Quarterly Summary: 1 July to 30 September 2010
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 July and 30 September 2010.
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 14,840 written contacts finalised during this period. Of these, complaints made up 51% of contacts with 7,526 complaints (comprising 7,564 issues).
Table 1: Written contacts finalised.
Audience and Consumer Affairs provided a personal response to 3,669 of these 7,526 complaints. 2,103 complaint contacts were referred to other areas of the Corporation for direct response, fourteen complaint contacts were handled by the Complaints Review Executive (CRE) and no substantive response was required for 1,740 complaint contacts.
Type of Contact Email Letter/Fax Other Total % of
Total
Complaint 7137 385 4 7526 51%
Appreciation / Request / Suggestion 6572 154 2 6728 45%
Other 516 70 0 586 4%
Grand Total 14225 609 6 14840 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 July-September quarter, the 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 22 days 64%
All contacts 21 days 67%
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 published 29 November 2010. Amended and republished 8 August 2011.
Table 3: Topics of complaint issues finalised.
4. Complaint outcomes
1,637 complaint issues were investigated by the Audience and Consumer Affairs
Investigations team. Of these, 134 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 132 21
Scheduling / program changes Change of format 32 11
Change of timeslot 12 3
Discontinuation of program 260 233
Interruption to regular schedule 258 184
Other 145 58
Too many repeats 40 10
Subtotal 879 520
Broadcast standards Inappropriate content Bad example 43 24 14
Bad language / profanity / swearing 67 51 39 3 7.7%
Drugs / smoking / alcohol 3 1 1
Nudity 6 5 5
Offence to religious feeling 24 22 15
Other 72 50 29 1 3.4%
Poor taste 68 32 20
Sex and sexuality 52 44 35 1 2.9%
Violence 39 32 26 2 7.7%
Intrusiveness / invasion of privacy N/A 12 7 4
News values / news content Not enough coverage 250 29 7
Other 167 21 6
Placement in bulletin 19
Too much coverage 105 11 1
Promotions - ABC programs and products Not as advertised / misleading / inconsistent 31 13 1
Other 22 11
Too few promotions 4 2
Too many promotions 100 35
Too intrusive 7 2
Too revealing 1 1
Sensitivity and portrayal N/A 7 3 2
Standards of interviewing Other 62 13 8
Poor context / research / background 43 12 8
Too easy on guest 48 21 12
Too tough / aggressive / rude to guest 153 68 64
Standards of presentation Language - poor terminology / misuse of word 50 6 Language - pronunciation / grammar / spelling 152 17
Other 844 138
Personal presentation 139 12
Program presentation / set design / camera work 144 21 Sound quality / voiceovers / background music 125 30
Subtotal 2859 734 297 7 2.4%
Corporate / Infrastructure Captions N/A 181 172 54 54 100.0%
Customer service / complaints handling N/A 152 113 44 9 20.5%
Internet - technical difficulties N/A 379 40 1
Management issues N/A 753 523
Transmission N/A 287 16
Donations N/A 1 1
Subtotal 1753 865 99 63 63.6%
Balance N/A 190 153 109 8 7.3%
Bias Anti-government 178 140 116
Anti-opposition 225 163 149
Other 262 200 156
Other political 42 29 21
Pro ALP 249 185 142
Pro Coalition 193 143 100
Pro-government 62 44 31
Pro-opposition 79 65 47
Factual inaccuracy N/A 342 295 250 54 21.6%
Failure to disclose N/A 17 13 10 1 10.0%
Incidental advertising - Non ABC products / logos N/A 51 45 31
Unfair treatment Denigration 28 19 13 1 7.7%
Discrimination 15 12 6
Other 45 26 19
Racism 34 27 22
Sexism 31 24 19
Subtotal 2043 1583 1241 64 5.2%
Other Other N/A 30 4
Subtotal 30 4
Grand Total 7564 3706 1637 134 8.2%
Fairness, accuracy &
independence
Total issues upheld
% of investigated
complaints upheld Total
issues closed
Issues responded
to by ACA Issues investigated
by ACA
