BSA Decisions Ngā Whakatau a te Mana Whanonga Kaipāho

Summary

A music video performed by Bon Jovi entitled "The Queen of New Orleans" was

screened on MTV at 3.45pm on 2 September 1997. The video featured a young

woman stripping in front of the singer.

Mr and Mrs Jones complained to Television New Zealand Ltd that the video was

pornographic and that it should not have been shown at 3.45pm. In their view, the

material should have been confined to "AO" viewing time.

TVNZ upheld the complaint stating that while it did not agree that the video was

pornographic, it accepted that it was too visually "raunchy" for screening at that time

in the afternoon. It explained that it was difficult to take action on the upheld

complaint as MTV was a 24-hour broadcast channel, which originated in the United

Kingdom and screened in New Zealand after a 12-hour delay. TVNZ said that it had

asked MTV in London to inform it if material which could possibly breach the codes

was included. It advised that it would endeavour, in the future, to monitor MTV

programme content.

Dissatisfied with the action taken by TVNZ, Mr and Mrs Jones referred their

complaint to the Authority, under s.8(1)(a) of the Broadcasting Act 1989.

For the reasons below, the Authority declines to uphold the complaint that the action

taken by TVNZ was insufficient.

Decision

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

the correspondence (summarised in the Appendix). On this occasion, the Authority

determines the complaint without a formal hearing.

A music video of the song "Queen of New Orleans" performed by Bon Jovi was

broadcast on MTV on 2 September 1997 at 3.45pm. It was set in what appeared to

be a bar or a nightclub and showed a young woman stripping as the song was being

sung.

Mr and Mrs Jones complained to TVNZ that the broadcast was inappropriate for the

time it was broadcast since it was when children were just coming home from school.

In their view, the content was pornographic, and should be confined to Adults Only

hours of broadcast.

TVNZ examined the complaint under standards G2 and G12 of the Television Code of

Broadcasting Practice. Those standards require broadcasters:

G2    To take into consideration currently accepted norms of decency and taste

in language and behaviour, bearing in mind the context in which any

language or behaviour occurs.

G12  To be mindful of the effect any programme may have on children during

their normally accepted viewing hours.

TVNZ prefaced its response to the complaint with some comments about the MTV

channel and its music genre. The channel, it noted, was sourced from the United

Kingdom, and was a continuous 24-hour programme aimed at young people. TVNZ

explained that it put a 12-hour delay on the programme before it was screened in New

Zealand so that it would air at a comparable time of the day to that in Britain.

However, having viewed the video, TVNZ conceded that it was "too visually

raunchy" to be shown at 3.45pm, and upheld the complaint that it breached both

standards.

TVNZ advised that it was difficult to take action over the complaint since the

programme was from an international source. However, TVNZ continued, it had

advised MTV that certain programme material was in breach of the New Zealand

Codes of Broadcasting Practice and had asked that MTV warn it of any material likely

to be found offensive. With sufficient warning, TVNZ noted, it would be able to

replace the offending material with something else. In its letter to the Authority,

TVNZ was able to report that the song had been replaced by a censored version.

TVNZ also reassured the complainants that it would endeavour to monitor the

incoming material for standards breaches. It apologised for causing offence.

In the Authority's view, TVNZ acted appropriately in upholding the breach of

standards. The Authority reiterates that it is the broadcaster's responsibility,

regardless of the source of its broadcasts, to ensure that standards are complied with.

On this occasion, the Authority is reassured that TVNZ has set in place some

measures to ensure that the international feed is monitored in the future and that items

which do not comply with the agreed standards will be replaced. The Authority

emphasises that the MTV channel is not exempt from the time zone restrictions and

compliance with the standards.

For the reasons set forth above, the Authority declines to uphold the complaint

that the action taken by TVNZ was insufficient.

Signed for and on behalf of the Authority

Sam Maling
Chairperson
20 November 1997

Appendix

Mr W and Mrs P Jones's Complaint to Television New Zealand Ltd – 16

September 1997

Mr W and Mrs P Jones of Auckland complained to Television New Zealand Ltd

about a music video broadcast on MTV at 3.45pm on 2 September 1997.

The video which featured a young woman stripping in front of a singer was

pornographic, they claimed, and, accordingly, had breached standards of good taste

and decency. In describing the video, Mr and Mrs Jones stated:

... She was then bending over him with her back to the camera with a g-string and

then thrusting her body around all over the piano.

The couple stated that 3:45pm was a time when children were home from school,

often without a supervising parent. Even careful parents, they explained, found it

impossible to watch their children all the time and exposure to this type of video

could occur by the simple act of changing channels.

They concluded:

It is our understanding that exposure to pornography at an early age is harmful

to the developing mind. This material, if shown on television, should be

confined to "Adults Only" hours.

TVNZ's Response to the Formal Complaint – 24 September 1997

TVNZ responded to Mr and Mrs Jones advising that it had identified the video

complained about as "The Queen of New Orleans" performed by Bon Jovi.

It had considered the complaint under standards G2 and G12 of the Television Code

of Broadcasting Practice.

MTV, TVNZ explained, was an international channel, originating in the United

Kingdom, which was aimed at young people and contained a mix of music videos and

variety programmes in keeping with what it described as the "youth culture" of the

late 1990s. It was a 24 hour channel for which TVNZ operated a 12 hour delay so

that programmes seen during the mid-afternoon in the UK were broadcast in mid-

afternoon in New Zealand.

Having identified and viewed the video, TVNZ, while not considering it to be

pornographic, accepted that it was too visually "raunchy" for broadcast at 3.45pm.

Referring again to the nature of the MTV broadcast, TVNZ maintained that taking

action on an upheld complaint about a programme on MTV was more difficult than if

it had been a local production and stated:

... We have had some teething problems in this area and have been in contact

with MTV in London, pointing out that certain programme content has been

identified as being in breach of the New Zealand Codes of Broadcasting Practice.

We have asked MTV to keep our codes in mind and to give us warning when

material likely to be found offensive here is to be included in the broadcast.

That way, the delay we place on the broadcast may enable us to replace the

offending material with something else.

We will also endeavour to monitor the incoming programme more closely for

standards breaches. The non-stop nature of the incoming feed makes this

logistically difficult but you can be assured that we are trying.

In conclusion, TVNZ apologised for causing offence and thanked the complainant for

drawing the matter to its attention.

Mr and Mrs Jones's Referral of the Complaint to the Authority – 30 September

1997

Dissatisfied with the action taken by the broadcaster, Mr and Mrs Jones referred the

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

Broadcasting Act 1989. They advised that they were pleased that TVNZ had upheld

their complaint but believed that further examination of the issues was warranted.

Referring to TVNZ's comments about the problems it faced in attempting to monitor

the 24-hour programme "feed" from London, the couple commented:

So here we have music videos streaming in a continuous "feed" from another

country that has different standards to ours, with someone trying to check them

for compliance with our codes of practice. But how can they do that 24 hours a

day?

Surely this is inadequate.

Mr and Mrs Jones then reflected on the pervasive and accessible nature of television,

and the fact that children can easily tune into MTV. They acknowledged that there

was much worse material available on the Internet, but maintained that children could

be protected from this by way of suitable software and other controls. No such

controls existed for television viewing and, they argued, when parents were not

present, a remote control in the hand of a child could mean that any free-to-air channel

could be tuned into.

In conclusion, Mr and Mrs Jones expressed the view that as there appeared to be no

adequate controls for 24-hour direct-feed broadcasts of this nature, the only option

was to stop them.

TVNZ's Report to the Authority – 7 October 1997

TVNZ repeated that it had approached MTV in London (the source of the

international service) about the content of the MTV programming. TVNZ advised

that it had requested that MTV keep New Zealand's Television Code of Broadcasting

Practice in mind and to alert it if the programme content was likely to breach these

codes. It reported that MTV had advised that it had replaced the original video of

"The Queen of New Orleans" with a censored version. TVNZ assured Mr and Mrs

Jones that it would, in future, monitor incoming material during the 12-hour delay

period in an endeavour to identify offensive material.

In response to Mr and Mrs Jones's comment that a solution to the problem would be

to cancel the MTV feed to New Zealand, TVNZ stated:

With respect we believe that MTV has proved internationally successful and

popular and we do not see why it should be denied to the New Zealand youth

audience. We are constantly receiving enquiries about MTV and how it can be

accessed by viewers ... .

Our preference is to exert what influence we can to see that material likely to

offend the New Zealand Codes of Broadcasting Practice is identified and excised

or replaced before transmission here.

In closing, TVNZ expressed the view that the problem was not so much the video's

content but the time it was screened. It reminded the Authority that MTV was a

minority channel and that viewing in most areas was restricted to those who had a

UHF aerial.

Mr and Mrs Jones's Final Comment to the Authority – 13 October

Mr and Mrs Jones submitted in their final comment to the Authority that in their

opinion the real issue had not been adequately addressed by TVNZ. The

complainants believed that TVNZ's vague and casual approach would not solve the

problem and claimed that active monitoring of television material coming from outside

New Zealand was necessary in order that programmes fully comply with this

country's Television Code. Mr and Mrs Jones gave two additional reasons why

MTV should be monitored for compliance even more diligently. First, they argued,

popular music was aimed at the youth market and inevitably pushed the boundaries,

and secondly, MTV was not a channel which parents tended to watch, so they would

not be aware of what was being broadcast.

Mr and Mrs Jones concluded:

A lot of what comes through on MTV is fine, but even if 5% breaks our Codes,

then the broadcaster needs to replace that 5% before it goes to air. If the

broadcaster will not guarantee to do this, then it is our contention that the

programme should be withdrawn until they commit the resources to do so.