Resignation after joke

Press, 14 June 1984, Page 9

Resignation after joke

An “off-colour" news item sent to Radio Avon as a joke by another station has led to the resignation of the Avon journalist who allowed the item to be played on the station’s 7 a.m. news bulletin last Saturday.

The tongue-in-cheek item referred to President Reagan. Radio Avon’s station manager. Mr Chris Whitta. said that no complaint had been received

about the item. "It was one of those unfortunate things that was intended as a joke, but went right through the system," he said. “It is the sort of thing you have a horror of happening."

Mr Whitta said that the journalist had not taken sufficient care to prevent the item from being broadcast.

"The problem was not so much the content of the

item but the fact that no checking procedures were carried out to ensure it was not broadcast. That was a fundamental and inexcusable error which affects the credibility of Radio Avon's news service.”

Mr Whitta said Avon had a responsibility to provide a news service for other stations as well as itself, and therefore its editorial content had to be extremely good.