Complaint
An item in this bulletin included a quote from the Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA).聽 A listener complained that it was wrong to give a platform to a think tank which refused to give information about its funding or its backers鈥 aims.
Outcome
The 麻豆官网首页入口鈥檚 guidelines on impartiality say 鈥We should not automatically assume that contributors from other organisations (such as academics, journalists, researchers and representatives of charities and think-tanks) are unbiased. 聽Appropriate information about their affiliations, funding and particular viewpoints should be made available to the audience, when relevant to the context鈥.聽 The context on this occasion was a report on a speech by the Health Secretary setting out new measures aimed at tackling poor performance in the NHS, including the re-introduction of hospital rankings.聽 In the ECU鈥檚 judgement, the item鈥檚 description of the IEA as a 鈥渇ree market think tank鈥 fulfilled the requirement to provide appropriate information for listeners to form their own view of the IEA鈥檚 comment.
Not upheld聽