The ABA Board decided at its monthly meeting today that it will begin a formal investigation into whether Leon Byner’s third party commercial arrangements should have been disclosed under the Broadcasting Services Standard for Commercial Radio Current Affairs content. The decision comes after a report to the ABA from FiveAA management, which was submitted last week.

General Manager Paul Bartlett told radioinfo: “We will be assisting the ABA with their investigation just as we have up to now.

“We will give them all info they need to expedite the process.”

When asked whether Leon Byner would go back on air while the investigation takes place, Bartlett said: “Leon’s suspension remains in place until further notice and Paul Makin will continue to fill in for him.”

The matter began when the Adelaide Advertiser last month published allegations about the FiveAA morning presenter’s proposal to enter into third party
arrangements with the Adelaide Lord Mayor and the Adelaide City Council.

The ABA made preliminary inquiries of FiveAA, seeking more information and the station suspended Byner and began its own investigation.

The ABA’s Donald Robertson told radioinfo that FiveAA has been very co-operative so far and that the investigation provided “a significant amount of material to the ABA,” which is now developing its terms of reference. The ABA hopes to release the terms of reference next week with the aim of beginning the investigation “as quickly as possible.”

ABA Acting Chair Lyn Maddock says: “While Five AA has been co-operative in providing information to the ABA in
relation to Mr Byner’s arrangements, the material raises unresolved questions as to whether those arrangements fall within the regulatory regime of the
Disclosure Standard. A formal
investigation will enable the ABA to consider all relevant material and reach a
concluded view on whether any of these arrangements should have been disclosed
as required by the Disclosure Standard.”

While the Adelaide Advertiser pointed the spotlight at Byner in its stories, the ABA’s investigation at this stage seems to be more interested in the station’s responsibility to disclose third party contracts.

As the licencee, the station, not the individual presenter, is the body that the ABA has more interest in. If the ABA returns an adverse finding against the station, it will presumably be up to the station to decide what knock-on action it will take regarding its staff.

Since the ‘Cash for Comment’ enquiry, there are now three standards applicable to commercial radio broadcasting licensees in this area.

The standards began in January 2001 and are, at this stage, due to end on the same date as the expiry of the conditions placed on the licence of 2UE, the 2nd of April this year.

Read what the papers said on this and many other stories in Paper Clips

Compliance with standards, unlike codes of
practice, is a condition of a broadcaster’s licence. The Broadcasting
Services (Commercial Radio Current Affairs Disclosure) Standard 2000 requires:

•      on-air disclosure
during current affairs programs of commercial agreements between sponsors and
presenters that have the potential to affect the content of those programs;

•      on-air disclosure
during current affairs programs of the payment of production costs by
advertisers or sponsors;

•      licensees to keep a
register of commercial agreements between sponsors and presenters of current
affairs programs and make it available to the ABA and the public; and

•      licensees to ensure
that a condition of employment of presenters of current affairs programs is
that they comply with relevant obligations imposed by the Broadcasting Services
Act, the commercial radio codes of practice and this standard.

Two different levels of information are required on the register. These are:

•      in the case of current
affairs programs produced or commissioned by the licensee or purchased from a
person other than a second commercial radio licensee – full details of
presenters’ commercial agreements must be included on the register ; and

•     in the case of syndicated current affairs programs
produced or commissioned by a second licensee – the register must list the
program and indicate which licensee’s register has full details and where that
register is available to the public .