Coimisiún na Meán (CnaM) has launched a consultation process on revised codes and rules for radio and television broadcasters.

The media watchdog says that the codes and rules need to be updated to comply with the EU Audiovisual Media Services Directive (AVMSD).

The directive provides for minimum standards and obligations that media-service providers must adhere to in a variety of areas – including child safety, the accessibility of their services, and the prohibition of content that incites hatred.

Complaints procedure

Aoife MacEvilly (commissioner in charge of broadcasting and video on demand) said that the proposed changes included a new complaints procedure for members of the public where they believe that a broadcaster has failed to comply with a code or rule.

The consultation runs from today (4 September) until 3 October.

It covers the following draft sets of guidelines:

• General Commercial Communications Code, which sets out rules for broadcasters on commercial communications – including advertisements, sponsorships, and product placement,
• Children’s Commercial Communications Code, which sets out additional rules for commercial communications directed at children,
• Code of Programme Standards, which sets out principles applying to editorial content with a view to minimising harm or undue offence,
• Rules on Advertising and Teleshopping, which set limits on the level of advertising and teleshopping that broadcasters may have as part of their services,
• Code of Fairness, Objectivity and Impartiality in News and Current Affairs – principles for broadcasters to apply to achieve fairness, objectivity, and impartiality in news and current -affairs coverage, and
• Short News Reporting Code, which allows for short news extracts of events broadcast that are of interest to the public to be used by other broadcasters for the purposes of news reporting.