As expected, EMAP's Kiss FM has received a record fine from media regulator OfCom - in fact it was even higher than initial reports predicted. Kiss will be fined £175,000 for what the regulator called "numerous and serious breaches" of broadcasting rules by its former breakfast show host Bam Bam. A failure to get the consent of the "victims" of prank calls before airing their humiliation, plus the broadcasting of "inappropriate material" while children were likely to be listening, were among the complaints upheld against the breakfast show host.
The prank call complaint followed a feature involving Bam Bam's sidekick Streetboy who returned the call of a random man who had accidentally left a message on his mobile phone voicemail. That man had recently been made redundant and had thought he had called a human resources officer to discuss redeployment opportunities. In a recorded call Streetboy pretended to be that HR man, and told the caller that he shouldn't be wasting his time, and that he should "go and flip burgers or something".
OfCom called the prank "the most serious case of unwarranted infringement of privacy it had heard" saying "the broadcast was devoid of any justification of public interest and could have had a serious effect on the individual concerned". EMAP bosses, who quietly axed Bam Bam's show earlier this year while the presenter was off on holiday, admitted that airing the pre-recorded feature was a major mistake, describing it as a "horrible intrusion into someone's privacy... it was also extremely bad for the radio station".
EMAP have told the regulator that they cannot defend the prank call and other incidents that have been criticised, and have admitted that internal procedures to ensure broadcasting codes are adhered to were "not up to spec" at the time of the broadcasts. They say new measures have been put in place to stop such things happening again. Kiss FM MD Bill Griffin, meanwhile, said his station tried to "push the boundaries whilst engaging the capital's biggest young, urban audience. We accept that we can sometimes unintentionally overstep the mark. We have made every effort to prevent a reoccurrence."