While the ECU ruling today rightly confirms the focus of the article was a legitimate area for journalistic scrutiny, it is also a reminder that the precision of our language and the caveats we place around third-party research are very important in our journalism, particularly when covering topics of highly polarised debate. In the light of the ECU ruling, the ±«Óãtv has now made some amendments to the story to reflect where we got things wrong.
The ±«Óãtv will also provide more internal guidance to our news and programme teams on these issues. The final content of any guidance we provide to programme teams will be determined independently by the ±«Óãtv but we will take into account the breadth of perspectives, internally and externally.
The ±«Óãtv can do more to help all our audiences make sense of the current debate around sex, gender and identity. While individual news items tend to scrutinise very specific areas of debate, it’s important for the ±«Óãtv to find opportunities to step back and help audiences understand the current arguments, and how they are reflected within wider society today, both in the UK and internationally.
Finding by the Head of the Executive Complaints Unit (ECU)
±«Óãtv Press Office