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BEFORE THE BROADCASTING STANDARDS AUTHORITY Decision No: 1998-071 Dated the 9th day of July 1998 IN THE MATTER of the Broadcasting Act 1989 AND IN THE MATTER of a complaint by LAWRIE MALATIOS of Auckland Broadcaster TELEVISION NEW ZEALAND LIMITED S R Maling Chairperson L M Loates R McLeod J Withers...

SummaryOne Network News, commencing at 6. 00 pm on TV One on Saturday 12 September 1998, broadcast a lengthy item on the findings of the Starr Report, and its effect on the possibility of impeachment proceedings being taken against President Clinton of the United States. Ms Jeune complained to Television New Zealand Limited, the broadcaster, that it was highly offensive for explicit sexual material to be discussed during children’s normal viewing time. The material screened could disturb younger children, or those who were not ready to discuss aspects of sexual behaviour, she maintained. TVNZ responded that the threat of impeachment potentially weakened the President’s leadership, and thus had a worldwide impact. Perjury was the central issue of the impeachment proceedings, and arose from the sexual relationship denied by the President, it continued....

Summary The INCIS police contract cancellation by IBM was the subject of a talkback/voteline segment on Good Morning, broadcast on TV One between 10. 00am and 12. 00pm on 11 August 1999. Mr McLean complained to Television New Zealand Ltd, the broadcaster, that there had been a lack of balance in the treatment of the issue in both a trailer for Good Morning, and in the programme itself. TVNZ upheld part of the complaint. It acknowledged that the treatment of the issue on the programme was unbalanced because it had not included an alternative view to that of the presenter. It advised that it had reviewed Good Morning’s approach to political issues as a consequence. Mr McLean contended that TVNZ’s action in response to the upheld complaint was inadequate. In his view, TVNZ should have broadcast a statement about its standards breach....

ComplaintAlly McBeal – drama – male applicants for law practice required to take off shirts – discrimination against men – sexual harassment in the workplace – inconsistent with maintenance of law and order Findings(1) Standard G13 – no discrimination or denigration – legitimate dramatic work – no uphold (2) Section 4(1)(b) – no uphold This headnote does not form part of the decision. Summary An episode of Ally McBeal was broadcast on TV2 on 5 July 2000 at 8. 30pm. A sequence in the programme featured two women interviewing male applicants for a position in a legal practice. The applicants were asked to remove their shirts during the interview process. S Smith complained to Television New Zealand Ltd, the broadcaster, that the sequence represented "illegal" sexual harassment of the men involved, and encouraged discrimination against men....

ComplaintLate Edition – item on plethora of cancer scares – insufficient attention given to the need to avoid the avoidable – unbalanced FindingsSection 4(1)(d) – focus on cancer scares – balancing comment – no upholdThis headnote does not form part of the decision. Summary [1] The seemingly endless number of cancer scares, and the wide range of products and behaviours linked to cancer, were considered in a relatively brief news item broadcast on Late Edition on TV One at 10. 35pm on 14 August 2001. [2] R F James complained to Television New Zealand Ltd, the broadcaster, that the item was unbalanced as it gave no recognition to the basic medical precept that if a risk is avoidable, it should be avoided. When TVNZ did not respond to the complaint, Mr James referred it to the Broadcasting Standards Authority under s. 8(1)(a) of the Broadcasting Act 1989....

Complaint under section 8(1B)(b)(i) of the Broadcasting Act 1989One News – item on the death of a Georgian luger at the Winter Olympics – included footage of the crash that killed the athlete and a still shot of him being attended to by paramedics – allegedly in breach of good taste and decency FindingsStandard 1 (good taste and decency) – broadcaster handled the crash with adequate care and sensitivity – still shot of paramedic giving CPR to the bloodied athlete on the borderline of acceptability – contextual factors – not upheld This headnote does not form part of the decision. Broadcast [1] An item on One News, broadcast on TV One at 6pm on Saturday 13 February 2010, reported on the death of a Georgian luger during a practice run at the Winter Olympic Games in Canada....

Complaint under section 8(1B)(b)(i) of the Broadcasting Act 1989Fair Go – 18 February item on family who had booked a motor-home holiday around New Zealand – paid a deposit of $4070 – family unable to take holiday due to a death in the family – motor-home company refunded them $852 – programme alleged this was unfair and in breach of the law – manager of the company was interviewed and agreed to abide by the findings of an independent accountant – allegedly inaccurate and unfair Fair Go – 25 February follow up item recapped events from original item – included interviews with the independent accountant and the company's manager – after receiving an adverse finding by the accountant, the manager apologised to the family and gave them a cheque refunding the remainder of their deposit – allegedly inaccurate and unfair Findings Standard 5 (accuracy) – decline to determine under section 11b of…...

Complaint under section 8(1B)(b)(i) of the Broadcasting Act 1989Close Up – report on the sale of horse meat for human consumption that had been processed as pet food – included undercover investigation – reporter shown speaking with the owner of pet food factory allegedly supplying horse meat – reporter told to leave the property but continued to ask questions – allegedly in breach of law and order Findings Standard 2 (law and order) – reporter acted in a professional and appropriate manner – item did not encourage viewers to break the law or otherwise promote, condone or glamorise criminal activity – not upheld This headnote does not form part of the decision....

Complaint under section 8(1B)(b)(i) of the Broadcasting Act 1989One News – item reported on the appointment of Vienna Richards as Niu FM’s news editor – allegedly unbalanced, inaccurate and unfair Findings Standard 4 (balance) – item discussed a controversial issue of public importance – focus of the item was the appointment and the perception it had created – Ms Moore’s comments were sufficient to answer the reporter’s questions – reporter did not need to interview Ms Richards or detail her experience in journalism – not upheld Standard 5 (accuracy) – item did not misled viewers by omitting information – not upheld Standard 6 (fairness) – complainant treated fairly – not upheld This headnote does not form part of the decision....

Complaint under section 8(1)(a) of the Broadcasting Act 1989Close Up – item about a ten-year-old boy who the reporter said was on the waiting list to have “tumours” removed from his body – outlined difficulties the boy’s mother had experienced dealing with his surgeon – allegedly unbalanced, inaccurate and unfairFindings Standard 4 (balance) – programme did not discuss a controversial issue of public importance – not upheldStandard 5 (accuracy) – inaccurate to state that the boy had more than one tumour – TVNZ failed to ensure that one of its sources was reliable – programme misled viewers by failing to inform them that surgeon had ensured the boy’s ongoing care – upheldStandard 6 (fairness) – complainant was not given a reasonable opportunity to respond to allegations in the item – upheld Orders Section 13(1)(a) – broadcast statement Section 16(1) – costs to the complainant $6,750 Section 16(4) – costs to…...

Complaint under section 8(1)(a) of the Broadcasting Act 1989Coke Countdown – Top 40 music video clips – allegedly sexually explicit and in breach of good taste and decency, fairness and children’s interestsFindingsStandard 1 (good taste and decency) – contextual factors – not upheld Standard 6 (fairness) – denigration requires a high threshold – no denigration of women – not upheld Standard 9 (children’s interests) – broadcaster sufficiently considered the interest of child viewers – not upheldThis headnote does not form part of the decision. Broadcast [1] Coke Countdown was broadcast on TV2 on Sunday 8 May 2005 from 10am to 12 noon. [2] The programme was a Top 40 show, featuring the most popular hit songs of the week. The fourth spot in the line up featured the song “Candy Shop” by hip hop artist 50 Cent, and featured female vocalist Olivia....

Complaint under section 8(1)(a) of the Broadcasting Act 1989Eating Media Lunch – item parodied “naked” news programmes – allegedly in breach of good taste and decencyFindingsStandard 1 (good taste and decency) – sequence unnecessarily lengthy – gratuitously explicit – upheldNo OrderThis headnote does not form part of the decision. Broadcast [1] Eating Media Lunch is a series that lampoons aspects of the media both in New Zealand and overseas. The use of semi-naked news presenters in some countries was featured in the item broadcast on TV2 starting at 10. 00pm on Tuesday 15 November 2005. [2] The item presented the “Fuck News” which was said to originate in France. The item showed two partly dressed presenters who seemed to be having sexual intercourse while reading the news....

Complaint under section 8(1B)(b)(i) of the Broadcasting Act 1989One News – item included footage of rugby player mouthing the words “fucking bullshit” – allegedly in breach of good taste and decency and children’s interests standards FindingsStandard 1 (good taste and decency) – language inaudible which reduced its potential to offend – contextual factors – not upheld Standard 9 (children’s interests) – language would have bypassed most children as they would have to have been actively watching to understand what was said – news not targeted at, nor likely to appeal to, children – not upheld This headnote does not form part of the decision. Introduction [1] An item on One News, broadcast at 6pm on TV One on 28 April 2012, reported on the fate of the Auckland Blues rugby team following their eighth successive loss....

Chair Peter Radich declared a conflict of interest and did not participate in the Authority's determination of this complaint. Summary [This summary does not form part of the decision. ] An item on One News reported on court proceedings involving the complainant, a professional harness racing trainer and driver. The Authority did not uphold the complaint that two statements in the item were inaccurate and unfair, because they allegedly portrayed her as a ‘drugs cheat’ and were misleading. Taking into account all of the charges and the nature of the offending, the statements would not have misled viewers and did not cause any unwarranted harm to the complainant’s reputation. Not Upheld: Accuracy, Fairness Introduction [1] An item on One News, broadcast on TV One on 25 June 2013, reported on court proceedings involving the complainant, Nicola Chilcott, a professional harness racing trainer and driver....

Summary[This summary does not form part of the decision. ]During her ‘final word’ segment on Seven Sharp presenter Toni Street discussed her support for arming front-line police officers with tasers and mentioned the recent murder of Blessie Gotingco. The Authority did not uphold a complaint that her comments were inaccurate and misleading. Ms Street’s comments were clearly opinion which were exempt from standards of accuracy; she did not connect the use of tasers to Blessie Gotingco’s murder; and she did not make any statements of fact that were inaccurate or would have misled viewers. Not Upheld: AccuracyIntroduction[1] During her ‘final word’ segment on an episode of Seven Sharp, presenter Toni Street discussed her support for the recent move to arm front-line police officers with tasers. She said:Alright, according to our poll on tasers tonight. . . drumroll. . ....

Summary[This summary does not form part of the decision. ]The Authority has declined to determine a complaint that an interviewee’s reference to ‘the Queen of England’, during an episode of Waka Huia, was inaccurate and discriminatory towards those in the United Kingdom who were not English. The complainant has previously referred a number of complaints about this issue to the Authority, which were either not upheld, with comprehensive reasons given for the Authority’s decision, or which the Authority declined to determine. The complainant’s appeal of a previous decision to the High Court on a similar issue was also dismissed. The Authority therefore declined to determine the complaint under section 11(a) of the Broadcasting Act 1989, on the grounds that it was trivial and vexatious....

An item on 1 News reported on clashes between mourners and Israeli police at the funeral of Palestinian-American journalist Shireen Abu Akleh. The Authority did not uphold a complaint that the item was misleading by implying the locations of Abu Akleh’s death and her funeral were in Israel and by impliedly ‘exonerating’ Israel for its police force’s actions at the funeral and for Abu Akleh’s death. While the item did not specify the city or country where the events took place, the Authority found the generic place descriptors used combined with references to ‘Israeli police’ and ‘Israeli forces’ being present would not have misled the audience to believe the events occurred in Israel. It further found the broadcast did not impliedly ‘exonerate’ Israel. Not Upheld: Accuracy...

The Authority has not upheld two complaints that it was inaccurate and/or unbalanced for an item on 1News to describe land in central Auckland as being ‘gifted’ by Ngāti Whātua to the Crown in 1840. The Authority found it was not materially inaccurate to describe the land in this way in the context of an item focused on Ngāti Whātua’s call to change Auckland Anniversary Day. Further, any harm caused by not including a detailed explanation of the land transfer did not outweigh the broadcaster’s right to freedom of expression. The balance standard did not apply. Not Upheld: Accuracy, Balance...

The Authority has not upheld two complaints that it was inaccurate for a 1News reporter to state ‘[The International Court of Justice] so far has said it's plausible that genocide is happening on the ground in Gaza’. The complainants alleged the court’s ruling only stated Palestinians had plausible rights to be protected from genocide, rather than finding genocide was plausible. The Authority found the nature of the ICJ ruling represented a statement of fact to which the standard applied, but did not consider the statement was materially misleading taking into account the legal technicalities in the ruling and the subsequent clarification, the continued debate around the ICJ’s ‘plausibility’ test, and the context of the item. Not Upheld: Accuracy...