The Authority has declined to determine a complaint alleging an interview with Prime Minister Christopher Luxon on Q & A was unbalanced. The Authority found the balance standard did not apply to the concerns raised, the broadcaster’s decision had adequately responded to the concerns and the complaint related to matters of editorial discretion and personal preference. The Authority considered, in all the circumstances of the complaint, it should not be determined by the Authority.
Declined to determine (section 11 (b) of the Broadcasting Act 1989, in all the circumstances): Balance
The Authority has upheld two complaints concerning the accuracy of a brief 1News item on 15 November 2024 about heightened security in Paris following violence the previous week around a football match between Ajax and Maccabi Tel Aviv in Amsterdam. The item reported, ‘Thousands of police are on the streets of Paris over fears of antisemitic attacks…That's after 60 people were arrested in Amsterdam last week when supporters of a Tel Aviv football team were pursued and beaten by pro-Palestinian protesters.’ TVNZ upheld the complaints under the accuracy standard on the basis the item ‘lacked the nuance’ of earlier reporting on the events, by emphasising the ‘antisemitic’ descriptor while omitting to mention the role of the Maccabi fans in the lead-up to the violence. The Authority agreed with this finding and further found the action taken by TVNZ was insufficient. The broadcaster accepted more care should have been taken, but did not appear to have taken any action in response or made any public acknowledgement of the inaccuracy. The remaining standards raised in the complaints were not breached or did not apply.
Upheld: Accuracy (action taken). Not Upheld: Discrimination and denigration, Balance, Fairness. No Order
The Authority has upheld an accuracy complaint from John Minto on behalf of Palestine Solidarity Network Aotearoa about 1News’ reporting of violence that unfolded in Amsterdam surrounding a football match between the local team Ajax and Israel’s Maccabi Tel Aviv. The reporting comprised a pre-ad-break trailer reporting ‘antisemitic violence’, an introduction by the presenter which included a montage of ‘disturbing’ footage of violence described by Amsterdam’s mayor as ‘an explosion of antisemitism’, and a pre-recorded BBC item.
The broadcaster upheld one aspect of the complaint, relating to mischaracterised footage used in the trailer and introduction, which was originally reported as showing Israeli fans being attacked, but later corrected by Reuters and other outlets to indicate it showed Israeli fans chasing and attacking one Dutch man. The Authority considered the footage contributed to a materially misleading impression created by TVNZ’s framing of the events, with an emphasis on antisemitic violence against Israeli fans without acknowledging the role of the Maccabi fans in the violence – despite that being reported elsewhere prior to this 1News item.
A majority of the Authority did not consider TVNZ had made reasonable efforts to ensure accuracy; the background to these events was highly sensitive and more care should have been taken in framing the story so as not to overstate, or adopt without question, the ‘antisemitic’ angle. The minority considered it was reasonable for TVNZ to rely on Reuters, the BBC and the views of Dutch officials who described the violence as ‘antisemitic’, in the context of a developing story overseas in which not all facts were clear at the time of this broadcast.
The Authority considered TVNZ should have issued a correction when it became aware of the error with the footage. It therefore found the action taken was insufficient but considered publication of this decision adequate remedy in the circumstances.
Upheld: Accuracy.
Not Upheld: Balance.
No Order
The Authority has declined to determine a complaint, under multiple standards, regarding two news items broadcast on Labour Day 2024: one about a protest against a proposed sewerage project and the other about commemoration of New Zealand’s Land Wars. Noting the complaint was not about content in the broadcasts but content the complainant wished to see included, the Authority found it related to editorial discretion and personal preference, which is not capable of being determined by a complaints procedure. The Authority considered that, in all circumstances of the complaint, it should not be determined by the Authority.
Declined to Determine (s 11(b) of the Broadcasting Act 1989 - in all circumstances): Promotion of Illegal or Antisocial Behaviour, Discrimination and Denigration, Balance, Accuracy, Privacy, Fairness
The Authority has not upheld a complaint about a broadcast on Radio New Zealand National’s Nine to Noon marking one year since the 7 October 2023 Hamas-led attack on Israel. The broadcast included two interviews conducted by host Kathryn Ryan - one with BBC Middle East editor Sebastian Usher, and the other with Sally Stevenson, an emergency coordinator with Médecins Sans Frontières. The Authority found listeners were alerted to alternative significant viewpoints during Usher’s interview, and Stevenson’s interview was clearly signalled as being from Stevenson’s perspective. Additionally, the audience could reasonably be expected to be aware of significant context and viewpoints from other media coverage and, while noting the balance standard is not directed at bias, no material which indicated bias against Israel was identified. The Authority also found it was not inaccurate to state 7 October 2024 marked ‘a year since the beginning of Israel’s retaliation’ and, noting the other media coverage of the conflict, the likelihood of a listener being misled by omission of any of the identified perspectives and context, was significantly reduced. The fairness standard did not apply.
Not Upheld: Balance, Accuracy, Fairness
The Authority has not upheld a complaint that a Seven Sharp segment breached the offensive and disturbing content standard. The complainant alleged co-host Jeremy Wells held a cucumber in a way that could be ‘likened to a man holding an erect penis’. The Authority found any innuendo in Wells’s behaviour was low-level and would not have disproportionately offended or disturbed regular Seven Sharp viewers, noting the segment’s light-hearted tone. The Authority noted adult supervision is expected during news and current affairs programmes and such content did not require an audience advisory.
Not Upheld: Offensive and Disturbing Content
The Authority has not upheld a complaint that a broadcast on Radio New Zealand National’s Saturday Morning breached the balance, accuracy, and fairness standards. The broadcast was an interview of a UNICEF spokesperson and humanitarian worker about her experience living and working in Lebanon amid the ongoing Israel-Hamas-Hezbollah conflict. The Authority found the broadcast was clearly signalled as being from the interviewee’s perspective and was not claiming nor intending to be a balanced examination of perspectives on the conflict. The audience also could reasonably be expected to be aware of significant context and viewpoints from other media coverage. Regarding accuracy, the Authority found the likelihood of a listener being misled by omission of any of the identified perspectives and context was significantly reduced, noting other media coverage of the conflict. The Authority also found not referring to Hamas or Hezbollah as terrorist organisations was not inaccurate, nor material in the context. If the death toll figures from Gaza’s Health Ministry were incorrect, it was not material in the context of the broadcast, and it was reasonable for the broadcaster to rely on such figures. The fairness standard did not apply.
Not Upheld: Balance, Accuracy, Fairness
The Authority has declined to determine a complaint under various standards about an answer during the DUKE Quiz which, in identifying an astronaut who ‘did not set foot on the moon’, stated ‘but then, did anyone really land on the moon?’. The Authority considered the complaint was trivial and did not warrant determination.
Declined to Determine (section 11(a) of the Broadcasting Act 1989 – trivial): Offensive and Disturbing Content, Promotion of Illegal or Antisocial Behaviour, Accuracy
The Authority has declined to determine a complaint under the offensive and disturbing content standard, regarding a 1News football match preview which included a montage of crowd shots. The complaint was about a crowd shot where a Palestinian flag was visible. The Authority has declined to determine the complaint on the grounds it concerned matters of personal preference and did not raise issues of potential harm which required the Authority’s intervention.
Declined to Determine (section 11(b) of the Broadcasting Act 1989 – in all the circumstances of the complaint, it should not be determined) Offensive and Disturbing Content
The Authority has not upheld a complaint that a 1News item breached the accuracy standard by claiming a 24-hour period in October 2024 was Dunedin’s ‘wettest day in a century’. In the context of an almost 10-minute-long live broadcast reporting on a regional state of emergency, the comments did not amount to material points of fact. Their inclusion would not have affected viewers’ understanding of the overall item, as its purpose was to provide information to New Zealanders during a natural disaster. Furthermore, live reporting on extreme weather events carries high public interest, and this broadcast did not create harm at a level justifying restriction of the broadcaster’s freedom of expression.
Not Upheld: Accuracy