BSA Decisions Ngā Whakatau a te Mana Whanonga Kaipāho

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Summary

An armed robbery of a post office and the taking of the post mistress as hostage

featured in the episode of Emmerdale broadcast on TV1 at 12 noon on 20 April 1995.

Mr Parry complained to Television New Zealand Ltd, the broadcaster, that the

programme was unnecessarily violent and, in view of the possibility of copycat

crimes, highly irresponsible.

Explaining, first, that the violence was implied rather than explicit in the "PGR" rated

programme broadcast in the "AO" time slot, and secondly, that the technique of crime

shown was neither new nor innovative, TVNZ declined to uphold the complaint.

Dissatisfied with TVNZ's response, Mr Parry referred the complaint to the

Broadcasting Standards Authority under s.8(1)(a) of the Broadcasting Act 1989.

For the reasons below, the Authority declined to uphold the complaint.

Decision

The members of the Authority have viewed the item complained about and have read

the correspondence (summarised in the Appendix). As is its practice, the Authority

has determined the complaint without a formal hearing.

Mr Parry complained to TVNZ that an episode of Emmerdale broadcast at 12 noon

on Thursday 20 April was unnecessarily violent, especially as it had been broadcast at

an hour when the young and unemployed might have been watching. The episode had

dealt with the armed hold-up by masked men of a post office and the taking of the

post mistress as a hostage. Mr Parry expressed his concern about copy-cat crime and

recalled a robbery of the local post office involving some degree of similarity with the

one shown on Emmerdale. Referring to his involvement with a work trust, he

expressed the opinion that the ideas about crime advanced in programmes on

television vitiated the efforts of the trust.

TVNZ assessed the complaint under standards V1 and G9 of the Television Code of

Broadcasting Practice under which:

V1  Broadcasters have a responsibility to ensure that any violence shown is

justifiable, ie essential in the context of the programme.

G9  Broadcasters are required to take care in depicting items which explain the

technique of crime in a manner which invites imitation.

Reporting that the episode complained about had been classified as "PGR" and had

been broadcast in an "AO" timeslot, TVNZ maintained that the programme had been

correctly classified in view of the standards set in the code. It also stated:

While TVNZ accepts that it has a responsibility towards child viewers, it

believes it shares that responsibility with parents. During the time zone

indicated it provides entertainment of a more mature nature. A warning before

the programme started, plus the "PGR" symbol which appeared on screen as

the programme began was TVNZ's method of alerting viewers to the fact that

the material may not be suitable for children.

Dealing with standard V1, TVNZ stated that the violence was implied rather than

portrayed. Moreover, subsequent episodes revealed that one of the masked robbers

was the former husband of the hostage and thus the threatening nature of the gang's

behaviour was a relevant point to the storyline.

With regard to standard G9, TVNZ argued that the method shown – masked robbers

carrying coshes and shotguns – was certainly neither novel nor in contravention of the

standard.

When he referred his complaint to the Authority, Mr Parry advised that he was

strongly opposed to violence of any sort on television. Noting that truancy was a

chronic problem in South Auckland, he also expressed concern that truants, for whom

television was a substitute for schooling, could have watched the broadcast of the

episode about which he had complained.

In its report to the Authority, TVNZ point out that Emmerdale was a long-running

serial and the episode in question had been moved from its usual slot in "G" time to an

"AO" one in view of the "harder nature of the storyline". It had moved the broadcast,

TVNZ added, despite protests from regular viewers as storylines extended over many

episodes. The non-broadcast of the episode complained about, it continued, could

have meant that matters raised in subsequent episodes were meaningless in the

absence of the context of the robbery.

In his comments to the Authority, Mr Parry maintained that TV1 should not, like its

competitors, "come down to the lowest denominator". There was absolutely no place

for violence, he argued, in society or on television and, he concluded:

... it is high time that the television industry learnt to police itself, instead of

waiting for concerned citizens to have to make continual complaints. Only then

will we see a reversal in the ever escalating crime statistics, though I am not

suggesting for one moment that television has the monopoly of undesirable

influences.

The appropriateness of the classification given to the episode of Emmerdale

complained about was not a specific aspect of the complaint. While there was some

feeling that the programme should have been rated "AO" rather than "PGR", the

matter was not an issue which required a formal decision from the Authority. The

Authority also noted that the programme was broadcast in an "AO" time-slot.

With regard to the complaint about the violence contained in the episode, the

Authority accepted after some discussion that the violence was justifiable in the

context of portraying an armed hold-up of a post office. The members' views ranged

from agreeing with TVNZ that the amount of explicit violence was minimised (and

observing that the threats of violence did not include sexual overtones) to the view

that the level of physical violence portrayed was on the borderline of acceptability.

Although there was a range of views, the Authority agreed that what was shown was

essential in the context of the storyline advanced and, consequently, standard V1 had

not been contravened.

In relation to standard G9, the Authority concluded that, as the broadcast complained

about did not explain criminal technique in a manner which might attract imitation, the

standard had not been breached.

By way of conclusion, the Authority expressed some concern both about the

programme's classification and the amount of explicit violence screened. However, it

concluded that those matters did not amount to a breach of the standards.

For the reasons above, the Authority declines to uphold the complaint.

Signed for and on behalf of the Authority

Judith Potter
Chairperson
3I July 1995

Appendix

Mr Parry's Complaint to Television New Zealand Ltd - 24 April 1995

Mr P R Parry of Auckland complained to Television New Zealand Ltd about an

episode of Emmerdale broadcast at 12 noon on 20 April 1995.

Noting that the item was neither entertainment nor education, Mr Parry described it as

unnecessarily violent. Further, it had been broadcast in the daytime when pre-

schoolers and the unemployed could watch it.

Mentioning both the possibility of copy cat crime and a recent local post office

robbery, Mr Parry said he was involved in a local work trust and a programme like

Emmerdale vitiated all the trust's efforts. As potential criminals got their ideas from

television, Mr Parry sought increasing responsibility from all groups, including

television, to reverse the trend of increasing crime.

In his response to TVNZ of 3 May agreeing about the standards under which the

complaint should be assessed, Mr Parry expressed the opinion that a publicly funded

television channel had a responsibility to set an example to the competition which was

driven to the lowest common denominator by market forces.

TVNZ's Response to the Formal Complaint - 10 May 1995

TVNZ advised that the episode of Emmerdale complained about, although classified

as "PGR", had been screened in the "AO" time slot. The complaint was assessed

under standards V1 and G9 of the Television Code of Broadcasting Practice.

TVNZ said that the episode which Mr Parry referred to had shown a raid on a post

office and argued that it had complied with the "PGR" requirement in that it would

not disturb a young child who was watching in the company of a parent or guardian.

The violence, TVNZ added, was implied rather than explicitly shown and the robbery

itself was shown in a series of short scenes.

TVNZ said that it had a responsibility to child viewers which it shared with parents

and the "PGR" symbol at the start of the programme was the method to alert adult

viewers that some of the following material might be unsuitable for children.

With regard to standard V1, TVNZ argued that the implied violence was essential to

the plot and in view of the relationship of one of the robbers to one of the victims -

disclosed in later episodes - "the threatening nature of the gang's behaviour was a

relevant point in the storyline". Accordingly, standard V1 was not contravened.

As for standard G9, the methods used - coshes and guns - were almost a stereotype.

As nothing new was shown, imitation was not invited and the complaint was not

upheld.

Mr Parry's Complaint to the Broadcasting Standards Authority - 15 May 1995

Explaining that he was strongly opposed to violence of any sort on television, Mr

Parry referred the complaint to the Broadcasting Standards Authority under s.8(1)(a)

of the Broadcasting Act 1989.

Not only would the unemployed have seen the programme, he wrote, but also truants

and truancy in Auckland was a chronic problem. For better or for worse, he

commented, for truants television substituted for schooling. For the unemployed, he

added, violence on television was counterproductive.

TVNZ's Response to the Authority - 25 May 1995

In its report to the Authority, TVNZ said it had shown responsibility by moving the

long-running serial (episode 1871) from its normal "G" slot to an "AO" one "in

recognition of the harder nature of the storyline".

Despite vigorous protests from regular viewers, TVNZ did not move it back to its

normal 4.00pm time slot until the script moved to a more sedate pace. Maintaining

that it had acted properly in moving the episode, TVNZ stated:

The Authority will be aware of the difficulty of handling an on-going serial

where storylines extend sometimes over many weeks, and in which the

significance of a specific incident is sometimes not revealed until many episodes

later when the consequences emerge. Because of that, TVNZ prefers to change

the classification of a serial such as "Emmerdale", rather than delete sequences

which fail to comply with the "G" requirements. Deletion carries the risk that

events that emerge in episodes not yet received or viewed by TVNZ make no

sense at all when presented to the viewer.

Mr Parry's Final Comment to the Authority - 29 May 1995

In his final comment, Mr Parry persisted in his view that there was no place for

violence in today's society and that the television industry should police itself rather

than waiting to respond to concerned citizens.

Violence in the army let to dismissal and he believed that there was a parallel with

television. In other correspondence, he expressed his concern about violence in

society and, specifically, violence on television.