A couple of weeks ago BBC Media Editor Amol Rajan incorrectly stated live on air that a TV licence was needed by everyone who owns a TV.
Rajan and newsreader Rebecca Jones were discussing the breaking news that Director of BBC Studios Tim Davie was to be appointed as the next Director General.
Discussing the challenges ahead for Davie, Rajan mentioned the future funding of the BBC. He incorrectly described the TV licence fee in the following terms - "this universal fee which everyone's got to pay if they own a TV".
The offending comment went out live on the BBC News channel at 11.13 am on 20th June 2020.
We immediately complained the BBC about the inaccuracy of Rajan's statement. As regular readers will be aware a TV licence is needed for those properties where equipment is installed or used to receive TV programmes or BBC on-demand programmes. A TV licence is not legally required simply to own or possess a TV set or any other device capable of receiving TV programmes or BBC on-demand programmes.
We also told the BBC that if its journalists were going to purport to be experts on the TV licence fee, they really do need to be better informed on the subject before they go spouting their pearls of wisdom live on air. Despite massive criticism of the impartiality and accuracy of the BBC's news coverage, most people still naively take on trust anything the broadcaster says.
The BBC has just issued a response, in which it says: "I appreciate you had reservations about the accuracy of his statement that the Licence Fee must be paid by anyone "if they own a TV". This was a brief, off-the-cuff summary that occurred in a live environment, providing context to a conversation about audience outreach.
"Please be assured that there was no intention to obfuscate who is and is not required to pay the Licence Fee.
"Nevertheless, I appreciate you still might have reservations about this interview, and I have included your concerns on the Audience Feedback Report."
There we go then. No apology and no regrets. Off-the-cuff comments, even if they're total bollocks, are clearly an acceptable part of the BBC's live news coverage.
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