Radio Caroline has been found in breach of broadcasting rules by the UK's media regulator, Ofcom, after a presenter mistakenly announced the death of King Charles.
The incident occurred when a presenter, who did not realize they were off-air due to remote monitoring practices, made the erroneous announcement. The station stated that presenters commonly stream their programs remotely and would not be aware of going “off air” without monitoring their output via an internet feed.
Station director, who was reportedly on a call at the time, only became aware of the error when he heard continuous music instead of the scheduled programming. He then contacted an engineer who was already investigating the issue.
A brief apology was eventually broadcast approximately 30 minutes after the initial incident. The presenter acknowledged the earlier information was "incorrect" and attributed it to a "technical issue."
Radio Caroline, which is operated entirely by volunteers, noted that Ofcom received only two complaints regarding the broadcast. The station emphasized that it does not possess the resources of larger broadcasting organizations.
In response to the breach, the involved staff member has been reprimanded, and the obituary files have been moved from the studio desktop to prevent similar occurrences. The station was founded in 1964 as an offshore pirate station, broadcasting from a ship until 1991. It now primarily operates remotely.