Complaint
A listener complained that Vanessa Feltz’s appearances in promotional material related to Pink Casino created a conflict of interest in relation to coverage of gambling-related news stories in her programme, resulting in lack of due impartiality when the Labour Party’s proposed review of gambling regulation was reported in the 6am bulletin on 20 September 2018 but not mentioned in her programme of that date.
Outcome
Other news stories that morning were likely to have been of greater interest to Radio London’s audience, and the absence of the Labour Party story from the programme (and the rest of the day’s output) was a legitimate exercise of editorial discretion rather than evidence of bias. However, Ms Feltz’s promotional involvement risked giving an appearance of a conflict of interest, regardless of whether or not there was one in practice.
Partly upheld
Further action
The issues arising from the finding have been discussed with Vanessa Feltz, and her contract now provides more clarity about her arrangements with external organisations.