"Exonerated."

Discredited, and disgraced, ITV Channel Television continues to mislead its viewer(s) with what looks to be a carefully orchestrated/rehearsed piece of media spin/opinion management led by Senator Philip Bailhache.

In the video below readers will hear Mark McQuillan, and Senator Bailhache, claim that the Dean of Jersey, Bob Key, has been "exonerated" by the un-finished, and un-published Steel Report.

The interview would have come about as a result of Senator Bailhache publishing, a misleading and inaccurate, Press Release which was shown for what it is on this Blog posted HERE. In that Blog Posting I published an extract from an e-mail I sent to ITV Channel Television pointing out how the Steel Report had NOT exonerated the Dean of Jersey nor had it exonerated the Island's clergy and asked if ITV/CTV was referring to another Report?

After having to be chased up ITV/CTV responded to my e-mail and a subsequent exchange took place between them and I where CTV/ITV explained it was indeed referring to the Steel Report and concluded that what was reported was "Entirely Accurate." Regular Readers will know that ITV/CTV (or CTV as it was then) has a very strange understanding of the phrase "Entirely Accurate" as has been demonstrated on this Blog HERE and HERE. Yet ITV/CTV has gone one step further this time and, for all intents and purposes, claims the English Dictionary to be wrong while ITV/CTV is "Entirely Accurate."

On Monday 25th Nov 2013 I wrote to CTV/ITV;

"On tonight's edition of your 6pm news programme Senator Philip Bailhache was interviewed by Mark McQuillan concerning the Dame Heather Steel Report. On a number of occasions Mr. McQuillan, and Senator Bailhache, stated that the Report had exonerated the Jersey Dean/Clergy.

Could I ask what Report Mr. McQuillan, and Senator Bailhache, were referring to? It clearly can't be the un-finished Dame Heather Report because that hasn't been published.

Is there another Report which has exonerated the Jersey Dean/Clergy? If so could you tell me where I could find a copy of it please? I'm not aware of any Report that has exonerated the Jersey Dean or Clergy."

After not receiving a reply, or acknowledgement of the e-mail, after a couple of days I sent a reminder e-mail and then got a response where on Wednesday 27th Nov 2013  ITV/CTV wrote;

"Thank you for your email.  I have taken the time to consider your query, reviewing the programme concerned and discussing the matter with the news editor and programme producer of the day.

Our interviewee Sir Philip Bailhache was indeed discussing the Steel report, which, as you correctly point out, has not been published.  However in a press release received by ITV Channel Television from the Bishop of Winchester, it states: "...based on Dame Heather’s findings to date ... I will not be taking disciplinary action against any member of the clergy in relation to the handling of the safeguarding complaint in question or the subsequent review process."

Sir Philip clearly used the word 'exonerate' as an interpretation of that statement. Mark McQuillan repeated the term in a question back to him which we do not believe is unreasonable or would have misled our viewers.  Our coverage of this story was entirely accurate and we have not make any misleading claims as part of the report or subsequent live interview.

I hope that clarifies the matter."

To which I replied on the same date;

"I'm sorry but I do not accept your interpretation of "not taking disciplinary action" as "exonerated" they are two completely different things. Viewers, in my opinion, were given the impression that the Dean, and clergy being "exonerated" would mean they are blameless which clearly isn't the case.

If you will not make clear, to your viewers, the difference between "exonerated" and "no disciplinary action" then I will take up my complaint with OFCOM or whoever it is that are supposed to regulate ITV. Could you send me the contact details of the relevant body who deals with complaints to ITV if you will not accept the difference between "exonerated" and "no disciplinary action"?"

To which ITV/CTV replied;

"I have given you my response to your original complaint.  If you wish to take your complaint further, Ofcom is indeed the correct regulatory body.  The contact details are:

Ofcom

Riverside House

2a Southwark Bridge Road

London

SE1 9HA

Tel 020 7981 3040

Ofcom's website is: www.ofcom.org.uk"

I then responded;

"I find it incredible that anybody with the slightest understanding of the English language (let alone a professional Journalist) could interpret "no disciplinary action" as "exonerated."

My complaint is that your viewers would have been misled by Mr. McQuillan/ITV and after reading the dictionary interpretation of "exonerated" 1 (esp. of an official body) absolve (someone) from blame for a fault or wrongdoing, esp. after due consideration of the case."  I would ask that you reconsider your response and agree with me that your viewers (according to the dictionary) would have been left with the impression that the Jersey Dean/clergy are blameless.

OFCOM will insist that I have attempted to resolve this matter locally before they will accept my complaint which is why I am once more asking that you reconsider your response (in light of the dictionary definition of "exonerated") and don't expect OFCOM to defend your interpretation of the English language which is contrary to the English dictionary?"

ITV/CTV were having none of it by responding;

"Thank you for your email.  We stand by the response I have already sent you, so I suggest that if you are not satisfied, you contact Ofcom for an independent adjudication."(END)

So there we have it, contrary to the English Language and Dictionary, ITV/CTV claim it has been "Entirely Accurate" in its reporting.

Moreover, despite being in possession of a document(s) which completely contradicts what Mark McQuillan and Senator Bailhache were peddling, ITV/CTV or Mr. McQuillan ("accredited" "journalist") didn't see fit to tell its viewer(s) of this contradiction. The Dean has apologised for his so-called "mistakes" when he wrote;

“I regret mistakes that I made in the safeguarding processes and I understand that, upon reflection, it would have been more helpful if I had co-operated more fully with the Korris Review. I now add my own apology to that of the Bishop of Winchester and Archbishop of Canterbury to the vulnerable person at the heart of this matter." From HERE

To any objectively minded person ITV/CTV's report (below), its subsequent refusal to acknowledge the English Language, and its total refusal to question Senator Bailhache's misleading and contradictory, Press Statement, one has to come to the conclusion this is nothing more than "OPINION MANAGEMENT"

We must also remember there is an alleged victim here (besides ITV/CTV viewer(s)) who is conveniently (for some) being air-brushed out of history. The lady who should be at the centre of this mis-managed shambles who claims she was abused by the churchwarden, then dragged through Jersey's so-called "JUSTICE SYSTEM" and kicked off the Island and left penniless, and destitute, in mainland England.

The victim, known as "HG" might very well feel she has been kicked in the teeth by ITV/CTV but hopefully will gain a little satisfaction in the knowledge that she is not alone when it comes to CTV kicking Abuse Victims/Survivors in the teeth CTV HAS FORM after accepting an award for cutting and pasting another, evidence lacking, REPORT.

So contrary to the media spin peddled by ITV/CTV and Senator Bailhache, there is no document, I am aware of, in the public domain that exonerates the Jersey Dean, or the Island's clergy, other than Philip Bailhache's Press Release. There are, however, at least two documents that say the Dean, and others, are far from exonerated and have serious questions to answer HERE and HERE. 

For those who have an interest in the facts behind the media spin concerning the whole sorry case of the way "HG" has been treated, and related matters, they can be read on the very informative, and researched, Blog of former Jersey politician and 30 year MET Police veteran Bob Hill B.E.M. HERE.

To quote George Orwell "Journalism is printing what someone else does not want printing: everything else is Public Relations."

Good work ITV/CTV you really have Philip Bailhache on the ropes with this grilling.