A series of improprieties on British television have been revealed, including a television trailer being shown making it look like the Queen Elizabeth II angrily stomped off a photo shoot with Annie Leibovitz because she didn't get her own way, as we talked about on a recent post.
Other than that huge mistake, phone-in competitions had been found to be exploited by employees of British television networks who were found to fake the winners of the show. The alleged winning caller was found to be on the production team who were posing as viewers. Some of it was even done with charities, such as "Children in Need."
"The behavior of a small number of production staff who have passed themselves off as viewers and listeners must stop," BBC Director General Mark Thompson said. "We must now swiftly put our house in order."
One of the actions taken was to suspend competitions involving phone-in winners.
The trailer concerning the Queen caused a review of about 1 million hours of broadcast footage since January of 2005. That review uncovered a number of the dishonest phone-in results originating with the BBC employees. Other British broadcasters have also been found in violation in similar areas.
Thompson has ordered mandatory training for all program and content staff which will focus on honesty with their audiences.
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