BSA Decisions Ngā Whakatau a te Mana Whanonga Kaipāho

Summary  

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

The Authority has declined to determine a complaint, under the good taste and decency and children’s interests standards, about an episode of Seven Sharp. The clip complained about was a joke that did not contain any profane or sexually explicit material. The Authority declined to determine the complaint on the basis it was trivial and did not warrant consideration.

Declined to Determine: Good Taste and Decency and Children’s Interests (section 11(a) of the Broadcasting Act 1989 – trivial)

The broadcast

[1]  The special lockdown version of Seven Sharp’s ‘Friday Countdown’ segment on 20 August 2021 included a clip of Sean Lock on 8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown spelling out the word he thought would be used to describe him. He stated that if he was looked up in the dictionary, the definition would be a four letter word including the letters ‘C’, ‘U’ and ‘T’, and ‘that word is of course, cute’.

The complaint

[2]  Ken Francis complained the broadcast breached the good taste and decency and children’s interests standards:

‘[The clip featured] the comedian explaining that people called him a “four letter word”, containing the letters ‘c’, ‘u’ and ‘t’. The punch line was that he was thinking of the word “cute”. Except, we all knew what word he was driving at…It was an outrageous attempt to slip something profane through on a family audience, and we (my wife and I, and any other sensitive folk and children who were watching) had no protection against it from TVNZ.’

The broadcaster’s response

[3]  TVNZ did not uphold the complaint for a number of reasons including:

• the relevant contextual factors, including the nature of the programme.
• the audience’s expectation of Seven Sharp as an unclassified news and current affairs programme
• ‘It is clear that this material is a joke and that other participants in the programme laugh.’
• ‘[The joke] does not contain any reference to coarse language or sexually explicit material.’

Outcome: Declined to determine

[4]  Section 11(a) of the Broadcasting Act 1989 authorises the Authority to decline to determine complaints if it considers they are frivolous, vexatious, or trivial. A ‘trivial’ complaint is defined as one which is of little or no importance and is at such a level not to justify it being treated as a serious complaint.¹ 

[5]  We consider this complaint to be trivial. The clip complained about was a joke that did not contain any coarse language or sexually explicit material. This does not raise any issues of broadcasting standards at a level which warrants our consideration.

[6]  The time and resources of the Authority, which are sustained by broadcasters and the public, should not be wasted on having to deal with such matters and we decline to determine this complaint.

For the above reasons the Authority declines to determine the complaint.
Signed for and on behalf of the Authority

Susie Staley
Acting Chair
27 October 2021   

Appendix

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

1  Ken Francis original complaint to TVNZ – 23 August 2021

2  TVNZ’s response to Mr Francis – 17 September 2021

3  Mr Francis’ referral to the Authority – 23 September 2021

¹ Guidance: BSA Power to Decline to Determine a Complaint, Broadcasting Standards in New Zealand Codebook, page 66