Beleaguered Hong Kong broadcaster RTHK slapped with another warning from watchdog, Commercial Radio also called out
- Both RTHK and Commercial Radio were taken to task by the Communications Authority for what was deemed biased criticism of police
- The new warning is just the latest in a string of controversies for RTHK, the city’s public broadcaster
Embattled Hong Kong public broadcaster RTHK – which has been the subject of repeated controversies in recent months – was handed yet another warning from the city’s communications watchdog over four episodes of a news show that officials say were biased against police.
The Communications Authority similarly took issue with comments made against police in a Commercial Radio current affairs show, deeming them inaccurate, “misleading and distorting”, and strongly advising the radio station to adhere more closely to the Radio Programme Code.
The first warning, announced in a statement on Tuesday, concerned four episodes of the RTHK programme Pentaprism that aired between September and November last year. The authority maintained the episodes had containing biased, one-sided comments by the hosts criticising the police force’s handling of last year’s anti-government protests.
“The four editions did not contain any responses from the police with regard to the comments or views of the host concerned on the issues or events under discussion,” the authority said in its statement.
While the show was identified as a “personal view programme”, the authority said the TV Programme Code nonetheless required such platforms to provide “suitable opportunity for response … in the same” episode.