The Broadcasting Coordination Council (BCC) warned publicly the radio station Jurnal FM for breaking the deontological norms in one of its programs, with the moderator having a discriminatory behavior, IPN reports.
According to rapporteur Mariana Cersan, in the program “X loves you” of July 29, 2013, a person of untraditional sexual orientation became the victim of a trick. The man, without knowing that it was a live radio program, answered questions of a sexual character put by the moderator, who presented himself as another person. He provided information about his place of residence, the name and other personal data. He found out that it was a hoax only towards the end of the discussion. The same day, the program was posted on the Internet and the visitors of the website left many comments inciting hatred and violence against the sexual minorities.
The man filed a complaint to the Information Center GenderDoc-M, which informed the Press Council. For its part, the Council notified the BCC.
BCC member Mariana Onceanu-Hadarca said that a number of provisions were violated in the program, but the most serious thing is that the human rights were violated and this is inadmissible for a public broadcaster. The fact that a trick was played is not condemnable. It is condemnable the way the moderator behaved.
The members of the BCC said the penalty – public warning – is too mild. But the Broadcasting Code provides for the gradual imposition of penalties. Jurnal FM committed the first violation of the kind. Dinu Ciocan said the program should be monitored in continuation.
Attending the BCC’s meeting, Press Council secretary Petru Macovei said the moderator of the program infringed on the private life of the man. “He mocked at this person and flouted the common sense of the listeners. The Press Council established that the journalistic deontological norms were seriously violated,” he stated.
The managers of Jurnal FM didn’t come to the meeting, but sent a letter informing that they consider there was committed no violation. According to them, the moderator of the program didn’t have a discriminatory behavior.
