Ofcom: small UK station breached rules after false announcements that King Charles had died
Ofcom found the station breached rules after pre-recorded statements claiming the 77-year-old monarch had died were played during a music show.
British regulator Ofcom has ruled that a small music station breached broadcasting rules after it accidentally aired pre-recorded announcements claiming King Charles III had died.
The incident took place on 19 May when Radio Carolina broadcast three prepared statements during the Barry Marsh show that asserted the 77-year-old monarch had died, briefly replacing the station's usual music output. Ofcom said it received two complaints about the broadcasts.
One of the pre-recorded announcements stated that "the media" had confirmed the death of King Charles, after which the station played the national anthem and then one of the statements again; the regulator's report says this was followed by around 16 minutes of silence.
Station: files played out of curiosity
Radio Carolina told Ofcom that the presenter was transmitting from a remote location at the time. A member of staff carrying out maintenance on the studio computer discovered three files labelled for the king's death, accompanied by "a set of strict instructions for presenters and managers" that should be followed before airing.
According to the station, that employee — "out of curiosity" — played the files, which interrupted the remote stream and put the recordings on air. Once they realised what had happened the employee stopped playing the files and left the office. The presenter, who was on the call, did not notice the erroneous broadcast; when he became aware he contacted an engineer who already knew what had occurred and the normal programme was resumed.
The presenter later apologised to listeners about 30 minutes after the statements were aired, confirming the king was not dead. "I have just been informed that earlier we mistakenly broadcast some information, I didn't hear this myself, but it is inaccurate, it's a technical problem and of course we apologise," he said.
Ofcom's bulletin on Monday, 10 August, stated the broadcaster breached two rules under the Broadcasting Code, including that news "in any form" must be reported with due accuracy and presented with due impartiality, and that significant errors should normally be promptly acknowledged and corrected on air.
Radio Carolina said the employee was reprimanded and has apologised, the files were moved to an external hard drive and staff were reminded of the relevant procedures.
Photo: Скриншот/Јутјуб
