Keep Calm and Carry On, a reality series on TV One about the host’s experience of new motherhood, contained a brief mention of ‘The Unfortunate Experiment’ – an experiment at New Zealand’s National Women's Hospital from 1966 onwards that was investigated by the Cartwright Inquiry of 1987–88. The Authority did not uphold the complaint that the reference breached the controversial issues, accuracy and fairness standards: the programme did not contain a “discussion” of the issue so was not required to present alternative viewpoints, the reference was brief and not material to the focus of the programme, and the complainant did not specify who she considered had been treated unfairly.
Not Upheld: Controversial Issues, Accuracy, Fairness
All Decisions
A One News item reported on a “skimming” scheme in which the accused allegedly “fleeced money from customers who used eftpos machines inside at least one Auckland business”. The item referred to and showed footage of the Brooklyn Bar in Auckland where, according to one customer, he had had his card “skimmed”. The Authority upheld the complaint that this breached the accuracy and fairness standards: the item wrongly singled out and identified the Brooklyn Bar as having been targeted by the fraud, which created the impression the business was unsafe; the complainant was not provided with a fair and reasonable opportunity to comment and correct the information; and the broadcaster failed to make proper inquiries. The Authority made no order.
Upheld: Accuracy, Fairness
No Order
A brief news item on Radio New Zealand News reported that a pedestrian had been hit by a bus in central Wellington. The item incorrectly referred to St John Ambulance as having transported the woman to hospital – in Wellington ambulance services are operated by Wellington Free Ambulance which is a separate organisation. However, the Authority did not uphold the complaint that the reference to St John Ambulance breached the accuracy and fairness standards: the reference was not material to the focus of the item and would not have misled listeners in any material respect, and Wellington Free Ambulance was not referred to so listeners would not have been left with an unfairly negative impression of it as an organisation.
Not Upheld: Accuracy, Fairness
An item on Te Kāea, broadcast on Māori Television, reported on an Anglican deacon who was allegedly stood down after making a complaint about a man he alleged had been the subject of a sexual abuse inquiry. The Authority upheld the complaint that this breached the accuracy and fairness standards: it is not the Authority's role to determine the nature of the the alleged sexual abuse and its portrayal in the item; the item omitted other reasons for the deacon's suspension, which was misleading; the item was unfair to the church and the Bishop because the broadcaster did not have a sufficient foundation for broadcasting serious allegations and did not appear to take any steps to corroborate the essential facts of the broadcast; and given the seriousness of the allegations, the church was not provided with a fair and reasonable opportunity to comment. The Authority did not agree that the item breached the controversial issues standard as it did not discuss a controversial issue of public importance.
The Authority made no order.
Upheld: Accuracy, Fairness
Not Upheld: Controversial Issues
No Order
Tarana Drive Time Chit Chat Show, a talkback programme broadcast in Hindi, contained some discussion about "promiscuous characters". In a conversation with a caller, the host made comments about the complainant and her Facebook messages. The Authority did not uphold the complaint that this breached the privacy standard: the comments were general only and did not mention identifying features, so it was unlikely the complainant was identifiable beyond those who already knew about her private Facebook messages.
Not Upheld: Privacy
A One News item allegedly contained comments that were inconsistent with a BBC report that quoted the United States Attorney General as saying New Zealand had opened its ports to US war ships. The Authority declined to determine the complaint that the comments breached the accuracy standard: the broadcaster was unable to identify a relevant broadcast which corresponded directly with the time and date specified in the referral, and in any case the complainant's concerns were matters of personal preference and editorial discretion.
Declined to Determine: Accuracy
A promo for Beyond the Darklands, a TV One series in which a clinical psychologist profiled notorious New Zealand criminals, included comments about the death of a toddler. The Authority did not uphold the complaint that the promo breached the good taste and decency and responsible programming standards: while the subject matter of the upcoming episode was distressing, details of the abuse had been widely reported in the media, the promo was correctly classified PGR and screened during an appropriate host programme (The Force, a reality TV series about the work of police), and the promo itself was reserved and respectful.
Not Upheld: Good Taste and Decency, Responsible Programming
A guest host on the Paul Holmes Show on Newstalk ZB read out a text message which used the phrase "pre-op tranny", and the phrase was repeated by a listener who called the show. The broadcaster upheld the complaint that this breached the discrimination and denigration standard. The Authority found that the action taken by the broadcaster was sufficient.
Not Upheld (Action Taken): Discrimination and Denigration
A news item on 1XX News contained a summary of a BSA decision declining to uphold a complaint made by the complainant. The Authority did not uphold the complaint that the summary breached the accuracy and balance standards: the item gave a fair summary of the Authority's findings and was not inaccurate or misleading, the brief news report did not amount to a discussion and the Authority's decision was not a controversial issue.
Not Upheld: Controversial Issues, Accuracy
A promo for Coronation Street, broadcast during Breakfast on TV One, contained a brief image of a woman slapping a man's face. The Authority did not uphold the complaint that this breached the good taste and decency and children's interests standards: the shot was very brief, Breakfast was an unclassified programme targeted at adults, any children viewing were unlikely to be doing so unsupervised, and the promo would not have disturbed or alarmed child viewers.
Not Upheld: Good Taste and Decency, Children’s Interests