BSA Decisions Ngā Whakatau a te Mana Whanonga Kaipāho

Summary

When interviewed on the G & T Show, broadcast on 810AM Access Radio on 12

September 1996, at 7.43am, Eugene Moore alleged that John Jamieson, of the

Christian Coalition, had said to him: "... that hanging is too good for gays."

The Credo Society Inc complained to Access Community Radio Auckland Inc that the

statement made by Mr Moore was inaccurate and unfair. Mr Jamieson, it said, did not

make the statement alleged, nor would it have been made to Mr Moore only.

In responding to the Society, Access Radio noted that Mr Jamieson's alleged comment

was made in the company of people including Mr Moore and therefore Mr Moore's

assertion that: "...John Jamieson said to me ...", was correct. However, it was not

prepared to reach a conclusion on the complaint given first the action taken

subsequently by the parties, and secondly, its inability to ascertain the truth or

otherwise of Mr Moore's statement.

Dissatisfied with the response it received, the Credo Society referred its complaint to the

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

For the reasons given below, the Authority declines to determine the complaint.

Decision

The members of the Authority have listened to 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.

On the G & T Show broadcast on 12 September 1996 on 810AM Access Radio at

7.43am, Eugene Moore, in a interview which discussed society's attitude to

homosexuality, made the comment:

We need to put some quotes out there. I've got John Jamieson – John Jamieson

said to me that hanging is too good for gays.

The Credo Society Inc complained to Access Community Radio Auckland Inc that it

considered the comment made by Mr Moore to be inaccurate, and unfair to Mr

Jamieson. It provided a copy of a statement from Mr Jamieson in which he denied

having made the statement to Mr Moore or anyone else.

Access Radio responded by advising the Society that it understood that the comment

made by Mr Jamieson was made in the presence of a group of people including Mr

Moore. However it believed it was not in a position to come to a full conclusion on the

matter given what it termed "continuing legal activity over the issue".

In referring the complaint to the Authority, the Society was of the view that the station

seemed unprepared to confront and handle the complaint in an open, fair and even-

handed manner. The Society reiterated that its complaint focussed upon the overall

accuracy of Mr Moore's two allegations: that John Jamieson had said that "hanging was

too good for gays", and that he had said it "to me", ie to Mr Moore.

The Authority, in considering this complaint, is neither able to ascertain the truth or

otherwise of the statement made by Mr Moore, nor to ascertain with certainty what

other action is being taken in relation to the comment made. The Authority notes that

the broadcaster has the responsibility to ensure that comments made in its broadcasts are

fair and accurate. However, in this case, the accuracy of the comment is in contention

and although the Authority considers the situation is unsatisfactory, it concludes that it

is not the appropriate body to determine the issue.

For the above reasons, the Authority under section 11(b) of the

Broadcasting Act 1989 declines in all the circumstances to determine the

complaint.

Signed for and on behalf of the Authority

Judith Potter
Chairperson
6 March 1997

Appendix

Credo Society Inc's Complaint to Access Community Radio Auckland Inc.

 - 19 September 1996

Barbara Faithfull on behalf of the Credo Society Inc complained to Access Community

Radio Auckland Inc about an interview on the G & T Show broadcast at 7.43am on 12

September 1996 with activist Eugene Moore in which he stated:

We need to put some quotes out there. I've got John Jamieson - John Jamieson

said to me that hanging is too good for gays.

The Society believed that the statement made was inaccurate and unfair. It provided a

copy of a statement from Mr Jamieson to the Credo Society in which Mr Jamieson

denied having made the statement to Eugene Moore or anyone else.

The Society requested that a correction and an apology be given to Mr Jamieson and the

Access Radio audience.

Further Correspondence

Following the complaint by the Society, there was apparently some media discussion

on the issues surrounding the broadcast complained about, and Mr Moore was said to

possess a tape of the discussion in which Mr Jamieson made the comments Mr Moore

alleged. In light of this, Access Radio wrote to Mrs Faithfull asking her if the Society

wished to withdraw its complaint. In response, the Society said that its view was that

the subsequent events only reinforced its complaint. It said that all the evidence pointed

to the fact that Mr Jamieson did not make the statement to Mr Moore personally as was

represented in the interview. The Society reiterated its point that Mr Jamieson denied

ever telling Mr Moore that: "hanging is too good for gays".

Access Radio's Response to the Formal Complaint - 8 November 1996

The station responded advising the Society that the comment allegedly made by Mr

Jamieson was made in the presence of a company of people including Mr Moore, and

commented:

..therefore, that the comment had been made to Mr Moore amongst others and

that Mr Moore's assertion that: "John Jamieson said to me ..." is a correct

representation of the event.

In view of the continuing legal activity over this issue, amongst other parties,

Access Community Radio Auckland believes it is not in a position to come to a

full conclusion at this time.

The Society's Referral to the Broadcasting Standards Authority - 9

December 1996

Dissatisfied with Access Radio's response to the complaint, the Society referred the

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

Act 1989.

The Society believed that the station seemed unprepared to confront and handle the

complaint in an open, fair and even-handed manner. It maintained that Mr Moore's

statement was false and misleading and made in a vicious, lengthy programme of anti-

Christian vilification.

The Society's focus was, it said, both on the truth of what Mr Jamieson was alleged to

have said, and on the inference that it was made to Mr Moore in a one-to-one situation.

Access Radio's Response to the Authority - 19 December 1996

The station believed that the Society's complaint was no longer about whether or not Mr

Jamieson had made the comment quoted in the first letter of complaint, but focussed on

to whom he had addressed the quoted comment.

The response went on to say:

The presenter and interviewer on the G & T show has advised us that he

checked with Mr Moore about the nature of the meeting he attended. He

advised that it was a meeting of four people at which Mr Moore was a full

participant and not just a member of an audience as quoted in the Credo letter

dated 9/12/96.

Access Community Radio Inc therefore stands by its opinion that, in the context

of a discussion among four people, of whom Mr Moore was one, the comment

was made to him, amongst others.

The station said again that in view of intended legal action, (unspecified) that it was

unable to come to a decision.

The Society's Final Comment - 14 January 1997

The Society advised that it did not consider that it had changed the nature of its

complaint as asserted by Access Radio. It advised:

All along it (the society) has focussed upon the matter of overall accuracy of Mr

Eugene Moore's joint allegations: 1, that John Jamieson had said that "hanging

was too good for gays" and 2, that he had said it "to me", ie to Mr Moore. Our

later emphasis upon the latter ("said to me") was simply to point out to Access

Radio, when they enquired whether we wished to withdraw the complaint, that

there was this further question of accuracy to be taken into account.

The Society considered there to be no evidence to support Mr Moore's statement about

Mr Jamieson. It said that Mr Moore's secretly made tape had been subjected to expert

scrutiny and there was no evidence on it to support the allegation made. The Society

accepted that the meeting referred to by Mr Moore was attended by only four people and

not the considerable number as first thought by the Society. However, the Society

believed this did not alter the fact that the phrase "said to me " implied a one-to-one

conversation which was not the case.

The Society believed that Access Radio had the opportunity itself to check Mr Moore's

tape and reach a conclusion on the complaint.