Quarterly Summary: 1 October to 31 December 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 October and 31 December 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 10,362 written contacts finalised during this period. Of these, complaints made up 46% of contacts with 4,726 complaints (comprising 4,771 issues).
Table 1: Written contacts finalised.
Audience and Consumer Affairs provided a personal response to 2,670 of these 4,726 complaints. 1,241 complaint contacts were referred to other areas of the Corporation for direct response, 21 complaint contacts were handled by the Complaints Review Executive (CRE) and no substantive response was required for 794 complaint contacts.
Type of Contact Email Letter/Fax Other Total % of
Total
Complaint 4404 319 3 4726 46%
Appreciation / Request / Suggestion 5032 107 1 5140 50%
Other 482 13 1 496 5%
Grand Total 9918 439 5 10362 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 October-December 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 21 days 70%
All contacts 20 days 72%
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 01 April 2011. Amended and republished 8 August 2011.
Table 3: Topics of complaint issues finalised.
4. Complaint outcomes
1,311 complaint issues were investigated by the Audience and Consumer Affairs
Investigations team. Of these, 137 issues (108 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 129 62
Scheduling / program changes Change of format 8 2
Change of timeslot 175 163
Discontinuation of program 158 136
Interruption to regular schedule 31 19
Other 224 171
Too many repeats 32 17
Subtotal 757 570
Broadcast standards Inappropriate content Bad example 52 44 19
Bad language / profanity / swearing 42 33 28 4 14.3%
Drugs / smoking / alcohol 6 6 3
Nudity 4 3 2
Offence to religious feeling 115 94 90
Other 68 54 26 4 15.4%
Poor taste 64 42 33
Sex and sexuality 53 44 36 1 2.8%
Violence 79 66 61 7 11.5%
Intrusiveness / invasion of privacy N/A 14 7 6 1 16.7%
News values / news content Not enough coverage 126 11 2
Other 111 13 7
Placement in bulletin 9
Too much coverage 63 5 3
Promotions - ABC programs and products Not as advertised / misleading / inconsistent 25 12 1
Other 20 11 2 1 50.0%
Too few promotions 3 3
Too many promotions 28 21
Too intrusive 11 10
Sensitivity and portrayal N/A 14 6 2
Standards of interviewing Other 23 6 2
Poor context / research / background 47 8 5
Too easy on guest 14 8 6
Too tough / aggressive / rude to guest 43 12 12
Standards of presentation Language - poor terminology / misuse of word 45 10 Language - pronunciation / grammar / spelling 167 19
Other 283 78
Personal presentation 123 17
Program presentation / set design / camera work 77 25 Sound quality / voiceovers / background music 91 50
Subtotal 1820 718 346 18 5.2%
Corporate / Infrastructure Captions N/A 71 65 15 14 93.3%
Customer service / complaints handling N/A 128 86 39 5 12.8%
Internet - technical difficulties N/A 286 22
Management issues N/A 69 39 3
Transmission N/A 344 156
Subtotal 898 368 57 19 33.3%
Balance N/A 134 118 99 8 8.1%
Bias Anti-government 37 35 32
Anti-opposition 34 29 27
Other 414 351 290 5 1.7%
Other political 30 24 20
Pro ALP 41 30 27
Pro Coalition 51 44 38
Pro-government 14 13 10
Pro-opposition 18 16 14
Factual inaccuracy N/A 293 240 214 69 32.2%
Failure to disclose N/A 34 31 31 15 48.4%
Incidental advertising - Non ABC products / logos N/A 27 20 19 3 15.8%
Unfair treatment Denigration 67 40 35
Discrimination 10 9 6
Other 31 17 15
Racism 35 28 25
Sexism 13 8 6
Subtotal 1283 1053 908 100 11.0%
Other Other N/A 13 5
Subtotal 13 5
Grand Total 4771 2714 1311 137 10.5%
Fairness, accuracy &
independence
Total issues upheld
% of investigated
complaints upheld Total
issues closed
Issues responded
to by ACA Issues investigated
by ACA
