a presenter or part‑time presenter to provide services and
pursuant to which the presenter or part‑time presenter or an associate of
a presenter or part‑time presenter, receives from a person other than a
licensee, any benefit or consideration of $25,000 or more per annum.
A commercial agreement does not include an agreement, arrangement
or understanding between only a presenter or part‑time presenter and an
associate of the presenter or part‑time presenter.
consideration means any valuable
consideration other than the provision, at no charge, of a product or service
solely for review.
current affairs program
means a program a substantial purpose of which is to provide interviews,
analysis, commentary or discussion, including open‑line discussion with
listeners, about current social, economic or political issues.
disclosure announcement means a statement
broadcast by a presenter or part‑time presenter that a relevant
commercial agreement exists.
licensee means a holder of a commercial radio
broadcasting licence.
part‑time presenter means a presenter
who presents a program or programs for no more than a total of three (3) hours
per week when averaged over any continuous period of four (4) weeks.
presenter means the on‑air presenter of
a program broadcast by a licensee but does not include a part‑time
presenter or commentators or guests invited to appear on a program whether or
not they appear on the program regularly.
register means the register of current
commercial agreements referred to in part 5.
sponsor means:
(a) a party to a commercial agreement (other
than a presenter or part‑time presenter or an associate of a presenter or
part‑time presenter); and
(b) the party or parties who are to directly
benefit from the promotional or other services provided by a presenter or part‑time
presenter or an associate of a presenter or part‑time presenter pursuant
to a commercial agreement.
Part 3 Disclosure
of commercial agreements
7 On‑air
disclosure
(1) Subject to subsection (2), a licensee must cause to
be broadcast during a current affairs program a disclosure announcement at the
time of and as part of:
(a) a broadcast of any material in which the
name, products or services of a sponsor are mentioned; or
(b) a broadcast of any material in which an
agent, employee or officer of a sponsor is interviewed in relation to any
matter that concerns the sponsor, its products, services or interests; or
(c) any broadcast requested by a sponsor or
which is based on or similar to any material which is provided by a sponsor; or
(d) a broadcast of any material that directly
promotes any issue which is directly favourable to a sponsor.
(2) A disclosure announcement need not be broadcast:
(a) if the material is a news broadcast or
bulletin; or
(b) if the material is an advertisement broadcast
pursuant to an agreement between a licensee and an advertiser provided that the
advertisement is not presented in a manner whereby a reasonable listener would
be entitled to assume that the advertisement is:
(i) the reporting of news; or
(ii) the expression of opinion or
editorial comment; or
(c) if the relevant commercial agreement is
solely an agreement for the presenter or part‑time presenter to provide
writing services for a magazine or newspaper, to perform or appear in a film,
television program or theatrical production, or to provide voice‑over
services for an advertisement.
(3) A disclosure announcement must include at least one
of the following phrases:
(a) [name of sponsor] is a sponsor of mine;
(b) I have a commercial agreement with [name of
sponsor];
(c) [name of sponsor] is a sponsor of my
company, [name of company];
(d) [name of sponsor] has a commercial agreement
with my company, [name of company];
(e) [name of sponsor] is a sponsor of a company
of which I am a director, [name of company];
(f) [name of sponsor] has a commercial agreement
with a company of which I am a director, [name of company].
Part 4 Disclosure
of other commercial arrangements
8 Disclosure
of payment of production costs
If an advertiser or sponsor pays for or contributes
to the production costs associated with any particular current affairs program
broadcast by the licensee, the licensee must ensure that the fact of payment is
disclosed on‑air to listeners at least once per hour throughout the
program.
Part 5 Register
of current commercial agreements
9 Register
available to the public
(1) A licensee must keep a register of current
commercial agreements between sponsors and presenters or part‑time presenters
of current affairs programs or associates of such presenters or part‑time
presenters.
(2) A licensee must make the register available at the
station premises during business hours for inspection free of charge upon
request by any member of the public.
(3) A licensee must publish the register on any website
operated by or on behalf of the licensee and must link the register directly to
the home page of that website.
10 Contents
of register
(1) Subject to subsection (2), the register must record
the following particulars of each commercial agreement concerning presenters of
current affairs programs produced or commissioned by the licensee or purchased
from a person other than a licensee and associates of presenters:
(a) the date of the commercial agreement;
(b) the parties to the commercial agreement;
(c) a brief description of the obligations of
the presenter under the commercial agreement;
(d) the identity of each person providing a
benefit or consideration under the commercial agreement; and
(e) subject to subsection (5), the amount or
value of the benefit or consideration to be provided under the agreement.
(2) In circumstances where the associate of a presenter
is party to a commercial agreement that does not involve the provision of the services
of the presenter (in any capacity whatsoever) to the other party to the
agreement, the register need only record:
(a) the parties to the commercial agreement; and
(b) a brief description of the obligations of the
associate of the presenter under the commercial agreement.
(3) The register must record the following particulars
of each commercial agreement concerning part‑time presenters of current
affairs programs produced or commissioned by the licensee or purchased from a
person other than a licensee and associates of part‑time presenters:
(a) the parties to the commercial agreement; and
(b) a brief description of the obligations of the
part‑time presenter under the commercial agreement.
(4) The register must record the following particulars
in circumstances where the licensee broadcasts a current affairs program
produced or commissioned by a second licensee:
(a) the name of the current affairs program;
(b) the name of the second licensee;
(c) the address where the second licensee’s
register of current commercial agreements between sponsors and presenters or
part‑time presenters is available for inspection; and
(d) if a website is operated by or on behalf of
the second licensee, the address of that website.
(5) Subject to subsection (6), the register need only
record the amount or value of the benefit or consideration to be provided under
a commercial agreement as:
(a) $10,000 or less per annum;
(b) more than $10,000 but not more than $100,000
per annum; or
(c) more than $100,000 per annum.
(6) For the purposes of determining the value of the
benefit or consideration, the value of any benefit or consideration to be
provided under every agreement, arrangement or understanding with the same
sponsor is to be aggregated.
11 Notification
to the ABA
The licensee must provide to the ABA in writing, in
a form approved by the ABA, the particulars set out in:
(a) subsection 10 (1) in relation to each
commercial agreement provided to the licensee by each presenter or an associate
of a presenter, and
(b) subsection 10 (1) or (3), as the case may be,
in relation to each commercial agreement provided to the licensee by each part‑time
presenter or an associate of a part‑time presenter,
within 28 days of the commencement of this standard and any changes
within 14 days after the licensee is notified of those particulars.
Part 6 Obligations
of presenters
12 Presenters
to disclose commercial agreements to licensee
(1) A licensee must require that each presenter of
current affairs programs produced or commissioned by the licensee or purchased
from a person other than a licensee or associate of such a presenter provide
to the licensee:
(a) a copy of any existing written commercial
agreement to which the presenter or an associate of a presenter is a party;
(b) a copy of any further written commercial
agreement to which the presenter or an associate of a presenter is a party,
within seven (7) days of it being entered into; or
(c) if the commercial agreement is not in
writing, the particulars of each commercial agreement set out in subsection 10 (1).
(2) A licensee must require that each part‑time
presenter of current affairs programs produced or commissioned by the
licensee or purchased from a person other than a licensee or associate of such
a part‑time presenter provide to the licensee:
(a) the names of the parties to any existing
commercial agreement to which the part‑time presenter or an associate of
a part‑time presenter is a party; and
(b) within seven (7) days of it being entered
into, the names of the parties to any further commercial agreement to which the
part‑time presenter or an associate of a part‑time presenter is a
party; and
(c) a brief description of the obligations of
the part‑time presenter pursuant to any such commercial agreement.
13 Licensees
to require presenters to comply with certain obligations
A licensee must require that each presenter and
part‑time presenter comply with relevant obligations imposed on
the licensee by the Act, the codes and this standard.
14 Licensee
must not engage non‑compliant presenters
A licensee must not engage, or continue to engage,
the services of any presenter or part‑time presenter unless it is a
condition of that engagement that the presenter or part‑time presenter or
associate of the presenter or part‑time presenter, as the case may be,
complies with section 12.