Courtney McGrailRTÉ Radio broadcasted an apology this week, following a ruling by the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland (BAI) that a discussion on The Mooney Show about same-sex marriage, was in breach of its codes on impartiality.
A complaint to the BAI from Donal O’Sullivan-Latchford, on behalf of the Family and Media Association, stated the show’s presenter, Derek Mooney, had made “several statements implicitly and explicitly supporting same-sex marriage”, and that there were no opposing voices heard during the discussion with former RTÉ newsreader Michael Murphy and Tiernan Brady from the Gay and Lesbian Equality Network (Glen).
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RTÉ responded that the programme, broadcast on January 20, was not in the form of a debate or in the context of a referendum on same-sex marriage, but rather a “personal viewpoint by Mr Murphy” on his experience of civil partnership.
However, the BAI found that the discussion “constituted current affairs content on an issue that was of current public debate and controversy” and “the requirements in respect of fairness, objectivity and impartiality in news and current affairs had not been met”.