On its regular 19:00 news bulletin, the Respondent broadcast a story of a patient who was declared 
dead by emergency medical personnel at the scene of an accident. The body was removed to the mortuary but when one of the mortuary personnel commenced working on the body, it started breathing. The medical personnel responsible for the grave mistake, according to the broadcaster, were from “911”, thereby implying Netcare 911. The Complainant averred that its personnel did not attend to the patient, that the news item was incorrect and that it suffered damage to its brand name. The Tribunal found, on admission by the Respondent’s representative, that the broadcaster did not verify the correctness of the facts with the Respondent, that the broadcaster therefore did not take all reasonable steps, as it should, to verify the truth and accuracy of the news that it broadcasts. This is a contravention of clause 34.1 of the Code of Conduct. The Respondent was ordered to broadcast a correction and apology on the same slot news bulletin on two consecutive days.
