A community radio station broke regulations after mistakenly declaring King Charles III’s death during a broadcast in May, according to a UK watchdog on Monday. Radio Caroline, a former pirate radio station now primarily playing rock music, issued an apology in May after airing false announcements about the monarch’s death.
One announcement stated, “We have suspended our normal programs until further notice as a mark of respect following the passing of His Majesty King Charles III.” Afterward, the national anthem was played, followed by about 16 minutes of silence before regular programming resumed.
The presenter apologized 30 minutes after the incorrect announcement aired, as noted by Ofcom. The watchdog, which received two complaints regarding the broadcast, highlighted the “very significant inaccuracy” and “considerable length of time” taken to address the mistake as breaches of two rules.
One rule mandates that news reports must be accurate and impartial, while the other requires significant errors to be promptly acknowledged and corrected on air.
Radio Caroline explained to Ofcom that the mistake occurred when a staff member accessed sound files pre-recorded for the monarch’s death while performing maintenance on the studio computer during a remotely streamed program. The files were played “out of curiosity,” interrupting the stream from the presenter’s remote location and broadcasting them live.
The staff member reportedly “panicked and left the premises” upon realizing the error, according to Ofcom. Radio Caroline mentioned that the remote presenter, unaware they were off air, was not monitoring their phone and didn’t immediately respond to calls from station personnel who noticed the error.
The station stated that the individual responsible for playing the files had been “reprimanded” and had “apologized.”
