Back in 2011, we had fun at BH with the remarkable story that the BBC's commercial arm was accepting readymade programming from green groups and PR agencies, either for free or for negligible cost (see here, here, and here). This story has now reemerged after Ofcom received a complaint about the practice of illicit sponsorship of current affairs programmes.

According to the Ofcom report, over a two-year period between 2009 and 2011, BBC World News accepted no fewer than 186 different programmes at low or no cost without telling the audience.

Each of the programmes was approximately 30 minutes in duration. All were funded by not-for-profit organisations operating largely in the areas of developing world issues and environmental concerns.

Worse still, some of the programmes were taken from FactBased Communications (FBC), a PR agency working for the Malaysian government.

Ofcom now tells us that canned propaganda was a way of life at other broadcasters too, with CNN and CNBC also involved. Amazingly, CNBC seems to have been paid to broadcast the programmes.

The BBC is disclaiming all knowledge of the funding of FBC by the Malaysians, saying that they thought that FBC planned to make up the deficit by subsequent syndication of the content. And, as all good regulators do, Ofcom has taken them at their word, concluding thus:

In Ofcom’s view, the evidence did show that money had been paid by Malaysian interests to FBC. However it did not demonstrate that the money had been used to fund programme production, as opposed to non-television public relations and lobbying activity.

So that's all right then.