BAI finds against Ray D’Arcy Show for second time in six months over abortion
The Broadcasting Authority of Ireland has upheld a complaint against the Ray D’Arcy Show’s treatment of the abortion issue for the second time in six months.
The BAI decision related to an interview that Mr D’Arcy conducted with Graham and Helen Linehan on 19th October 2015 about their abortion experience and their support for the political campaign to remove the 8th Amendment from the Constitution.
In a sustained point-by-point criticism of the biased and one-sided nature of Mr D’Arcy’s interview, the BAI stated that the interview was “set out so as to encourage support for the Amnesty International campaign” on making abortion more widely available.
Commenting on the BAI’s finding against the Ray D’Arcy Show, Cora Sherlock of the Pro Life Campaign said: “This is the second time in the space of six months that the BAI has upheld a complaint of media bias against the Ray D’Arcy Show on the issue of abortion. The time has come for RTÉ to rein in Ray.
“It’s not acceptable for Ireland’s taxpayer-funded broadcasting station to continue to provide a platform for people to promote their own personal agendas. RTÉ has been keeping its head firmly in the sand over the problem of bias on abortion at the station. The public won’t buy another carefully crafted statement from RTÉ trying to defend the indefensible. From talking to people around the country, they are asking why should they continue to pay for a station that pushes a pro-abortion agenda? In the light of the latest decision from the BAI, this is the real question that RTÉ needs to answer.”