VISIONTV PRODUCTIONS

The policies in this document apply to all in-house current affairs or information programs and to all VisionTV online information material generated by those programs.

INTERPRETATION

Should uncertainty arise as to the application of the policy, or should exceptional or unforeseen circumstances arise, the matter is to be referred to the Senior Vice President of Programming or a senior designate with editorial responsibility. Given the nature of information or current affairs programs decisions will have to be made in a timely manner.

CREDIBILITY

The information reports or reflects equitably the relevant facts and significant points of view; it deals fairly and ethically with persons, institutions, issues and events.

In the engagement and assignment of persons working in information programs, the organization must be sensitive to their published views, their personal involvements and their associations. Commentators will present opinion but this opinion will clearly be presented as such.

RANGE OF SUBJECTS

VisionTV would fail to live up to its mandate if, in the attempt to upset no one, to disturb no institution, it undertook to limit the comprehensiveness of its reporting of contemporary society. Programming should not always be limited to what the largest audience wants to know; it must include what the public is entitled and needs to know. This implies no disregard for expressed taste but recognition of the requirement for a source of comprehensive information.

BALANCE

In-house information programs reflect the mandate of VisionTV, which includes fostering understanding of cultures and religions and providing alternative information. In pursuit of the concepts of balance listed below, the mandate must take precedence in information programs. In many cases, balance is achieved by the overall VisionTV schedule, as opposed to a single information series.

VisionTV programs dealing with matters of public interest on which differing views are held must supplement the exposition of one point of view with an equitable treatment of other relevant points of view within the program schedule. Equitable in this context means fair and reasonable, taken into consideration the weight of opinion behind a point of view, as well as its significance or potential significance.

In some circumstances, a program may be based on the personal view of an individual. When that occurs, the audience must be made aware of the personal character of the program. The personal view must be that of an individual with demonstrable expertise in the subject matter of the program.

A program series must not adopt an editorial position supporting one side or another on a major controversial question. Although individual programs within the series may reflect a particular view, the series itself must give adequate consideration to differing views on such subjects.

Producers will have opinions of their own, but they must not yield to bias or prejudice. For producers to be professional is not to be without opinions, but to be aware of those opinions and make allowances for them, so that their reporting is, and appears to be, judicious and fair.

Balance is not to be confused with the concept of right of reply. VisionTV must itself be responsible for determining when a significant imbalance has occurred, and what remedial action must be taken.

PRIVACY

The law of privacy varies from province to province, and various aspects of it are addressed by federal legislation. VisionTV producers can get more information from our legal counsel.

Privacy in this sense refers to protecting an individual's personal and private life, as opposed to his or her public life, from intrusion or exposure to the public view.

Producers on occasion may appear to infringe an individual's privacy in this sense. This is generally warranted only when the individual's private life impinges on or becomes part of his or her public life, is relevant to discussion of a public issue or becomes a matter of legitimate public concern.

IDENTITY OF A SUSPECT

Under the Canadian legal system a person is presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. The fact that a person is under police investigation does not prove by itself that that person has committed a crime. The identity of persons under police investigation may be reported after careful consideration of the consequences for the person's reputation, and the public interest in the case.

Broadcasting the identity of a crime victim most often only adds to the person's grief, anguish and trauma.

As a general rule, VisionTV does not broadcast the identity of a living crime victim, particularly in the case of a crime against the person such as sexual assault, except in one of the following circumstances:

• The victim consents to the disclosure (in writing or on tape);
• The victim volunteers his or her story for broadcast;
• The public interest is an overriding consideration.

When, without due legal process, an alleged victim accuses someone of a crime against his or her person, VisionTV does not grant the privilege of anonymity to the alleged victim. Furthermore, broadcasting of the accusations is dependent on a thorough review by Senior Producers, the credibility of the person and of the evidence he or she brings forward. In some instances, revealing the identity of a victim is prohibited by a publication ban.

In other instances, law prohibits revealing the identity of a young victim. Generally, other than in circumstances where the young victim is dead, VisionTV does not broadcast the identity of a minor who is a crime victim.

PRIVATE COMMUNICATIONS

Taping and broadcasting a private communication with the consent of only one of the participants in the communication may be legal. However, it is VisionTV's general practice not to record and broadcast a private communication without the knowledge of all parties to the communication.

The Senior Producer must authorize exceptions to this rule. The Senior Vice President of Programming and legal counsel must be notified.

Authorization may be given only if the information is not obtainable by more open means, is indispensable to an important purpose and concerns illegal, anti-social or fraudulent activities, or clear and significant abuses of public trust.

PROTECTION/SOURCES

Information from a source who does not wish to be publicly identified may be used if the source is known to the producer and has a prima facie credibility. However, to avoid the possibility of being manipulated to broadcast inaccurate or biased information, the producer must carefully check the reliability of the source and obtain corroborative evidence from other pertinent sources.

The identity and bona fides of a confidential source must be made known prior to broadcast to at least one senior editorial supervisor. Disclosure of sources within the information line of responsibility should not be confused with public disclosure of sources.

ANONYMOUS PROGRAM PARTICIPANTS

There are occasions when the value of the information (measured in terms of the importance of bringing it to the attention of the public) that can be conveyed by an anonymous interviewee or participant outweighs the objections and the technique may be used. For example, where the public identification of the interviewee may cause personal hardship, or where the interviewee is a person whose personal safety may be jeopardized by identification, anonymity may be justified.

Cases where an anonymous interview is believed to be warranted require the prior approval of the Senior Producer. The Senior Producer must also have access to the name and contact numbers of the participant.

RIGHTS OF PARTICIPANTS AND INTERVIEWEES

Care should be exercised not to take unfair advantage of members of the general public who may be ignorant of certain information practices; for example, the difference between on- and off-the-record interviews, or the attribution of particular comments or opinions.

REFUSAL TO PARTICIPATE

When a person refuses to participate in a discussion or interview and chooses not to offer a reason, the program must respect that position. Dramatic devices such as an empty chair in television should not be employed to underline a refusal to participate. An announcement, presented in a simple and direct way, may be employed.

INTERVIEWS

The interviewer should inform the interviewee before the interview about the purpose for which it will be used. The interviewee should also be given some indication of the probable length of the interview to be included in the program, recognizing that such length is no more than an estimate, and that in some cases the interview may not be used at all. In using an interview, VisionTV should conduct itself in accordance with conditions agreed to prior to the interview. Release forms must be signed before the interview begins.

When two or more people are individually interviewed for the same program or series of programs, no one participant may be shown or allowed to hear the comments of the other(s), if such auditioning results in an unfair advantage to the person given this privilege.

PHONE-OUT

The person called should be informed of the purpose of the interview. A person's consent may be required before a phone-out interview is broadcast

When phone-outs are for back-to-back interviews of parties to different sides of a dispute, the first interviewee must be informed of the presence of the second before the interview begins. Consideration should be given to providing the opportunity of a brief rebuttal, if warranted.

PAYMENTS

As a general rule, VisionTV does not pay sources.

If payments to sources are contemplated, approval of the Senior Producer is required. The fact that such payments were made must be reported in the broadcast.

PAYMENT OF FEES

On the other hand, there is a requirement, in certain circumstances, to pay persons asked to participate in information programming. These are usually people who make their livelihood from providing such services. The determination of such payments should be guided by existing performers' scales.

Demonstrators have increasingly sought media coverage by prominently positioning themselves at large or important public events or by disrupting those events. The exercise of their own rights and freedoms by protestors should not, through the action of VisionTV, result in the loss of the rights and freedoms of others. Nor should the exercise of those rights be allowed unfairly to limit or prevent the coverage of any public figure or event to which producers were originally assigned.

The potential for manipulation of coverage is often great. VisionTV producers are to observe the following guidelines:

MISREPRESENTATION

Deception must not be used to gain information. VisionTV producers, therefore, should not misrepresent themselves or their purposes to gain it.

However, there may be occasions when it serves a legitimate program purpose for a producer not to declare his or her profession but to seek information as an ordinary member of the public. If it is considered important and in the public interest to seek information without disclosing a information purpose in places to which the public normally does not have access, approval of the Senior Producer is required.

As a general rule, hidden cameras and microphones should not be used to gather information. VisionTV commonly operates openly where it can see and be seen.

Also, there are circumstances where the use of hidden cameras or microphones may entail civil or criminal liability.

There may be occasions when the use of hidden cameras or microphones may be regarded as being in the public interest.

Examples of the latter include subjects such as illegal, anti-social or fraudulent activity or clear and significant abuses of public trust. In these circumstances, it should be determined that the information gained serves an important information purpose, is indispensable to that purpose and cannot be obtained by more open means.

In all these circumstances, there should be consultation with the lawyer.

HOST AND INTERVIEWERS

Hosts and interviewers must treat their guests fairly. They should not be critical or demanding of some, while conciliatory and sympathetic to others during an interview.

It is also essential for the maintenance of their credibility that they refrain from personal advocacy, not only in their public statements but, as well, in they're handling of discussions and their selection of questions.

PRODUCERS

The role of the VisionTV producer is to convey information to the audience, with maximum fairness, accuracy and integrity. Therefore, a VisionTV producer must not take a partisan position on a matter of public controversy, even when participating in an interview or discussion program.

In providing comprehensive coverage, producers may want to offer some context to current events. To do this, they may present an explanation of the background to the event based on careful research. They must not, however, express or reflect their personal opinion or bias. In other words, they must keep their personal views separate from their reporting.

GUEST COMMENTATORS

The guest commentator is by definition engaged to pass judgment on public affairs. VisionTV does not adopt as its own the opinions of those commentators whom it invites to articulate the various shades of current opinion on a given subject. VisionTV's concern is to ensure the presentation of a spectrum of opinion within its mandate.

EDITING

The editing process must result in a true reflection of what was originally seen and heard and any terms agreed upon during the shooting of the story.

The following are important guidelines for editing interviews:

USE OF FILE MATERIAL

• The authenticity of the material should be verified. Other witnesses of the event depicted should be asked for independent corroboration and for information that can be used to establish the context in which the event occurred. The reputation, motives and reliability of the source of the tape should also be taken into consideration.
• The sources of material that was not recorded by VisionTV should be clearly identified when broadcast.

EDITORIAL USE OF TECHNOLOGY

Special effects, including sound effects, should be used with particular care in the presentation of information material. On the rare occasions when they are used, rigorous judgment must be applied to ensure that they do not distort reality or have the effect of producing editorial comment. However, on occasion, VisionTV current affairs programs may produce field pieces for the sole purpose of providing editorial comment. These stories must clearly be presented as such.

RECONSTRUCTION AND SIMULATION

Any reconstruction or simulation must coincide as closely as possible with the event that it purports to portray. If an event or potion of an event is reconstructed or simulated in the course of a program, that fact must be made clear to the audience by audio or visual means.

MIXTURE OF ACTUALITY AND DRAMATIZATION

Information programs must not as a general principle mix actuality (visual and audio of actual events and of real people) with a dramatized portrayal of people or events.

Should a situation arise in which such a mixture of forms is the only adequate method to convey the necessary information, the dramatized portion must be well identified.

CAUTIONARY ANNOUNCEMENTS

Should a program contain material, which may be disturbing to some segments of the audience – and particularly children – because of scenes of violence, sexual behaviour, or language, cautionary announcements before or during the program should be used.

CALL SCREENING

Suitable technical means should be used to screen out comments, which may violate the law or VisionTV policy. Programs must be protected against capture by organized pressure groups or by irresponsible individuals. This can be done by means of a short pre-interview by a “screener”, in addition to, where feasible, useful and warranted, a mechanical delay.

A record should be kept of the names of all speakers along with a means to contact them.

REQUESTS TO VISIONTV TO WITHHOLD MATERIAL

Good judgment must be exercised to balance the reasons for a request to withhold material against program requirements. There may be strong reasons for the request, which may outweigh the need to include the material in a program. Such reasons could include compassionate grounds or a lapse of time during which the context may have changed.

There may be legal rights and obligations on both VisionTV and on persons whose statements or interviews have been recorded which affect consideration of this issue. If requests are made to withhold material from broadcast after it has been willingly recorded, producers and supervisors must consider the nature of any agreement, which was made at the time of the recording. If the projected use of the material is in accordance with that agreement, and provided no other considerations intervene, a request to withhold the material from broadcast may not be granted by the Senior Producer.

VETO OF PROGRAM MATERIAL BY INVITED PROGRAM PARTICIPANTS

Participants in programs will not be granted the right to veto any portion of a program.

The responsibility for program material cannot be transferred from VisionTV, which is solely responsible for what it broadcasts, and for ensuring programs follow its information policies.

Online information provided by third parties may raise legal issues particular to this form of communications.

LINKS

Hypertext links are fundamental to the presentation of online information. VisionTV should not provide a link to any outside site that is clearly inappropriate in terms of VisionTV's editorial policy.

Where VisionTV provides a link, it should always add a disclaimer to the effect that VisionTV does not endorse the content of external sites.

DISCLOSURE

If a producer, acting reasonably and in good faith, concludes at any time that there is a conflict of interest or that there are reasonable grounds for a perception of conflict of interest, then the employee has a duty to disclose the matter to the Senior Producer and to remove the conflict.

Editorial conflicts involving the following, especially, must be disclosed: spouses, brothers and sisters, parents, children, grandparents, aunts, uncles, nephews, nieces, grandchildren, parent(s)-in-law, brothers and sisters-in-law, live-in partner(s).

OUTSIDE REQUESTS FOR VISIONTV MATERIAL