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BEFORE THE BROADCASTING STANDARDS AUTHORITY Decision No: 1998-079 Dated the 23rd day of July 1998 IN THE MATTER of the Broadcasting Act 1989 AND IN THE MATTER of a complaint by JENNY HALE of Auckland Broadcaster TELEVISION NEW ZEALAND LIMITED S R Maling Chairperson L M Loates R McLeod J Withers...

Complaint under section 8(1B)(b)(i) of the Broadcasting Act 1989Nine to Noon – Pacific correspondent updated situation in Fiji – allegedly unbalanced and inaccurate Findings Principle 4 (balance) – programme was not a discussion of a controversial issue – standard did not apply – not upheld Principle 6 (accuracy) – four inaccurate statements – upheld No Order This headnote does not form part of the decision. Broadcast [1] On 7 March 2008 on Radio New Zealand National, the host of the Nine to Noon programme interviewed Pacific correspondent Michael Field, who was asked to give an update on what had been happening in Fiji. Mr Field stated that the situation in Fiji was "progressively getting worse" and that Commodore Voreqe Bainimarama was showing "all the signs of true military dictatorship"....

Complaint under section 8(1)(a) of the Broadcasting Act 1989Sunday – “The Monster of Berhampore” – case of Wallace Lake who ran the Berhampore Children’s Home – accused of sexually molesting children – police had received 13 complaints and decided to charge Mr Lake before he died – questioned whether Presbyterian Support Services who ran the home had done enough to help complainants – allegedly unbalanced and inconsistent with the maintenance of law and orderFindingsStandard 2 (law and order) – did not encourage viewers to disrespect principles of law – not upheld Standard 4 (balance) – programme discussed controversial issue of public importance – programme did assume Mr Lake’s guilt – TVNZ contacted Mr Lake’s solicitor and family as Mr Lake deceased – they declined to comment – TVNZ made reasonable efforts to get other perspective on allegations – complainant identified no other information or means by which to refute allegations against…...

Complaint under section 8(1B)(b)(i) of the Broadcasting Act 1989Close Up – item about homeopathy sceptics – included comment from sceptics, a homeopathy client, a practitioner and New Zealand Council of Homeopaths – allegedly in breach of controversial issues standard FindingsStandard 4 (controversial issues – viewpoints) – item discussed a controversial issue of public importance – three interviewees offered views in favour of homeopathy – broadcaster made reasonable efforts to present significant points of view – not upheld This headnote does not form part of the decision. Broadcast [1] An item on Close Up, broadcast on TV One at 7pm on Wednesday 10 February 2010, featured an experiment conducted by the New Zealand Sceptics Society in which they tried to overdose on homeopathic remedies. They reached the conclusion that the remedies were essentially water containing extremely diluted substances....

Complaint under section 8(1B)(b)(i) of the Broadcasting Act 1989One News – report on poll results showing an increase in support for New Zealand becoming a republic – allegedly unbalanced, inaccurate and unfair Findings Standard 4 (balance) – item did not discuss a controversial issue of public importance – not upheld Standard 5 (accuracy) – poll results presented accurately – no need to authenticate presenter’s statements or explain why survey was commissioned – not upheld Standard 6 (fairness) – individuals referred to treated fairly – 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 Friday 2 January 2009, reported on the results of a recent poll showing an increase in support for the view that New Zealand should become a republic....

Summary [This summary does not form part of the decision. ] A One News item reporting on Family Planning’s call for sex education in schools for younger children, included brief footage of Miley Cyrus’ performance at the 2013 MTV Video Music Awards. Consistent with two previous decisions, the Authority did not uphold complaints that the footage was inappropriate to show during the news. Given recent widespread publicity of the performance, it was a relevant example of the kind of sexualised images Family Planning was concerned younger audiences were being exposed to. Unclassified news programmes often contain material unsuitable for children and some adult supervision is expected. Not Upheld: Good Taste and Decency, Children’s Interests, Controversial Issues Introduction [1] An item on One News reported on Family Planning’s call for sex education in schools for younger children....

BEFORE THE BROADCASTING STANDARDS AUTHORITY Decision No: 62/95 Dated the 6th day of July 1995 IN THE MATTER of the Broadcasting Act 1989 AND IN THE MATTER of a complaint by ERNSLAW ONE LIMITED Broadcaster TELEVISION NEW ZEALAND LIMITED I W Gallaway L M Loates W J Fraser R McLeod...

BEFORE THE BROADCASTING STANDARDS AUTHORITY Decision No: 1996-105 Dated the 29th day of August 1996 IN THE MATTER of the Broadcasting Act 1989 AND IN THE MATTER of a complaint by M D STEMSON of Coromandel Broadcaster NEW ZEALAND PUBLIC RADIO LIMITED J M Potter Chairperson L M Loates R McLeod A Martin...

ComplaintOne News – Rodney Hide MP – "scam buster" – spoke at seminar in Fiji – affidavit that his presence gave investors confidence to invest – investment was a scam – inaccurate – unbalanced – unfair FindingsS. 4(1)(d) and Standard 4 – reasonable opportunities given – no uphold Standard 5 – not unfair – no uphold Standard 6 – inaccuracies (1) different use of the term "family"; (2) not a "self-proclaimed scam buster"; (3) affidavit not dated that day – uphold on these three points – no other inaccuracies No Order This headnote does not form part of the decision. Summary [1] An affidavit, which recorded that Rodney Hide MP’s presence as a speaker at an investment seminar in Fiji had given a man and his family the confidence to invest, was reported in an item broadcast on One News on 15 May 2002....

Complaints under s. 8(1)(a) and s. 8(1)(c) of the Broadcasting Act 1989 1. Holmes – 18 and 19 November 2003 – complainant director of Network Visas NZ Ltd – in dispute with 13 Romanian students – complainant’s home shown on item as location where business operated from – not company’s registered office – complainant given inadequate opportunity to respond – a number of factual inaccuracies – allegedly unbalanced, inaccurate and unfair 2. Holmes – 18 November 2003 – complainant’s home shown on item as location where business operated from – after broadcast, complainant visited by landlord – complainant’s wife who operates beauty business from the address felt intimidated – alleged breach of privacy 3....

Complaint"A Tale of Tofu" – National Geographic documentary – unbalanced coverage of controversial topic – inaccurate FindingsSection 4(1)(d) – item dealt with tofu’s cheapness, versatility and availability, not health issues – not controversial topic – no uphold This headnote does not form part of the decision. Summary "A Tale of Tofu" was broadcast by Sky Network Television Ltd on the National Geographic channel on 8 October 2000 at midday. It provided a cultural and historical overview of the role of tofu in Chinese life. Mr R F James complained to Sky Network Television that the broadcast was unbalanced because it presented tofu in a positive light, and failed to acknowledge that there was a significant body of evidence which showed that it was not healthy, and that it posed irreversible dangers to consumers....

ComplaintTalkback – therapeutic remedy – editorial independence – advertorial – ethical issues FindingsPrinciple 4 – no uphold Principle 7 – host agreed with caller – reference to mainstream medical advice not necessarily required in context – no uphold This headnote does not form part of the decision. Summary A caller, who said her granddaughter had open weeping sores, asked the host on Radio Pacific for his views on the efficacy of colloidal silver and Celtic sea salt in treating her condition. The call was broadcast on 21 February 2000 at about 4. 10am on Radio Pacific. Christopher Ingram complained to The RadioWorks Ltd that the broadcast was not balanced and was irresponsible in not advising the caller to seek medical advice. In addition he expressed his concern about the sponsorship of the programme by a company which made alternative remedies....

Download a PDF of Decision No. 1993-092:Bracey and Television New Zealand Ltd - 1993-092 PDF394. 31 KB...

BEFORE THE BROADCASTING STANDARDS AUTHORITY Decision No: 1996-055 Dated the 16th day of May 1996 IN THE MATTER of the Broadcasting Act 1989 AND IN THE MATTER of a complaint by KAREN DAWKINS of Rotorua Broadcaster TELEVISION NEW ZEALAND LIMITED J M Potter Chairperson L M Loates R McLeod A Martin...

Complaint under section 8(1B)(b)(i) of the Broadcasting Act 1989Morning Report – interview with Larry Baldock about the citizens-initiated referendum on smacking – host asked the interviewee a question nine times challenging him to give an answer – host interrupted interviewee on several occasions – allegedly in breach of good taste and decency, controversial issues, accuracy, fairness and discrimination and denigration standards FindingsStandard 1 (good taste and decency) – contextual factors – not upheld Standard 4 (controversial issues – viewpoints) – host played the role of devil’s advocate – significant points of view presented – not upheld Standard 5 (accuracy) – item did not mislead – not upheld Standard 6 (fairness) – interviewee was robustly challenged and given an adequate opportunity to express his views – not upheld Standard 7 (discrimination and denigration) – standard not applicable – not upheld This headnote does not form part of the decision....

Complaint under section 8(1)(a) of the Broadcasting Act 1989One News – report on National Party leader John Key's "state of the nation" speech – included responses from community groups and the Prime Minister – allegedly unbalanced FindingsStandard 4 (balance) – reasonable efforts made to present significant viewpoints – 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 30 January 2007, reported on the "state of the nation" speech by National Party leader, John Key. It showed parts of Mr Key's speech and also contained a short excerpt from a speech by the Prime Minister, Helen Clark, in which she disputed Mr Key's assertion that there was a "growing underclass" in New Zealand. [2] The One News political editor commented that Mr Key's speech had not contained "a lot of real concrete solutions"....

Complaint under section 8(1)(b) of the Broadcasting Act 1989Sunday – item allegedly inaccurate, unbalanced, unfair, and in breach of privacy and programme information standards Findings Standard 3 (privacy) – decline to determine under section 11(b) of the Broadcasting Act 1989 Standards 4 (balance) – not upheld Standards 5 (accuracy) and 6 (fairness) – majority uphold Standard 8 (programme information) – subsumed into consideration of Standards 5 and 6 No Order This headnote does not form part of the decision. Broadcast [1] RT made a formal complaint to Television New Zealand Ltd about an item broadcast on TV One’s Sunday programme at 7. 30pm on 1 July 2007. It was alleged that the programme breached Standards 3, 4, 5, 6 and 8 of the Free-to-Air Television Code. [2] The complainant referred the complaint to the Authority under section 8(1)(b) of the Broadcasting Act 1989....

An appeal against this decision by Bishop Denis Browne was dismissed in the High Court: CIV 2006-485-1611 PDF109....

ComplaintOutspoken – foreshore and seabed issue – complaint that the panel of four represented radical Maori viewpoint and item partial and unbalanced FindingsPrinciple 4 – introduction set framework – those matters canvassed during broadcast – not upheld This headnote does not form part of the decision Summary [1] The foreshore and seabed issue was addressed by a panel of four speakers during Outspoken, broadcast on National Radio between 8. 00 and 9. 00 pm on 11 November 2003. [2] Gregory Wicksteed complained to Radio New Zealand Ltd, the broadcaster, that the item was neither impartial nor balanced. The four panellists and the two presenters, he wrote, represented only the Maori radical movement. No allowance, he added, was made for the alternative viewpoint held by the majority of New Zealanders. [3] In response, RNZ said that the standards provided for balance being achieved over time....