Wellington Palestine Group and Television New Zealand Ltd - 1997-009
Members
- J M Potter (Chair)
- A Martin
- L M Loates
- R McLeod
Dated
Complainant
- Wellington Palestine Group
Number
1997-009
Programme
One Network NewsBroadcaster
Television New Zealand LtdChannel/Station
TVNZ 1Standards
Summary
A news item on One Network News on 30 October 1996 referred to an incident which
had occurred in Israel.
The Wellington Palestine Group complained to Television New Zealand Ltd, the
broadcaster, that the reference was incorrect because it referred to an event which
occurred in the Occupied Territories and not in Israel.
TVNZ upheld the complaint that the item referred, incorrectly, to Hebron being in
Israel, when in fact it is in the Occupied Territories. It apologised for its error and
advised that the journalist concerned had been admonished and that a reminder had been
sent to all staff of the need for accuracy when describing events in the Middle East.
Dissatisfied with the action taken by TVNZ, the Group referred the complaint to the
Broadcasting Standards 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 was insufficient.
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
determines the complaint without a formal hearing.
Coverage showing the violent protest following the death of a boy in Hebron on the
West Bank was included in One Network News broadcast by Television New Zealand
Ltd on 30 October 1996 between 6.00–7.00pm. The item was introduced by the
presenter who said:
Also in the Middle East. Violent protests have erupted in Israel after a young
Palestinian boy's funeral.
The item continued:
One person was injured in the demonstration near the West Bank town ofHebron.
The Wellington Palestine Group complained that because the protest occurred in the
Occupied Territories this introduction was inaccurate and a breach of broadcasting
standards.
TVNZ considered the complaint under standard G14 of the Television Code of
Broadcasting Practice which states:
G14 News must be presented accurately, objectively and impartially.
TVNZ agreed that the word Israel was incorrectly used in the item. It acknowledged
that the reference was to Hebron, which is on the West Bank and should have correctly
been described as the Occupied Territories. It apologised for the error and advised the
steps it had taken as a consequence. First, it had personally admonished the journalist
concerned, and secondly, all staff had been reminded of the News and Current Affairs
Department's policy concerning Middle East politics. That policy reads in part:
...it is our policy to refer to those areas whose status is in dispute since they
were annexed in 1967 as "OCCUPIED TERRITORIES".
The Group referred the complaint to the Authority because it was dissatisfied with the
action taken by TVNZ. In its view, issuing a memo to staff would have little effect.
Furthermore, the Group argued, the memo itself was misleading, since the areas Israel
occupied in 1967 were not "in dispute" under the terms of international law, but were
"occupied". Recognising that it could not complain about the content of the memo, the
Group argued that nevertheless its inaccuracy indicated that TVNZ did not take its
responsibilities very seriously.
The Authority accepts that TVNZ has attempted to educate its staff about the
complexities of the Middle East's political boundaries and recognises that on occasions
mistakes may occur. The Authority considers that TVNZ took the appropriate action on
this occasion by upholding the complaint, and by re-emphasising to staff the importance
of accuracy when discussing events in the Middle East.
For the reasons set forth above the Authority declines to uphold the complaint.
Signed for and on behalf of the Authority
Judith Potter
Chairperson
13 February 1997
Appendix
The Wellington Palestine Group's Complaint to Television New Zealand
Ltd - 31 October 1996
Ms Helen Zarifeh, on behalf of the Wellington Palestine Group complained to
Television New Zealand Ltd about an item broadcast on One Network News on 30
October 1996 between 6.00-7.00pm.
The item concerned an incident which the presenter stated occurred in Israel. In fact,
the Group pointed out, the incident occurred in the Occupied Territories.
It wrote:
We do not need to repeat how this lack of truth and accuracy violates the Codes
of Broadcasting Standards and is damaging to the Palestinians.
TVNZ's Response to the Formal Complaint - 18 November 1996
Having reviewed the item complained about, TVNZ advised that it agreed that the word
"Israel" was incorrectly used. It wrote:
The reference was to Hebron which is on the West Bank, an area which it is the
policy of TVNZ's News and Current Affairs Department to describe as the
Occupied Territories.
It upheld the complaint as a breach of the accuracy requirement of standard G14.
TVNZ apologised for the error and advised that it had admonished the journalist
concerned. In addition, all staff had received a message through the electronic
newspaper which appeared on their computers, which read:
Yet another reminder that we MUST be accurate in our description of events in
the Middle East. This has regularly come before the BSA, and we have assured
them that staff are aware of the need to be accurate. However a recent One
Network News story referred to the West Bank town of Hebron as "in Israel".
This inaccuracy breaches our policy.
For the record: it is our policy to refer to those areas whose status is in dispute
since they were annexed in 1967 as "OCCUPIED TERRITORIES". Please
read the enp "manual queue:mideast.
The Group's Referral to the Authority - 12 December 1996
Dissatisfied with the action taken by TVNZ, having upheld the complaint, the Group
referred it to the Broadcasting Standards Authority under s.8(1)(a) of the Broadcasting
Act 1989.
Acknowledging that the complaint had been upheld, the Group complained that the
memo to staff did not suffice as a remedy for the breach.
It also complained that the memo itself was misleading since the areas occupied by
Israel since 1967 were not "in dispute" but were "occupied" in terms of international
law, in particular the Hague convention. It added:
More clearly, Israel has not "annexed" this territory, except for East Jerusalem
and arguably the Golan Heights, which technically Israel has extended its
jurisdiction to.
The Group suggested that the memo, because of its inaccuracy, would only lead to
further mistakes on air, and indicated that TVNZ had not taken this complaint very
seriously.
It asked how many times did TVNZ have to get the borders of Israel wrong without
being compelled to accept some discipline.
The Group agreed that it accepted that:
TVNZ could not put a full explanation of a war situation into each and every
brief television news item.
However, it concluded, it did not mean that it accepted that TVNZ was providing
balance in its coverage on the Middle East.
TVNZ's Response to the Authority - 18 December 1996
TVNZ advised that it had nothing to add, save to observe that the Group seemed to seek
an assurance that errors concerning Middle East coverage would never occur again.
TVNZ was unable to give that assurance, but was able to assure that it would continue
to strive for accuracy and balance in all its news and current affairs coverage. Its view
was that TVNZ had achieved and maintained a very high level of competence in its
reporting.
The Group's Final Comment - 6 January 1997
The Group challenged TVNZ's claims of credibility and high standards, arguing that it
had yet to see it addressing its reporting deficiency on the Middle East in anything but a
cursory manner.
It argued that TVNZ had not only not met its obligations under the Act, but that its
action - issuing a memo and speaking to someone - was insufficient.
The Group advised that it had been concerned for many years about the media's bias in
favour of the Israeli position. It wrote:
TVNZ has refused to raise formally with its news suppliers overseas any
deficiencies in material they provide on the Middle East. With its own reporters
it still can not give accurate manual guidelines on what the facts of geography
and history are. We raised the difference between "disputed" and "occupied" in
correspondence of 26 May 1994, and on other occasions - TVNZ still has it
wrong in its manual.
TVNZ boasts that more people get their information from its news broadcasts
than any other source - a frightening prospect when considering what
perspectives on the Middle East are accordingly created in viewers' minds.
The Group concluded by urging the Authority to stand by an undertaking made on 20
September 1991 to "have little sympathy for the broadcaster".