CONFLICT OF INTEREST
What is a conflict of interest?
The ABC’s Editorial Policies require high standards of independence and
integrity that also apply to content produced by independent producers.
A conflict of interest is a situation where an individual has competing
personal, political, or financial interests that make it difficult for them to fulfil
their work appropriately, and therefore to uphold these standards.
If a conflict of interest, or potential conflict, is not managed well it can cause
damage to your reputation and the reputation of the ABC as well as the
integrity of the content you are producing.
In terms of producing content for the ABC, a conflict of interest might arise
when you have a personal, political, or financial interest that competes with,
or conflicts with the work you are producing. Many conflicts can be dealt with
by declaring them to your Commissioning Editor/ Executive Producer; only the
minority require more direct action.
Do the Editorial Policies on conflict of interest apply to independent producers
and production teams?
Yes. All those involved in making content for the ABC have responsibilities in
relation to declaring any conflict of interest.
Independent producers, through their contractual agreements with the ABC,
are required to deliver content in accordance with Editorial Policies, including
the conflict of interest provisions (Section 4.4 ).
What do I need to do?
As an independent producer of ABC content, you are responsible for:
Assessing your own potential conflicts of interest
Bringing to the attention of your staff and production team members,
the need for them to consider any potential conflicts of interest in
relation to the ABC content being produced and declare them to you
Declaring these interests to your Commissioning Editor/Executive
Producer.
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As an individual, each staff or production team member has the responsibility
to review any personal, political or financial interests that relate to the ABC
content, and declare any conflict of interest issues with their producer.
Working on content for the ABC does involve a high level of scrutiny in relation
to personal, political and financial interests for all involved, however this
process does ensure the ABC maintains high standards of independence and
integrity in relation to its content.
What types of conflict of interest exist? What should I do if I think I have a
conflict? What will happen if I declare that conflict?
Actual conflict of interest
This is where an interest in producing ABC content and a personal interest,
activity or other work come into conflict.
Example
As well as working on a production for the ABC about a particular Australian
artist, a member of the production team also deals in that artist’s work. The
production team member now has a conflict of interest: they have a
professional interest in working on the ABC content about the artist and they
also have a financial interest in the artist’s work.
This actual conflict of interest needs to be declared in writing as soon as
possible to your producer who will declare it to the Commissioning
Editor/Executive Producer.
The action that needs to be taken depends on the role that the team
member has in creating the ABC content. If they hold a key creative or
financial position, it is likely that they will not be able to continue working on
the ABC content, or they would have to divest themselves of their financial
interest in dealing in that artist’s work.
However, if they hold a less influential position on the production, and if the
interest is declared in writing, the team member may be able to continue to
work on the production. In this situation, the ABC would advise how that team
member was to be managed, and what level of decision-making they would
be able to have in relation to the production. This management of conflict of
interest would ensure that the independence and integrity of the content,
and those involved, was protected.
Financial conflicts of interest for producers are also referenced in the Funding
Sources guidance note.
Perceived conflict of interest
This is where there is a perception by others that there is, or could be, a
conflict of interest in relation to an individual working on ABC content and
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their other interests, activities or work. In this situation no actual conflict of
interest exists, however the perception of a conflict can be equally damaging
to reputation.
Example
As well as working on a production for the ABC about a particular artist, a
production team member dealt in that artist’s work over five years ago. The
team member also owns a number of the artist’s works and this is well-known
in the industry.
There is a real possibility that others will perceive this situation as an actual
conflict of interest, although no actual conflict still remains. This potential
conflict of interest needs to be declared in writing as soon as possible to your
producer who will declare it to the Commissioning Editor/Executive Producer.
The declaration will clarify that team member has no current financial
association with the artist, and that any perceived conflict of interest can be
managed by the ABC Commissioning Editor/Executive Producer if it arises.
Any specific artworks owned by the team member that are to be featured in
the content should be itemised. However, the issue of the ownership of art
works is not a conflict of interest: the ABC does not consider that the
broadcast of content about an artist can be directly linked with present or
future financial gain to those who own those particular artworks.
REFERENCES: ABC EDITORIAL POLICIES: SECTION 4.4; ABC CO-PRODUCTION AGREEMENT
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