Ofcom fines Talk Radio and NTV Mir Baltic
February 17, 2020
Ofcom has fined the licence holders of Talk Radio £75,000 (€90,000) and NTV Mir Baltic £20,000 for breaking broadcasting rules.
Talk Radio is a national digital speech radio station. NTV Mir Baltic is a television channel broadcasting to the Russian-speaking community in Latvia.
Under Ofcom rules, all broadcasters must remain duly impartial when covering matters of major political controversy. Talk Radio failed to do so in three episodes of the George Galloway programme during discussions about the poisoning of Yulia and Sergei Skripal in Salisbury, and allegations of anti-Semitism in the Labour Party. An episode of the news programme Today on NTV Mir Baltic also discussed the political aftermath of the events in Salisbury, but failed to maintain due impartiality.