Thought for the Day to remain religious

The BBC Trust this week announced its findings on a number of appeals about the broadcast of Radio 4's Thought for the Day and BBC editorial policy on non-religious content.

The Trust found that the editorial policy of only allowing religious contributors to participate on Thought for the Day does not breach either the BBC Editorial Guideline on impartiality or the BBC's duty to reflect religious and other beliefs in its programming.

However, the Trust confirmed that Thought for the Day must comply with requirements of due impartiality and that any future complaints on particular broadcasts of Thought for the Day would be judged against these standards on a case-by-case basis.

The Trust found that Thought for the Day is religious output and that it is a matter of editorial discretion for the BBC Executive and its Director General as Editor-in-Chief as to whether the BBC broadcasts a slot commenting on an issue of the day from a faith perspective.

The Trust also found that the BBC's approach to featuring non-religious content and contributors in mainstream programming is consistent with the BBC's duty to reflect religious and other beliefs in BBC programming.

Richard Tait, Chairman of the Trust’s Editorial Standards Committee (ESC) which considered the editorial elements of each appeal, said: "We understand that some people feel strongly about this issue and have given it careful consideration. However, we have concluded that the current arrangements do not breach BBC Editorial Guidelines and specifically requirements of due impartiality in content.

"We recognise that there may be cases in the future where concerns are raised about content on Thought for the Day, however, these should be dealt with as and when they arise in line with other editorial matters and procedures."

BBC Trust Vice-Chairman Dr Chitra Bharucha, Chairman of the Trust’s General Appeals Panel (GAP) which considered all other elements of each appeal, said: "We considered the BBC's duty to reflect religious and other beliefs and the BBC's broader responsibility to broadcast a range of views and reflections, whether from non-religious contributors or otherwise, throughout mainstream programming.

"In particular, we considered whether allowing only religious contributors to participate on Thought for the Day was contrary to the BBC's duty to reflect religious and other beliefs across its output. We found that there was no breach of the BBC's duty in respect of these appeals."

The Trust considered that it was a matter for the BBC Executive Board as to whether the remit of Thought for the Day should remain the same or be changed in the future. The Trust would like to hear more from the Executive in due course on how they handle religious and non-religious opinion and reflection on BBC services.

Whilst the substantive issues raised by the appeals were not upheld, three specific issues about complaints handling by the BBC Executive were upheld and an apology issued by the Trust to those appellants affected.