Quarterly Summary: 1 January to 31 March 2009
This report provides information about audience contacts finalised by ABC Audience and Consumer Affairs and reviews completed by the ABC’s Complaints Review Executive between 1 January and 31 March 2009.
Audience and Consumer Affairs plays two distinct roles in responding to audience complaints. Where a written complaint suggests that the ABC may have breached its Editorial Policies or Code of Practice, Audience and Consumer Affairs will investigate the complaint and determine whether ABC editorial standards have been met. In cases where these standards have not been met, the complaint will be upheld (either fully or in part) and details published on our website. Audience and Consumer Affairs also provides an
audience liaison service for complaints which do not relate to editorial standards, such as matters of personal taste and preference. These complaints can include scheduling issues, preferences for different presenters, and so on. This report includes complaints in both of the categories described above.
This report outlines:
the overall composition of contacts finalised;
the timeliness of responses;
the subject matter of complaints finalised; and
the number of complaints upheld.
Summary details of all complaints upheld by ABC Audience and Consumer Affairs and all reviews finalised by the Complaints Review Executive during this period are available at http://about.abc.net.au/talk-to-the-abc/feedback-and-enquiries/upheld-complaints/. You can also read some of our recent responses to complaints and enquiries here -
http://about.abc.net.au/topics/.
1. Overview of contacts finalised: how many and how did we deal with them?
Overall there were 9,898 written contacts finalised during this period. Of these, complaints made up 33% of contacts with 3,306 complaints (comprising 3,369 issues).
Table 1: Written contacts finalised.
Audience and Consumer Affairs provided a personal response to 1,935 of these 3,306 complaints. 930 complaint contacts were referred to other areas of the Corporation for direct response, 11 complaint contacts were handled by the Complaints Review Executive (CRE) and no substantive response was required for 430 complaint contacts.
Type of Contact Email Letter/Fax Other Total % of
Total
Complaint 2960 328 18 3306 33%
Appreciation / Request / Suggestion 5915 190 7 6112 62%
Other 440 40 0 480 5%
Grand Total 9315 558 25 9898 100%
2. Timeliness of responses
Audience and Consumer Affairs seeks to respond to all contacts as quickly as possible, and aims to respond to all contacts within 28 days of receipt, in accordance with the timeliness standard for complaint handling that is specified in the ABC’s Editorial Policies. Due to the large volume of correspondence we receive, and the complex nature of some complaints and enquiries, responses may at times take longer than 28 days.
During the January-March quarter, the vast majority of our responses were provided within the specified 28 day period.
Table 2: Timeliness of responses provided by Audience and Consumer Affairs.
Type of contact Average response time % of responses provided within 28 days
Complaints 16 days 80%
All contacts 16 days 77%
3. Subject matter of complaints finalised
A single contact to the ABC can raise more than one issue. We aim to categorise each significant issue raised in the complaints we receive. The following table counts the number of issues raised in complaints contacts finalised by Audience and Consumer Affairs during the quarter, and shows how they were dealt with and their outcomes. The table also includes complaints reviewed by the CRE.
Report first published 28 April 2009. Corrected and republished 31 July 2009.
Table 3: Topics of complaint issues finalised.
4. Complaint outcomes
1,052 complaint issues were investigated by the Audience and Consumer Affairs
Investigations team. Of these, 133 issues (118 contacts) were upheld either fully or partially.
In each case where a complaint is upheld Audience and Consumer Affairs provides a written response to the complainant acknowledging the error. Details of each upheld complaint are also published in summary form on our website. Where appropriate, additional action is taken to rectify the mistake and/or ensure that the problem does not recur. Actions taken in response to upheld complaints can include the following: written apologies to
complainants; on-air corrections and apologies; counselling or reprimanding of staff;
amending programs for future broadcasts; and reviews of and improvements to procedures.
On occasion, a complaint may be upheld for more than one reason. Where possible, the corrective action taken is reported in the online summary of the upheld complaint.
Category Topic Sub topic
Audience preferences Quality - general N/A 128 59
Scheduling / program changes Change of format 20 11
Change of timeslot 22 20
Discontinuation of program 167 115
Interruption to regular schedule 70 55
Other 132 107
Too many repeats 15 12
Subtotal 554 379
Broadcast standards Inappropriate content Bad example 168 130 103 1 1.0%
Bad language / profanity / swearing 29 24 19 2 10.5%
Drugs / smoking / alcohol 4 3 3
Nudity 5 5 4
Offence to religious feeling 24 22 18
Other 49 39 27
Poor taste 31 20 17 1 5.9%
Sex and sexuality 17 13 12
Violence 19 14 13 3 23.1%
Intrusiveness / invasion of privacy N/A 5 4 4
News values / news content Not enough coverage 150 36 7
Other 31 2
Placement in bulletin 9 2 1
Too much coverage 72 15 4
Promotions - ABC programs and products Not as advertised / misleading / inconsistent 33 26 13 1 7.7%
Other 3 1
Too few promotions 5 4
Too many promotions 7 5
Too intrusive 2 1
Too revealing 1
Sensitivity and portrayal N/A 10 5 4
Standards of interviewing Other 14 4 1
Poor context / research / background 25 14 11
Too easy on guest 17 9 7
Too tough / aggressive / rude to guest 28 15 10
Standards of presentation Language - poor terminology / misuse of word 42 13 7 Language - pronunciation / grammar / spelling 144 24
Other 175 88 3
Personal presentation 107 12 1
Program presentation / set design / camera
work 32 18
Sound quality / voiceovers / background music 46 22 1
Subtotal 1304 590 290 8 2.8%
Corporate / Infrastructure Captions N/A 14 11
Customer service / complaints handling N/A 104 73 23 8 34.8%
Internet - technical difficulties N/A 154 20 1
Management issues N/A 31 22 3
Transmission N/A 167 26
Subtotal 470 152 27 8 29.6%
Balance N/A 70 64 55
Bias Anti-government 8 6 4
Anti-opposition 54 44 40
Other 313 260 209
Other political 31 24 21
Pro ALP 47 41 27
Pro Coalition 12 10 8
Pro-government 19 17 13
Pro-opposition 9 7 7
Factual inaccuracy N/A 309 262 239 111 46.4%
Failure to disclose N/A 6 6 3
Incidental advertising - Non ABC products / logos N/A 22 19 15 3 20.0%
Unfair treatment Denigration 49 44 34 2 5.9%
Discrimination 21 15 12
Other 23 19 17
Racism 33 31 28 1 3.6%
Sexism 6 5 2
Subtotal 1032 874 734 117 15.9%
Other Other N/A 9 2 1
Subtotal 9 2 1
Grand Total 3369 1997 1052 133 12.6%
Fairness, accuracy &
independence
Total issues upheld
% of investigated
complaints upheld Total
issues closed
Issues responded to by ACA
Issues investigated
by ACA
