BSA Decisions Ngā Whakatau a te Mana Whanonga Kaipāho

Summary

[This summary does not form part of the decision.]

The Authority has not upheld a complaint about an item on 1 News which reported on Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern’s visit to the United States Congress, where she spoke with lawmakers including Senator Mitt Romney. The complaint alleged the use of the terms ‘Mormon’ and ‘god-fearing and gun-toting’ in the context of comments about Romney breached the discrimination and denigration standard. The Authority found the comments did not meet the high threshold required to breach the standard and justify restricting the right to freedom of expression.

Not Upheld: Discrimination and Denigration

The broadcast

[1]  An item on 1 News, broadcast on 26 May 2022, reported on Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern’s visit to the United States Congress in Washington, D.C, where she spoke to lawmakers about Aotearoa New Zealand’s experience with gun control. Part of the item focussed on Ardern’s meeting with Republican Senator Mitt Romney:

Reporter:  Jacinda Ardern spent the morning in Washington DC visiting both sides of the aisle. But ask Republican Senator Mitt Romney whether he'll vote to tighten gun laws and:

Romney:  Ah, there are some gun reforms that I support.

Reporter:  The trouble is there are plenty more that Romney doesn't. He represents the Mormon central state of Utah. God-fearing and gun-toting, Romney has accepted more than $20 million from the National Rifle Association, a pro-gun lobby group that fights reforms.

The complaint

[2]  Lorraine Berry complained the use of the terms ‘Mormon’ and ‘god-fearing and gun-toting’ breached the discrimination and denigration standard, stating:

• She found the descriptions to be false, misleading and discriminatory.
• ‘Romney represents the whole of Utah. His personal preference regarding gun ownership and his choice of religion are both irrelevant to the discussion. Approximately half of the citizens of Utah that he represents belong to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, while the other half do not. Romney represents all of them. The number of gun owners in Utah is about the national average for all states.’
• ‘The expressions “Mormon” and “god-fearing and gun toting” are facetious at best and more notably, religious slurs.’ ‘The nickname Mormon has a taste of ridicule about it.’
• ‘I support the Church being known by the one it was given at the time of establishment: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.’

The broadcaster’s response

[3]  Television New Zealand Ltd did not agree that the item would lead to the discrimination or denigration of any group of people:

• ‘It is commonly known¹ that Mitt Romney is active in the Church of Jesus of Latter Day Saints and he signed up for a lifetime NRA membership in August 2006, and is on record² saying “When it comes to protecting the Second Amendment, I do not support any new gun laws including any new ban on semi-automatic firearms.”’
• ‘Mitt Romney has been reported as saying that he uses and owns guns’.³
• As a result, ‘Mitt Romney can accurately be described as both “God-fearing” and “gun-toting.” It is also correct to say that he represents Utah, and that Utah is a “Mormon State.”’⁴
• To find a breach of the discrimination and denigration standard, ‘a high threshold must be crossed.’
• ‘The 1 News story comprised factual information and comment, analysis or opinion, which the Standard is not intended to prevent. There was no material in the Programme that expressed a high level of condemnation of the groups referred to above, the comment which you have complained about described a person, Mitt Romney, and this description is accurate.’

The standard

[4]  The discrimination and denigration standard⁵ protects against broadcasts which encourage the denigration of, or discrimination against, any section of the community on account of sex, sexual orientation, race, age, disability, occupational status or as a consequence of legitimate expression of religion, culture or political belief. It protects sections of the community from verbal and other attacks, and fosters a community commitment to equality.

[5]  'Denigration’ is defined as devaluing the reputation of a particular section of the community. ‘Discrimination’ is defined as encouraging the different treatment of the members of a particular section of the community, to their detriment.⁶

Our analysis

[6]  We have watched the broadcast and read the correspondence listed in the Appendix.

[7]  As a starting point, we considered the right to freedom of expression. This includes the broadcaster’s right to offer a range of ideas, information and opinions and the public’s right to receive those. It is our role to weigh up the right to freedom of expression against any harm potentially caused by the broadcast. We may only intervene when the limitation on the right to freedom of expression is reasonable and justified.⁷

[8]  Where discrimination and denigration complaints are concerned, the importance of freedom of expression means that a high level of condemnation, often with an element of malice or nastiness, will usually be necessary to find a breach of the standard.⁸ The standard is not intended to prevent the broadcast of material that is factual, a genuine expression of serious comment, analysis or opinion, or legitimate humour, drama or satire.⁹

[9]  The standard only applies to recognised ‘sections of the community’.¹⁰ The complaint raises allegations of discrimination or denigration against people who belong to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. We are satisfied that this group constitutes a recognised section of the community for the purposes of this standard. The standard does not apply however to Romney as an individual.

[10]  The complainant is concerned the use of the word ‘Mormon’ amounted to a religious slur. An updated style guide¹¹ released by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in 2018¹² does discourage the use of the term as it is ‘not an authorised title.’ However, the style guide also refers to the term as a ‘nickname’ rather than an offensive term, and allows the use of the word in ‘proper names’ such as the ‘Book of Mormon’ or the ‘Mormon Trail.’ While the church did not state explicit reasons for its change in stance to actively discourage use of the word ‘Mormon,’ experts have commented key reasons are that ‘the nickname has obscured the fundamentally Christian nature of the church,’ and to distinguish itself from other groups that broke away from the mainstream church.¹³

[11]  We acknowledge ‘Mormon’ was first used as a derogatory term in the 19th century by people outside the church.¹⁴ However, members of the church subsequently embraced the name and it became widely used from the 20th century onwards, including by the church itself.¹⁵ It is now commonly employed as a non-offensive, neutral term for members of the church.¹⁶

[12]  While we appreciate the complainant’s concerns regarding the use of the word given it is not the preferred name of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, for the reasons above we do not consider it to be a religious slur which had the effect of denigrating members of the church in this broadcast.

[13]  With regard to the complainant’s concerns about the phrase ‘god-fearing and gun-toting,’ this comment was not directed at members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (or people from Utah) but at Romney as an individual. As noted above, the standard does not apply to individuals and, in the context, we consider the phrase created no impression (discriminatory or otherwise) about members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in general. It was also a descriptive opinion which was reasonably able to be drawn by the reporter, given Romney’s religious beliefs¹⁷ and support for gun rights.¹⁸

[14]  For the reasons above, we consider the comments complained about did not meet the high threshold required to breach the standard and justify restricting the right to freedom of expression.

For the above reasons the Authority does not uphold the complaint.
Signed for and on behalf of the Authority

Susie Staley
Chair
5 October 2022

Appendix

The correspondence listed below was received and considered by the Authority when it determined this complaint:

1.  Lorraine Berry’s formal complaint to TVNZ – 26 May 2022

2.  TVNZ’s response to complaint – 21 June 2022

3.  Berry’s referral to the Authority – 28 June 2022

4.  TVNZ’s confirmation of no further comments – 8 August 2022

¹ Citing Wikipedia “Mitt Romney” <www.en.wikipedia.org>
² Citing ProCon.org “Are more federal regulations on guns and ammunition needed?” <www.2012election.procon.org>
³ Citing Emily Friedman “Romney Says He Owns Guns – But Does He?” ABC News (online ed, 29 February 2012)
⁴ Citing Wikipedia “Utah” <www.en.wikipedia.org>
⁵ Standard 6, Free-to-Air Television Code of Broadcasting Practice
⁶ Guideline 6a
⁷ Freedom of Expression: Broadcasting Standards in New Zealand Codebook, page 6
⁸ Guideline 6b
⁹ Guideline 6c
¹⁰ Commentary: Discrimination and Denigration, Broadcasting Standards in New Zealand Codebook, page 16
¹¹ The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints “Style Guide – The Name of the Church” <www.newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org>
¹² The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints “The Name of the Church” (16 August 2018) <www.newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org>
¹³ Doug Criss “Mormons don’t want you calling them Mormons anymore” CNN (online ed, 17 August 2018)
¹⁴ Julia Jacobs “Stop Saying ‘Mormon’ Church Leader Says. But Is The Real Name Too Long?” The New York Times (online ed, 18 August 2018): see references to ‘The Mormon Tabernacle Choir’ and the ‘I’m a Mormon’ campaign for example
¹⁵ Julia Jacobs “Stop Saying ‘Mormon’ Church Leader Says. But Is The Real Name Too Long?” The New York Times (online ed, 18 August 2018)
¹⁶ Frances Mao “Tonga Volcano: Biblical disaster shakes most Mormon nation in the world” BCC (online ed, 21 January 2022); Alexi Duggins, Hollie Richardson, Hannah Verdier and Danielle Koku “Best podcasts of the week: How a Mormon settlement descended into a haven for cults, cartels and killings” The Guardian (online ed, 5 May 2022); Amanda Holpuch “Billionaire Makes Public Break From Mormon Church” The New York Times (online ed, 21 December 2021)
¹⁷ Julie Zauzmer Weil “Mitt Romney’s Mormon faith motivated him to vote for Trump’s removal from office” The Washington Post (online ed, 5 February 2020)
¹⁸ Mitt Romney U.S. Senator for Utah “Second Amendment” <www.romney.senate.gov>