A complaint was received that the Broadcaster ignored a request by the Complainants not to disclose the identities of victims of violence in the Glebelands community when reporting on a press conference. Through miscommunication between staff of the Broadcaster the request was ignored. After reminding the Broadcaster of the request the Broadcaster again failed to conceal the identities of the victims in a subsequent broadcast as well as on its website. The complaint was settled between the parties but the Tribunal was requested to settle the wording of the apology to be broadcast on the Broadcaster’s channel. Although the Tribunal was of the view that there was gross negligence on the part of the Broadcaster that might have justified the imposition of a heavy sanction, the Complainants requested the Tribunal not to make a finding of gross negligence on the part of the Broadcaster because of the friendly manner in which a settlement was arrived at.
