CARLTON'S OMAGH APOLOGY A SCANDAL
Carlton's Omagh apology a scandal
IT is a scandal that tonight Carlton TV will only apologise to viewers in Northern Ireland for its programme, Omagh: Thursday Night Live.
The Nicky Campbell talk show was shown across ALL the ITV regions just five days after the atrocity.
UTV received more than 1,000 complaints and the Independent Television Commission another 47.
The main complaint from viewers was that the programme's general approach was wrong and totally lacking in sensitivity.
The ITC, the independent television watchdog agreed. It found that Carlton TV showed "insufficient understanding of feelings" of people in Northern Ireland.
It also found that the "balance between the views of politicians and those of Omagh residents was wrong"; and that a simplistic phone poll of viewers throughout the UK about the peace process had caused "particular offence".
Despite these facts, the ITC has decided Carlton should not apologise to viewers in England, Scotland and Wales; and seeks to justify this by claiming that the majority of complaints came from viewers in Northern Ireland.
This is unacceptable. It is time Carlton and London-based broadcasters stopped treating Northern Ireland like a freak show.
They should allow the feelings of people here to be heard by ALL the viewers.
Instead, yet again, the ITC and Carlton have left us all questioning the ethics of the broadcasters.
IT is a scandal that tonight Carlton TV will only apologise to viewers in Northern Ireland for its programme, Omagh: Thursday Night Live.
The Nicky Campbell talk show was shown across ALL the ITV regions just five days after the atrocity.
UTV received more than 1,000 complaints and the Independent Television Commission another 47.
The main complaint from viewers was that the programme's general approach was wrong and totally lacking in sensitivity.
The ITC, the independent television watchdog agreed. It found that Carlton TV showed "insufficient understanding of feelings" of people in Northern Ireland.
It also found that the "balance between the views of politicians and those of Omagh residents was wrong"; and that a simplistic phone poll of viewers throughout the UK about the peace process had caused "particular offence".
Despite these facts, the ITC has decided Carlton should not apologise to viewers in England, Scotland and Wales; and seeks to justify this by claiming that the majority of complaints came from viewers in Northern Ireland.
This is unacceptable. It is time Carlton and London-based broadcasters stopped treating Northern Ireland like a freak show.
They should allow the feelings of people here to be heard by ALL the viewers.
Instead, yet again, the ITC and Carlton have left us all questioning the ethics of the broadcasters.
Further Information
Publisher: THE IRISH NEWS
Ref: IN/0240
Published Date: 09-Dec-98
Related Images
There have been no images archived for this article.