BSA Decisions Ngā Whakatau a te Mana Whanonga Kaipāho

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Summary

The establishment of a permanent male strip club in Wellington was dealt with in an

item on Channel 2's Newsnight at about 10.35pm on 14 July. The item included

interviews with some of the strippers and showed excerpts from their performance.

Mr Turner complained to Television New Zealand Ltd, the broadcaster, that the item

failed to comply with the broadcasting standard requiring good taste and decency.

Maintaining that no specific sexual activity or male genitalia were shown and that the

visuals explained the nature of the show, TVNZ said the good taste standard was not

breached given the item's context and declined to uphold the complaint. Dissatisfied

with TVNZ's decision, Mr Turner referred the complaint to the Broadcasting

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

For the reasons given below, the Authority declined to uphold the complaint.

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

has determined the complaint without a formal hearing.

An item on Newsnight broadcast at about 10.35pm on 14 July reported the opening of

a male strip club in Wellington and the male strippers talked about their occupation

and displayed some of their act.

Mr Turner complained that the item breached the standard requiring good taste and

decency in the Broadcasting Act. TVNZ assessed the complaint under standard G2 of

the Television Code of Broadcasting Practice which requires 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.

TVNZ pointed out that no specific sexual activity was shown and no male genitalia

were visible at any time. Furthermore, unlike the documentary Every Widow's Dream

screened last year which followed the fortunes of a male strip group, the shots of the

performance on this occasion were not used to excess. Rather they were used to

explain the nature of the entertainment offered and the audience reaction and

participation. Declining to uphold the complaint, TVNZ concluded:

All in all, taking into account the context of the news story being told, and the

time of the night at which it was being told, the Complaints Committee

concluded that G2 had not been breached.

When he referred his complaint to the Authority, Mr Turner maintained that the good

taste provision in the Act had been breached. He commented:

One particularly revolting shot was of a man straddling a woman. His 

buttocks were bared and the fly of his shorts or trousers was open. He

pushed his genitals close to the woman's face.

He disputed TVNZ's reference to and reliance on "context", pointing out that his

complaint referred to the good taste requirement in s.4(1)(a) of the Act which, unlike

standard G2, did not refer to context.

In respect of the specific shot Mr Turner mentioned, TVNZ said that the genitalia

were not visible and it should be assumed that the fly was closed. In response to the

procedural point, TVNZ argued that in complying with s.4(1)(a) of the Act it was

required to take into account contextual matters such as the type of programme, the

time of broadcast and the likely audience. Mr Turner, in his final comment to the

Authority, did not accept TVNZ's contention that such matters should be taken into

account when assessing a complaint under s.4(1)(a) as opposed to standard G2.

Section 4(1)(a) requires broadcasters to maintain standards consistent with:

(a) The observance of good taste and decency.

When examining this complaint which dealt with a human interest news story, the

Authority first addressed the procedural point. On the basis that there are very few

moral absolutes, the Authority decided that whether or not a broadcast observed the

standards "of good taste and decency" required an understanding of the broadcast's

context. Indeed, it believed that s.4(1)(a) of the Act is virtually meaningless unless

there is some reference to context. For that reason the Authority regards the reference

to context in standard G2 of the Television Code as a necessary amplification of the

standard in s.4(1)(a) of the Act.

The Authority next considered the complaint that the broadcast breached that

provision of the Act. Acknowledging TVNZ's points that the item was included on a

late night news broadcast and displayed neither explicit sexual behaviour nor male

genitalia, and that the segments of the performance were interspersed with discussions

with the strippers, the Authority concluded that standard, in context, had not been

contravened.

For the reasons given above, the Authority declines to uphold the complaint.

Signed for and on behalf of the Authority

Iain Gallaway
Chairperson
3 November 1994

Appendix

Mr Turner's Complaint to Television New Zealand Limited - 15 July 1994

Mr Cliff Turner of Hamilton complained to Television New Zealand Ltd about an

item on male strippers broadcast on Newsnight at about 10.35pm on 14 July.

The item, he wrote, breached the broadcasting standard requiring good taste and

decency.

TVNZ's Response to the Formal Complaint - 2 August 1994

TVNZ advised Mr Turner that its Complaints Committee had considered the

complaint under standard G2 of the Television Code of Broadcasting Practice.

Noting that the item's news angle was the increase in interest in male strip shows and

the establishment of a permanent club in Wellington, TVNZ said that no specific

sexual activity or male genitalia were shown on the late night news item. It recalled the

complaints about Every Widow's Dream broadcast in 1993, which included similar

images, and which had been upheld as the images were excessive to the point of being

gratuitous.

However:

On this occasion, the committee felt that the pictures were not used to excess

and were relevant to explaining - as discreetly as possible in the rather unusual

venue - the nature of the entertainment offered and level of audience

participation included in the show.

Taking into account that the item was included in a news programme broadcast late in

the evening, TVNZ stated that it had not contravened the standard given its context.

Mr Turner's Complaint to the Broadcasting Standards Authority - 7 August

1994

Dissatisfied with TVNZ's reply, Mr Turner referred his complaint to the

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

He referred to one particular scene:

One particularly revolting shot was of a man straddling a woman. His

buttocks were bared and the fly of his shorts or trousers was open. He pushed

his genitals close to the woman's face.

He argued that s.4(1)(a) of the Act, under which he complained, did not refer to

context unlike standard G2 and, therefore, context was irrelevant. He also questioned

the newsworthiness of the item.

TVNZ's Response to the Authority - 5 September 1994

In its report on the referral to the Authority, TVNZ agreed that it was required to

comply with the standard laid down in s.4(1)(a) of the Act and, in applying that

standard, account had to be taken of the type and time of broadcast and likely

audience. Furthermore, Mr Turner, who was familiar with the Codes, had not

objected when advised of the Complaints Committee's intention to assess the

complaint under standard G2.

As for the particular scene complained about, TVNZ stated that no genitals were

shown "and it must be presumed that they were covered".

Repeating the point about the item's newsworthiness covered in its Complaints

Committee's letter to Mr Turner, TVNZ added:

It will be noted that the item was more interview than striptease-based and

was done in the humorous quirky style which is a feature of "Newsnight"

screened each weekday evening at 10.30pm. It is submitted that this must be

borne in mind at all times when considering this complaint. It was aimed at the

young adult mature thinking social group that is its target audience. It is

submitted that it did not offend in tone or script and that the night-club action

did not overstep the decency lines accepted for late night television.

Mr Turner's Final Comment - 23 September 1994

In his final comment, Mr Turner argued that his complaint should be considered

against the requirements in s.4(1)(a) of the Act - where context was not mentioned.

As for TVNZ's description that the item was aimed at the "young mature thinking

social group", Mr Turner commented tartly that he believed that his definition of

"adult", "mature" and "thinking" would differ from that of TVNZ.

Mr Turner said that he had complained under the Act - not under standard G2 - and

that it was not necessary for him to advise TVNZ of a matter which was perfectly

clear in his original complaint.