Maintaining trust with our audiences is of vital importance to the BBC. Our core values are impartiality, accuracy and editorial integrity and the licence fee payer expects our output to embody to those values. That in essence is what compliance is about. These pages aim to provide the tools, and remind you of the processes involved, to make sure that the programmes and content you are delivering are fully compliant.
It covers your responsibilities and those of the BBC Executive Producer in the different compliance stages of a programme, and provides links to Editorial Guidelines and Safeguarding Trust Training.
Independent Producers - your responsibility
As an independent producer for the BBC, you give us an important warranty; that the content you produce, including promotional content, conforms to BBC guidelines and in particular the Editorial Guidelines. Our compliance processes rely on that warranty. Following negotiations with PACT, the Standard Programme Production Agreement has been updated with additional clauses for contracts signed from 1st May 2008. We've done this to make clear the responsibility for upholding the BBC's editorial standards, and also what happens if those standards aren't met.
The BBC Executive Producer depends on the company for the information necessary to carry out his or her compliance function, which means a close working relationship and good communication. During production, all referrals to BBC centres of advice (such as Editorial Policy) should be via your BBC Executive Producer, at least in the first instance, so that they are across any discussions or decisions.
BBC Vision has developed a guidance note to best practice on editorial standards and compliance for independent producers. Please read this and circulate to others involved as executive producers on BBC content in your company. Download the Best Practice guidance in Word format or PDF.
Role of the BBC Executive Producer
The BBC Executive Producer is the BBC's editorial safeguard on every project, controlling compliance before, during and after transmission. The public demands exceptionally high standards of BBC content and it's the Executive Producer's responsibility to ensure those standards are met. Every production will have a clearly identified EP from the BBC. This person will have the job title of executive producer, commissioning editor, or strand editor; what's important is that they are clearly identified. We'll notify you if that needs to change for any reason, and similarly any changes in the company's executive producer need to be formally notified, agreed and captured in the Commissioning Specification.
BBC EPs can and should draw on advice from the BBC's Editorial Policy department and Programme Legal Advice amongst other centres of advice.
Safeguarding Trust Training
The BBC has developed a training programme in editorial standards for both inhouse and independent production teams, called Safeguarding Trust. The training site can be directly accessed here with answers to some FAQ's available here [PDF, 20kb].
Independent producers must make sure that all production personnel as defined in the Production Agreement complete Safeguarding Trust online training before principal photography. Certification of completion of the required modules by production personnel is now a deliverable We'll specify the relevant modules in the Commissioning Specification. If you're making programmes including competitions, voting or awards there's mandatory additional training.
If you are working on any production for BBC Vision, you will need to complete TWO modules as specified by the BBC's commissioning executive in your Commissioning Specification. These will be the two modules most relevant to your commission.
Competitions, Voting and Awards training will also be specified where required.
Compliance - before production begins
At the moment of commissioning for all Independent projects, we are introducing a requirement for a formal compliance conversation between the BBC Executive Producer and the Independent's EP. These conversations will identify potential problems and plan compliance. Covering the areas of responsibilities, risks, guidelines, referrals, press and promotion, books and other spin-offs, and Safeguarding Trust training, this conversation must be thoroughly noted and the notes kept by both the Independent and the BBC Executive Producer.
A checklist for the conversation can be found here [PDF, 24kb] or here [Word, 36kb].
From 1st May 2008 the Commissioning Specification will include a section to summarise key themes from the conversation.
The BBC runs a Managed Risk Programme List, an early warning list to highlight programmes with editorial risks (such as legal, commercial or reputational risks). If the BBC's Executive Producer puts a programme on the list that generally means that extra care is being taken when handling that programme. The independent will always be informed if a project is on the MRPL and should inform the BBC EP if, in their view, a change in circumstances necessitates a programme's inclusion.
Compliance - during production
The independent Executive Producer's responsibility is to work in accordance with the Editorial guidelines and to inform the BBC Executive Producer of any new risks, changes in status, or issues that could impact on the reputation of the BBC. This includes off-air activity such as multiplatform output or external advertising.
All referrals between Indies and specialist BBC areas eg Editorial Policy, BBC Legal or Rights and Business Affairs must be initiated by the BBC Executive Producer. The BBC Executive Producer must be kept copied into ongoing conversations.
The BBC Executive Producer must also ensure that clear lines of communication are maintained with key contributors or third parties involved in the production.
A new compliance process for publicity and promotional materials has also been introduced. All materials to be used must be signed off for accuracy by the BBC Executive Producer.
- All marketing and communications output must be factually and editorially accurate. This includes stills, clips, press releases, statements, off-air marketing, and PI copy.
- The BBC Executive Producer is responsible for giving email sign-off to confirm factual and editorial accuracy. The independent company must ensure that compliant material is submitted to the BBC.
- Compliance forms now need to be completed for all trails (TV and radio), for online promos, for promotional showreels and for off-air materials such as posters, virals, and leaflets.
- Independents' publicity material, if not prepared by BBC MC&A, is subject to the same compliance guidelines and standards as material produced inhouse. If an independent is promoting its own programme, rather than by an in-house BBC publicity team, then discussions need to take place in advance with the relevant BBC Communications Manager, which your BBC EP will be able to advise on.
- Taster or preview dvds being sent out by the independent itself should be clearly marked as "not final tx version".
Compliance - on delivery
On delivery, there's a final stage to capture compliance issues, the Compliance form. This will be updated at the end of April to state as part of the sign-off by the Independent that the Programme has been made and delivered in compliance with the BBC Editorial Guidelines, and will also include questions on audience interactivity.
BBC Complaints Process - The BBC Executive Producer is responsible for handling complaints made about the programme up to any referral to OfCom, in consultation with the independent Executive Producer.
Editorial Guidelines
The BBC's Editorial Guidelines outline the standards the BBC expects of TV, radio and online content, to help producers deal with difficult editorial decisions.
We've recently introduced a new code of conduct for interactivity.
These key principles apply to BBC competitions and votes which involve viewers, listeners and the online audience. They apply to interactivity conducted by telephones, text, using the red button, post or any other interactive service.
