Editorial Guidelines issues
This guidance note relates to the following Editorial Guidelines:
- Accuracy
See Editorial Guidelines Section 3 Accuracy - Fairness, Contributors and Consent
See Editorial Guidelines Section 6 Fairness To Contributors and Consent - Privacy
See Editorial Guidelines Section 7 Privacy - Reporting Crime and Anti-Social Behaviour
See Editorial Guidelines Section 8 Reporting Crime and Anti-Social Behaviour
See also Editorial Guidelines Section 11 War, Terror and Emergencies. The Editorial Policy Guidance Notes on Investigations, Secret Recording and Right of Reply may also be relevant.
Key Points
- Any proposal to use a private investigator to help carry out a BBC investigation must be agreed in advance by a senior editorial figure who must consult the Director Editorial Policy and Standards.
- Once the use of a private investigator to help carry out a BBC investigation is approved then the senior editorial figure must record the decision and its purpose . These records should be retained by the department commissioning the activity.
- Any decision to breach editorial guidelines or, unusually, to break the law in pursuit of an investigation in the public interest must be agreed in advance with the production team, their senior editorial figure and the Director, Editorial Policy and Standards.
Guidance in full
- What is meant by Private Investigators or Third Parties for Investigative Purposes?
- When might one use a Private Investigator?
- Issues to Consider
What is meant by Private Investigators or Third Parties for Investigative Purposes?
This Guidance note aims to help BBC content producers undertaking investigations who need to use external companies or individuals with specialist skills not available in-house.
It does not apply to freelance journalists or other production staff, whistle-blowers or, for example, experts retained to advise on authenticity in drama, or to those parts of factual programmes which are not integral to the investigation.
Specialist private investigation companies may offer a range of services, from providing security during doorsteps, through surveillance and verifying information provided to a production team. They may also carry out research, and identify and locate individuals relevant to the investigation.
When might one use a Private Investigator?
Most tasks of investigative journalism carried out by the BBC will be performed by BBC journalists. Private investigators, and on occasion other third parties, are used for individual items or programmes where they can offer specialist skills or contacts or, where it is more cost-effective to employ a specialist sub-contractor, e.g. for surveillance purposes to confirm an individual’s whereabouts.
Any intention to use a private investigator to help carry out an investigation must be agreed with a senior editorial figure who must consult the Director Editorial Policy and Standards before going ahead.
Once the use of a private investigator to help carry out a BBC investigation is approved then the senior editorial figure must record the decision and its purpose. These records should be retained by the department commissioning the activity.
Issues to Consider
It should be made clear to all private investigators, or any other third party used to aid investigations, that they must work to the standards in the Editorial Guidelines at all times, and it is the relevant senior editorial figure’s responsibility to ensure that they do.
Any decision to breach editorial guidelines or, unusually, to break the law in pursuit of an investigation in the public interest must be agreed in advance with the production team, their senior editorial figure and the Director, Editorial Policy and Standards. Programme Legal advice must also be consulted. Any decision to do so will require a strong public interest justification.
Investigators should normally have a written contract of engagement. It is essential that both the BBC and the investigator should understand what they are engaged to do. The BBC has a standard contract which should be suitable in most instances.
Investigators should usually submit itemised invoices for work carried out, though, where it is important to ensure that an investigator’s identity is not discovered by, for example, the target of the investigation, steps may be taken to ensure that such invoices and contracts do not contain identifying information.
However, where investigators offer services which do not risk breaches of privacy, for example when providing security during doorsteps or verifying information which is already in the public domain, there should be a clear understanding between them and the production team about the parameters of their employment, which should allow investigators appropriate professional discretion, while ensuring they observe the standards in the Editorial Guidelines. This will normally require a brief before the event, and, if necessary, a debrief afterwards. Production staff should consider using email for these briefs, to ensure a proper record of the work expected.
Last updated July 2019