The editions in question were those of 18 April, and 2, 9 and 23 May. They contained deceitful advertising and, in the case of the 2 and 9 May programmes, exceeded 12 minutes per hour in advertising.

The authority saw the footage and concluded that there were several occasions of deceitful advertising and that the minutes of advertising had exceeded those established by law. The authority noted that it was not the first time that this programme had broken the law and therefore gave a Lm500 fine, which must be paid within a month. Other decisions taken by the authority concerned One News on Super 1 TV and Is-Sibt on TVM.

The BA said that on 20 April, One News showed footage which included a close-up of a person who had been injured while on duty.

The station explained that the incident had taken place in the early morning and, as the footage was shown in the 7.30pm news bulletin, the police had had ample time to inform the family concerned.

The people in question had also been released from hospital. The authority was of the opinion that the clip showing a close-up of an injured person could have been edited. But, although the station went against the broadcasting law, the BA felt that it did not need to impose a fine. It however recommended that close-ups of victims should not be shown in future.

With regard to Is-Sibt, the authority said that there had been deceitful advertising because an advertisement was used in a ticker tape without being preceded by the words “promotional message”. The authority warned the station not to repeat such an action.