e.tv fined over Rs 2 lakh for airing violent Gaddafi images

Johannesburg, Feb 3: South African based e.tv was fined R35 000 (INR 2.26 lakh) for airing violent footage of Libya dictator Muammar Gaddafi's killing.

The complaint was received by the Broadcasting Complaints Commission of South Africa (BCCSA), said the regulator in a statement on Thursday, Feb 2.

e.tv news and the eNews Channel showed the footage without providing an advisory, warning its viewers about the violence. The complainant said there had been images of Gaddafi in newspapers and on television after his death.

"I was utterly outraged this morning when at 07:30 and every time e.tv news channel 403 ran its headlines. They showed the moments before Gaddafi's death, where he was surrounded by lots of men and was clearly being beaten and dragged," read the complainant's complaint.

"The images were shown with no prior warning to viewers and repeatedly until at least 12 noon."

The aired images were found to have surpassed the broadcasting code. The news channel repeatedly failed to issue warning to its viewers when the footage was broadcasted on Oct 20, 22 and 23, said the BCCSA judgment.

"The Broadcasting Complaints Commission has held that this news service had, during the seven o’clock Thursday evening news, on 20 October 2011, contravened the Broadcasting Code in broadcasting unnecessary detail of the attack on Colonel Gaddafi," said the Broadcasting Complaints Commission.

e.tv is expected to pay the fine by Feb 28.

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