No need for equal time in abortion debate coverage

RTÉ will not be restricted to clock-watching in a bid to give both sides of the abortion debate identical airtime.

Instead, television and radio presenters have been told by the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland to put a greater emphasis on fairness and impartiality.

New guidelines issued ahead of the likely vote on May 25 do include the traditional moratorium on broadcast media from 2pm on the day before voting.

In recent years, the ban on debate in the hours before polling has been called into question by the growth of social media. There are some fears that the vacuum could be filled by rogue elements online and potentially ‘fake news’ – but the BAI cites the fact some of the islands vote earlier than elsewhere in the country among the reasons for a moratorium.

Chief executive of the BAI Michael O’Keeffe said: “The guidelines published today include a strong emphasis on how fairness, objectivity and impartiality can be achieved, and how this is broader than a consideration of airtime for campaign groups.

“The BAI is keen to emphasise that this does not include a requirement for artificial balance.”

Welcoming the clarification from the BAI, Children’s Minister Katherine Zappone said: “It is clear the previous approach of 50/50 airtime for each side was not serving the public well.

“It often reduced debate to an exercise in clock-watching rather than informing viewers and listeners.”

The guidelines also warn broadcasters at all networks to have appropriate policies and procedures for handling on-air contributions via social media.

“These policies and practices must be applied where social media is referenced onair in the context of referenda coverage.

“Given the importance of referenda, additional steps should be implemented by broadcasters to ensure that onair references to social media are accurate, fair, objective and impartial,” they said.