content that is found to be flawed after broadcast or publication and an opportunity to respond is provided as part of the editorial remedy; or
content genres in which the provision of an opportunity to respond is not a recognised standard – criticism and review of artistic works is one example; comedy and satire is another.
the complexity of the issues raised;
the extent to which the person or organisation already had knowledge of the allegation and its basis;
language difficulties, remote locations, or the number of links in a chain of communications between the subject and the ABC;
the possibility the person may need to locate records to refresh his/her memory;
the significance of other matters which the person may have to deal with at the same time; and
the extent to which the subject of the allegations is media savvy or inexperienced with media.
The more detailed and complex the allegations, the more likely that it will be necessary to include the person’s response in some detail so that the connection between the person’s response and the key issues involved is made clear to the audience.
If a story contains an ‘attack’ on a person and the person’s response is reduced to one or two seemingly ‘obligatory’ or ‘throw away’ statements, or the response is presented sarcastically, it may appear that the audience is being led to give little or no weight to the person’s response. That may result in a court or complaints-handling body concluding that the person’s response has not been adequately and fairly presented.
The extent to which the person or organisation is the of the allegations –
The of the matter –
The in light of the nature of the allegations –To illustrate: is it a party of touring rock musicians or a conference of school principals which is accused of anti-social behaviour in a hotel?
The or of their factual basis –To illustrate: is the claim that the nominee for judicial office drove recklessly in his or her youth, or that he or she has been flouting the rules of the road more recently? Will certain allegations be just as serious for, say, a priest, no matter how old the allegations or their factual basis may be?
The the allegations are to be disclosed –To illustrate: a claim that an MP never completes expenses-related paperwork has different implications depending on whether it is made in a story about the MP’s impending retirement or in a story two days prior to voting in a tight election in which the MP is standing in a marginal seat.
The of the matter – The importance of a response tends to increase in proportion to the complexity of the allegations and their basis, simply because there is greater risk of misunderstanding or incorrect information. Complexity can include complicated facts, detailed or interweaving chronologies, multiple disputed recollections, incomplete or jargon-laden documentation, statistical data or interpretations by experts in specialised fields such as finance, science or law.
The of the approach – Directness is relevant in two senses. First, consider the need for efforts to make direct contact, as distinct from indirect contact, with the affected person, having regard to the extent of focus on them and the likely impact on them of disclosure of the allegations. Second, how direct, in the sense of up-front and clear, is the information provided to the affected person about what they are being asked to respond to?