BSA Decisions Ngā Whakatau a te Mana Whanonga Kaipāho

Summary  

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

The Authority has not upheld a complaint about a joke made during the studio introduction to a report on a fire at The Great Western Racecourse in Victoria, Australia. The complainant alleged the comment ‘Well, the hottest tip in horse racing in Australia yesterday was “save your car from the flames” and it wasn't the name of a horse’ was mocking and in poor taste. The Authority found as the item itself was serious, no people or animals were hurt and the joke did not directly mock fire or property damage, it did not breach the good taste and decency standard.

Not Upheld: Good Taste and Decency

The broadcast

[1]  An item on Newshub Live at 6pm, broadcast on 24 January 2022, reported on a fire at the Great Western Racecourse in Victoria, Australia. The report was introduced:

Samantha Hayes:   Well, the hottest tip in horse racing in Australia yesterday was 'save your car from the flames' and it wasn't the name of a horse.

Mike McRoberts:    The Victorian Racing Club's annual event, known as the Great Western, had to be abandoned as car after car caught fire.

[2]  McRoberts chuckled lightly at the joke from Hayes. The report went on to show and describe ‘raging flames, tearing through more than a dozen cars, one by one exploding into fireballs’. It showed a man running towards the fire, ‘risking his life to save his car’, and explained ‘thousands of punters were evacuated from the Great Western Racecourse’. The report concluded, ‘The cause of the fire is under investigation. All horses, participants and punters escaped unharmed.’

The complaint

[3]  Wayne Wade complained the introduction to the report was mocking, unprofessional and ‘in poor taste’ in breach of the good taste and decency standard:

• ‘Fire in Australia is a serious and deadly occurrence.’
• ‘The article showed dozens of cars spontaneously bursting into flames in a country racecourse parking lot. The multiple vehicle fires could easily have started further fires in surrounding bush’.
• ‘…peoples’ assets were engulfed in flames and the presenters mocked and chuckled in the report. Uncontrolled fire, particularly in a country setting is not something to be mocked’.
• The broadcaster has ‘taken a story about peoples’ cars burning and presented it in a “light-hearted” and mocking fashion. This illustrates the broadcaster’s poor taste and judgement’.

The broadcaster’s response

[4]  Discovery NZ Ltd (Discovery) did not uphold the complaint:

• The item ‘did not include offensive coarse language, sexual material, nudity or violence’.
• ‘No ill-will was intended by the presenter towards any of the people whose cars were damaged in the fire, nor was the presenter mocking them’. 
• ‘Regular news viewers would have understood that the presenter was chuckling about the light-hearted reference to horse names and that his behaviour did not exceed news viewers' expectations and would not have caused widespread offence’.

Our analysis

[5]  We have watched the broadcast and read the correspondence listed in the Appendix.

[6]  The right to freedom of expression is an important right in a democracy and it is our starting point when considering complaints. We weigh the right to freedom of expression against the harm that may have potentially been caused by the broadcast. We may only intervene when the limitation on the right to freedom of expression is reasonable and justified, in light of actual or potential harm caused.

[7]  The good taste and decency standard¹ states current norms of good taste and decency should be maintained, consistent with the context of the programme and the wider context of the broadcast. The standard is intended to protect audiences from content likely to cause widespread undue offence or distress, or undermine widely shared community standards.²

[8]  The context in which such a statement occurs and the wider context of the broadcast are relevant to assessing whether a programme has breached the good taste and decency standard.³ In this case, the comment was a joke about horse names. Racing horses often have humorous, long or odd names.⁴ The comment in the introduction was suggesting that the ‘hottest tip’ was ‘save your car from the flames’, with the comment ‘it wasn’t the name of a horse’ suggesting ‘save your car from the flames’ could be the name of a horse.

[9]  The complainant alleged it was in bad taste to make a joke in the introduction to a serious story. Taking into account the following factors, we do not agree the joke would have caused widespread, undue offence:

• The item made it clear no people or horses were hurt by the fire.
• The joke was made in the studio introduction to the item, while the item itself was serious.
• The joke was brief and McRoberts only chuckled lightly before continuing to report seriously.
• While fires in Australia are a serious issue, the joke was not directly mocking fires or property damage (the ‘punchline’ was about horse names).

[10]  Therefore, any potential for harm in this case is outweighed by the broadcaster’s right to freedom of expression.

For the above reasons the Authority does not uphold the complaint.
Signed for and on behalf of the Authority

Susie Staley
Chair
11 April 2022    

Appendix

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

1  Wayne Wade’s complaint to Discovery – 28 January 2022

2  Discovery’s decision on the complaint – 15 February 2022

3  Wade’s referral to the Authority – 20 February 2022

4  Discovery’s confirmation of no further comments – 21 February 2022

¹ Standard 1, Free-to-Air Television Code of Broadcasting Practice
² Commentary: Good Taste and Decency, Broadcasting Standards in New Zealand Codebook, page 12
³ Guideline 1a
⁴ See for example Great British Racing “Top 12 Funniest Horse Names” 23 July 2020 <www.greatbritishracing.com>