BBC Northern Ireland has denied that the issuing of an internal memo saying Mr Bruton should only be referred to as Taoiseach when distinguishing him from his British counterpart is a policy change.
The memo has been sent to all reporters in news and current affairs and comes only a week after the secretary of the Ulster Unionists, Mr Jim Wilson, wrote to the BBC complaining of nationalist bias.
A spokeswoman for BBC Northern Ireland denied there was any connection and said the memo was simply reiterating existing policy, which was that Mr Bruton should normally be described as the Irish Prime Minister.
The memo states: "We should call John Bruton the Irish Prime Minister and refer to him as Taoiseach only when we are trying to distinguish him from his British counterpart."
A spokesman for the BBC in London said it would be usual to refer to Mr Bruton as Irish Prime Minister, as it was policy to ensure that the language used was clear to as wide an audience as possible and be in English.
However, he said, it was often the case that Mr Bruton would be introduced as the Irish Prime Minister and then referred to as Taoiseach. The use of either title would depend on the context, he said.
The memo has already caused some controversy. The Irish News quoted the SDLP's Mid Ulster representative, Mr Patsy McGlone, as describing the memo as "petty". He said he would be writing to the Controller of BBC Northern Ireland, Mr Pat Loughrey, about the issue.
He said: "Will they start calling President Clinton Prime Minister Clinton or Chancellor Kohl Prime Minister Kohl?"
Taoiseach was the proper title, and rather than being petty about it the BBC should afford that office its proper title. The next step would be to change Seamus to James and Sean to John, he said.
The Constitution says: "The head of the Government, or Prime Minister, shall be called, and is in this Constitution, referred to, as the Taoiseach."