An item on Sunday, entitled “Before We Say Goodbye”, reported on the case of Sean Davison, who was facing charges for assisting his mother’s suicide. Footage of Mr Davison in the Dunedin High Court was shown, during which a Corrections Officer, the complainant, was briefly visible in the background. The Authority declined to uphold the complaint that the broadcast breached standards relating to privacy, fairness and discrimination and denigration: the item did not disclose any private facts about the complainant, the footage of him was extremely brief and did not cause damage to his reputation or dignity, and the discrimination and denigration standard does not apply to individuals.
Not Upheld: Privacy, Fairness, Discrimination and Denigration
All Decisions
Two Campbell Live items reported on controversial comments made by the Chief Executive (CE) of the Employers and Manufacturers Association (EMA), Alasdair Thompson, that some female workers are less productive because they take sick leave when they are menstruating. The first item was an excerpt from an interview with Mr Thompson, while the second consisted of a panel discussion about Mr Thompson’s behaviour during the interview. Both items questioned whether Mr Thompson should remain in his position at the EMA. The Authority declined to uphold complaints that the items were unfair, inaccurate, unbalanced and breached individuals’ right to privacy: the interview footage was fair; the items focused on Mr Thompson’s comments and his competency to fulfil his role as CE of the EMA, rather than the specific issue of pay equity, but balance was achieved in relation to both issues; and the items did not breach anyone’s privacy. In a minority decision, one member found that the broadcast of only a small part of the interview would have left viewers with an unfairly negative impression of Mr Thompson.
Not Upheld: Accuracy, Controversial Issues, Privacy
Not Upheld (majority): Fairness
An item on 3 News, broadcast on TV3, showed four different clips of a reporter trying to obtain comment from Don Brash on a Labour proposal to raise the retirement age. The complainant argued that one clip would have made the point about the refusal to be interviewed and the series of clips amounted to electioneering by the reporter. The Authority declined to uphold the complaint that the broadcast breached the fairness standard: the item was broadcast in the lead-up to the general election, Mr Brash chose to refuse to comment on a subject other party leaders had freely commented on, and the clips were shown unedited.
Not Upheld: Fairness
During 3 News: Firstline, broadcast on TV3 at 6.45am, the newsreader interviewed a representative of the 'Occupy Wellington' protest movement. The Authority declined to uphold the complaint that the newsreader’s comments and interviewing style breached standards relating to accuracy, fairness, and discrimination and denigration. The interviewee adequately expressed his viewpoint and defended the position of the protestors; the interviewee’s perspective was included so viewers would not have been misled by the newsreader’s comments; and the comments did not carry the necessary invective to encourage discrimination or denigration against the protestors as a section of the community.
Not Upheld: Accuracy, Fairness, Discrimination and Denigration
An item on 3 News, broadcast on TV3 at 6pm, reported on the launch of the Green Party’s election campaign. The footage contained a brief, out-of-focus background image of a person’s “butt crack”. The Authority declined to determine the complaint that this breached the good taste and decency and fairness standards, on the grounds that the complaint was frivolous and trivial.
Declined to Determine: Good Taste and Decency, Fairness
During The Edge Morning Show one of the hosts performed a parody of a song, and later read out a listener’s text message which said, “Dom, your song was so gay I’m pretty sure I just got AIDS from listening to it.” The Authority declined to uphold the complaint that the broadcast breached standards relating to good taste and decency, accuracy, and discrimination and denigration. Given contextual factors such as the target audience and their expectations of content on The Edge, the potential harm to listeners did not outweigh the broadcaster’s right to freedom of expression; the programme was not a news, current affairs or factual programme to which the accuracy standard applied; and the content of the text message was directed at the host’s song and not against homosexuals as a section of the community.
Not Upheld: Good Taste and Decency, Accuracy, Discrimination and Denigration
Overgrown, on Otago University’s Radio One station, is a weekly radio show advocating cannabis law reform. A host referred to a phone call from a general practitioner and commented on the views he allegedly expressed about a purported link between cannabis use and schizophrenia. The Authority declined to uphold the complaint that the broadcast breached standards relating to law and order, controversial issues, accuracy, fairness and responsible programming. The programme’s promotion of cannabis use was in the spirit of protest and to promote law reform – challenging particular laws is a vital component of freedom of expression; the show was opinion-based, putting forward a particular viewpoint, and was not a “factual programme", so the controversial issues and accuracy standards did not apply; the complainant was not named and unlikely to be identified; and the hosts highlighted responsible use.
Not Upheld: Law and Order, Controversial Issues, Accuracy, Fairness, Responsible Programming
In an episode of Intrepid Journeys, broadcast at 7.30pm on TV One, well-known New Zealander Brendon Cole visited a Vanuatu village. The locals told him how to kill a chicken using a slingshot but he didn’t manage to hit the chicken properly and eventually killed it with his hands. The Authority declined to uphold the complaint that the programme breached standards relating to good taste and decency, children’s interests and violence. The footage was not gratuitous – it showed the daily reality of a different culture and it was clear that Mr Cole was upset about killing the chicken; the programme was correctly rated PGR and the scene was signposted so parents could exercise discretion; and the footage did not amount to “violence” as envisaged by that standard.
Not Upheld: Good Taste and Decency, Children’s Interests, Violence
An item on 60 Minutes entitled “Turned Away” was broadcast on TV3 and investigated the case of a young man who died of meningococcal disease after being misdiagnosed by medical professionals. The reporter interviewed the Chief Executive of the Northland District Health Board (NDHB) about the circumstances surrounding the man’s treatment and, in particular, about the doctor who made the decision not to administer a lumbar puncture earlier, despite the fact that the man displayed all but one of the symptoms of meningitis. The Authority declined to uphold the complaint that the item was inaccurate and misleading and that the interview was unbalanced and unfair. The item did not create a misleading impression; the District Health Board’s viewpoint was included through the interview with its Chief Executive and the item was not unfair; and significant perspectives were included on the issue under discussion.
Not Upheld: Controversial Issues, Accuracy, Fairness
An episode of reality series Four Weddings was broadcast at 2pm on TV One. It included a ‘naturist’ ceremony where the bride and groom and most of the guests were shown naked. The Authority declined to uphold the complaint that the broadcast breached standards relating to good taste and decency and children’s interests. The nudity was matter-of-fact and non-sexual, nudity is not in itself harmful to children, and the programme was preceded by a verbal and written warning.
Not Upheld: Good Taste and Decency, Children’s Interests