UK radio broke rules in announcing king's death: watchdog

The UK media regulator Ofcom has ruled that Radio Caroline breached broadcasting rules after mistakenly announcing the death of King Charles III during a May broadcast. The community radio station, known for playing rock music, apologized in May for airing messages falsely reporting the monarch's death. One of the messages announced that programs would be suspended until further notice as a mark of respect following the king's passing, followed by the national anthem and silence.

Radio Caroline received two complaints about the broadcast and stated that the inaccuracy and the length of time to rectify the error violated two of its rules. The regulator emphasized the importance of accurate and impartial news reports and the prompt acknowledgment and correction of significant mistakes on air. Radio Caroline explained that the error occurred when a staff member accessed pre-recorded files meant for the event of the monarch's death while performing maintenance on the studio computer.

The staff member played the files out of curiosity, causing the stream to be interrupted and the files to be broadcast live. The person then reportedly panicked and left the premises after realizing their mistake. Radio Caroline stated that the individual who played the files was reprimanded and apologized, and the pre-recorded files have since been removed from the studio computer.