CONFLICT OF INTEREST
INFORMATION FOR INDEPENDENT PRODUCERS & TALENT
Introduction
The purpose of this fact sheet is to enable independent producers and talent to
understand what is meant by ‘conflict of interest’ within the context of the ABC and
what interests they may need to disclose to the ABC.
Community trust and respect depend on the ABC’s editorial independence and
integrity. Audiences need to be confident that the ABC’s editorial decisions are not
improperly influenced by the outside activities of producers or those who appear on
air.
The ABC’s conflict of interest requirements are derived from the ABC Editorial
Policies. Section 1, Independence, integrity and responsibility, contains the following
standards:
1.3 Ensure that editorial decisions are not improperly influenced by political,
sectional, commercial or personal interests.
1.4 External activities of individuals undertaking work for the ABC must not
undermine the independence and integrity of the ABC’s editorial
content.
In order to ensure that these standards are met, independent producers who work
with the ABC, as well as on-air presenters and other key talent, must disclose any
relevant interests they (and in the case of producers, their employees and
contractors) may have. Following disclosure, an assessment will be made by the
ABC to determine how the conflict should be managed.
What is a conflict of interest?
All producers and talent have interests beyond their interest in their work for the ABC.
These interests may be commercial, personal, political or sectional in nature, and
may include things such as:
other work (both paid and voluntary)
personal interests and relationships
political affiliations
membership of or association with special interest groups
ownership of property or shares
interests (commercial, personal, political or sectional) of their close relatives
A conflict of interest is when any of these outside interests – past, current or
proposed – compromise or could be perceived to compromise the performance of
the work the producer or talent is doing for the ABC, the editorial integrity of the
program, or the ABC’s reputation.
January 2013
Disclosure and management
The ABC does not wish to place unnecessary constraints on producers or talent. The
degree to which any external activities might be constrained will depend on a case
by case assessment of the nature of the activities, the nature of the content under
consideration, and the individual’s role in it. Disclosure is therefore important to the
ABC so that this assessment can be made. Producers and talent are required to
disclose relevant interests to the ABC Producer/Commissioning Editor of the program
they are working on.
On review of a potential conflict of interest, the ABC Producer/Commissioning Editor
may seek advice from the Television Editorial Policy team. An appropriate course of
action will then be determined, and may include:
approval or rejection of a proposed activity, for example, additional work
termination of an existing outside activity, association or interest
the broadcast or publication of a public disclosure of the outside activity,
association or interest
ongoing monitoring of the series/content to ensure references to the area of
conflict are minimal
no further action beyond disclosure of the interest to the ABC
Examples
Gruen Planet panellist
Regular and guest panellists on Gruen Planet are required to critique advertising
campaigns. In some instances the panellist will have a separate connection to the
product or campaign being reviewed, e.g. they have worked on previous
advertising campaigns or are associated with the manufacturer’s other products. In
order to manage these conflicts of interest, they are declared on air. This means the
program is upfront with viewers about the additional commercial interest a panellist
may have, which then allows viewers to have a fuller understanding of what might
influence a panellist’s opinion.
Children’s host
A well-known ABC3 children’s host/presenter on a co-produced comedy series has
been approached to become a brand ambassador for McDonald’s. This would
require her to appear in advertising campaigns, promote the product and make instore appearances.
This external work request for a highly commercial brand that is specifically aimed at
children is clearly incompatible with her on-air role as a children’s presenter on a
non-commercial, public broadcaster. As such, the offer would be rejected.
Documentary producer
The independent producer of a documentary about the Great Barrier Reef is
married to the spokesperson for a lobby group which aims to increase public
awareness of the threat climate changes poses to the reef.
January 2013
Careful management would be required to ensure that the lobby group has no
direct or indirect involvement with the documentary, that the producer’s editorial
decisions are not improperly influenced, and that no perception of improper
influence (which could be damaging to the documentary’s editorial integrity and
the ABC’s reputation) arises.
Further advice
Producers and talent are encouraged to discuss any questions they have about
conflicts of interest with the ABC Producer/Commissioning Editor of the program they
are working on. Following this, if additional advice is required, the ABC
Producer/Commissioning Editor can refer the matter to the Television Editorial Policy
team.
January 2013