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Complaint under section 8(1B)(b)(i) of the Broadcasting Act 1989Leighton Smith Show – host discussed verdicts in Urewera Four case – complainant phoned the programme and the host subsequently made comments about “nut bars” in New Zealand – allegedly in breach of discrimination and denigration standard FindingsStandard 7 (discrimination and denigration) – unclear which section of the community the complainant considered was denigrated or discriminated against – standard only applies to sections of the community and not to individuals so cannot be considered in relation to the complainant – broadcast did not encourage denigration of, or discrimination against, any section of the community – not upheld This headnote does not form part of the decision. Introduction [1] During the Leighton Smith Show, broadcast on the morning of 21 March 2012 on Newstalk ZB, the host discussed the verdicts in the “Urewera Four” case....

Complaint under section 8(1B)(b)(i) of the Broadcasting Act 1989One News – presenters used the term “anti-gay” to refer to people who opposed same-sex marriage – allegedly in breach of accuracy, discrimination and denigration, and responsible programming standards Findings Standard 5 (accuracy) – while use of term “anti-gay” was sloppy, and incorrect when taken in isolation, it was corrected by context of discussion about gay marriage – not upheld Standard 7 (discrimination and denigration) – term “anti-gay” was used in context of discussion about gay marriage and did not carry any malice or invective – did not encourage discrimination or denigration against people opposed to same-sex marriage – not upheld Standard 8 (responsible programming) – viewers would not have been deceived – not upheld This headnote does not form part of the decision....

BEFORE THE BROADCASTING STANDARDS AUTHORITY Decision No: 6/95 Dated the 13th day of February 1995 IN THE MATTER of the Broadcasting Act 1989 AND IN THE MATTER of a complaint by PAUL McBRIDE of Rotorua Broadcaster TELEVISION NEW ZEALAND LIMITED I W Gallaway Chairperson J R Morris L M Loates W J Fraser...

BEFORE THE BROADCASTING STANDARDS AUTHORITY Decision No: 51/95 Dated the 15th day of June 1995 IN THE MATTER of the Broadcasting Act 1989 AND IN THE MATTER of a complaint by COVEN OF NATURAL LAW of Auckland Broadcaster TV3 NETWORK SERVICES LIMITED I W Gallaway L M Loates W J Fraser R McLeod...

BEFORE THE BROADCASTING STANDARDS AUTHORITY Decision No: 1996-042 Dated the 18th day of April 1996 IN THE MATTER of the Broadcasting Act 1989 AND IN THE MATTER of a complaint by RAPE PREVENTION GROUP of Christchurch 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 1989Sunday – item investigating forced child marriages in New Zealand – contained interviews with a girl who said she was forced to marry a man who raped her, a representative from an organisation that provides refuge for migrant women, and the president of the Federation of Islamic Associations of New Zealand – allegedly in breach of accuracy, fairness, and discrimination and denigration standardsFindingsStandard 5 (accuracy) – comments made by interviewees were opinion and exempt from the accuracy standard under guideline 5a – item made it clear that the problem of forced child marriages was a cultural issue – viewers not misled – not upheldStandard 6 (fairness) – individuals and organisations taking part and referred to treated fairly – not upheldStandard 7 (discrimination and denigration) – item did not encourage denigration of, or discrimination against, Muslims – not upheldThis headnote does not form…...

Complaint Mana News – call for voters to vote for one mayoral candidate – unbalanced – encouraged discrimination against non-Maori – broadcaster upheld Principle 4 balance aspect – procedures revised to ensure longer period to vet Mana material Findings(1) Principle 7 – Guideline 7a – does not meet high threshold required for discrimination – no uphold - Guideline 7f – call to support candidate with understanding of Maori issues – not an advertisement for a specific candidate – no uphold (2) Action taken – appropriate in context of breach This headnote does not form part of the decision. Summary [1] Two interviewees in an item on Mana News encouraged Maori voters to vote for a named candidate in the Auckland mayoral election. The item was broadcast on National Radio at 5. 55pm on 27 September 2001....

Complaint under section 8(1B)(b)(i) of the Broadcasting Act 1989Close Up – item reported on the experience and fears of one woman dealing with her mentally-ill ex-husband – woman described her ex-husband as dangerous – dealt with failures of the mental health system – allegedly in breach of accuracy and discrimination and denigration standards FindingsStandard 5 (accuracy) – woman gave her opinions about her husband, did not make statements of fact about people with bipolar disorder in general – viewers would not have been misled – not upheld Standard 7 (discrimination and denigration) – did not encourage discrimination against, or denigration of, people with bipolar disorder or mental illness – not upheld This headnote does not form part of the decision....

Complaint under section 8(1B)(b)(i) and 8(1B)(b)(ii) of the Broadcasting Act 1989Breakfast – presenter made comments about the nationality of the Governor General – allegedly in breach of standards relating to good taste and decency, controversial issues, accuracy, fairness, discrimination and denigration, and responsible programming – broadcaster upheld complaints under Standards 1, 6 and 7 – action taken allegedly insufficient FindingsStandards 1 (good taste and decency), 6 (fairness) and 7 (discrimination and denigration) – serious breach of broadcasting standards warranted more immediate response from broadcaster but remedial action taken in days following broadcast was reasonable – action taken sufficient – not upheld Standard 4 (controversial issues – viewpoints) – no discussion of a controversial issue of public importance – not upheld Standard 8 (responsible programming) – Breakfast was an unclassified news and current affairs programme – comments would not have alarmed or distressed viewers – not upheld This headnote does not form part of the…...

Complaint under section 8(1B)(b)(i) of the Broadcasting Act 1989The Politically Incorrect Guide to Teenagers – host commented that teenagers were “mental”, “mad”, “not right in the head” – showed sketch of “Mad Uncle Jack” who had been released from psychiatric facility – allegedly in breach of standards relating to good taste and decency and discrimination and denigration FindingsStandard 1 (good taste and decency) – content subject to complaint intended to be humorous and educational rather than offensive – contextual factors – not upheld Standard 7 (discrimination and denigration) – comments were host’s personal opinion with regard to teenage behaviour – he was not making a comment on people with mental illness as a section of the community – comments did not contain invective necessary to encourage denigration or discrimination – not upheld This headnote does not form part of the decision....

SummaryA segment of Sunday Supplement included an opinion piece by a contributor called James Macky. He commented at length on a newspaper column captioned "If gay is the answer, what’s the question". The programme was broadcast on National Radio on 22 August 1999 between 8. 45–9. 00am. The Credo Society Incorporated, through its secretary Mrs Barbara Faithfull, complained to Radio New Zealand Ltd, the broadcaster, that the segment was biased and contained unfair and inaccurate comment. The speaker employed deceitful means by using an assumed name, Mrs Faithfull wrote, and the effect of that was to mislead listeners about the speaker’s credibility. RNZ responded that the segment was an opinion piece in Sunday Supplement which was a programme of review and opinion....

ComplaintTV2 Big Comedy Gala – offensive language – "fuck, shit, motherfucker" – religious skit – denigrated Christians FindingsStandard G2 – stand-up comedy – AO time – preceded by a warning – offensive language used infrequently – not inappropriate in context – no uphold Standard G13 – did not amount to denigration – no uphold This headnote does not form part of the decision. Summary The programme TV2 Big Comedy Gala, featuring stand-up comedians in a night club setting, was broadcast on TV2 at 10. 05pm on 19 May 2001. A M Langford complained to Television New Zealand Ltd, the broadcaster, that some of the language was very offensive, and one skit ridiculed the Christian faith. In reply, TVNZ acknowledged that the broadcast might not have been to everyone’s taste....

ComplaintNewstalk ZB – host Larry Williams – guest Michael Laws – New York terrorist attack – President Bush's actions described as pathetic – ignorant and offensive comments FindingsPrinciple 7 – nominated by broadcaster – inappropriate Principle 5 – correct standard – comments not unfair in context – no uphold This headnote does not form part of the decision. Summary [1] The terrorist attack in New York City on 11 September 2001 was the topic discussed on Newstalk ZB between host Larry Williams and commentator Michael Laws at about 6. 20pm on 14 September 2001. During the discussion, Mr Laws described President George Bush’s actions as "pathetic". [2] Murray McEwan complained to The Radio Network Ltd, the broadcaster, that Mr Laws’ comments were "appallingly" ignorant and offensive. He deplored the host’s response who had allowed the guest’s remarks to go unchallenged....

ComplaintNewstalk ZB – host Leighton Smith – caller used word "mongrel" to describe bad parents – denied it was a racist interpretation – offensive language – racist FindingsPrinciple 1 – context – no uphold Principle 7 – threshold not reached – no uphold This headnote does not form part of the decision. Summary [1] Parenting was one of the topics discussed on the Leighton Smith Morning Show on 27 August 2002 in view of some murders committed recently by young people. One caller said that "two mongrel dogs" would produce "a mongrel pup", and that it was illegal to "beat that mongrel out of the pup". The Leighton Smith Morning Show is broadcast by TRN each weekday between 8. 30am – midday via the Newstalk ZB network. It is a talkback programme hosted by Leighton Smith....

Complaint under section 8(1B)(b)(i) of the Broadcasting Act 1989 3 News: Firstline – item reported on protestor at St Peter’s Square who shouted “Pope, where is Christ? ” – newsreader commented, “He’s here. His name’s Richie McCaw” – allegedly in breach of discrimination and denigration standard Findings Standard 7 (discrimination and denigration) – comment was intended to be humorous and did not carry any invective – broadcast did not encourage denigration of, or discrimination against, Christians as a section of the community – not upheld This headnote does not form part of the decision. Introduction [1] An item on 3 News: Firstline, broadcast on TV3 at 8am on 24 October 2011, reported on a protester who climbed the walls surrounding St Peter’s Square and set fire to a bible....

Complaint under section 8(1B)(b)(i) of the Broadcasting Act 1989 Homeland – fictional drama series in which the CIA investigates a possible terrorist threat – allegedly in breach of discrimination and denigration standard Findings Standard 7 (discrimination and denigration) – standard not intended to prevent the broadcast of legitimate drama – programme did not encourage the denigration of, or discrimination against, a section of the community – not upheld This headnote does not form part of the decision....

BEFORE THE BROADCASTING STANDARDS AUTHORITY Decision No: 60/94 Dated the 1st day of August 1994 IN THE MATTER of the Broadcasting Act 1989 AND IN THE MATTER of a complaint by GRAHAM and JENNY JACOBSEN of Putaruru Broadcaster TELEVISION NEW ZEALAND LIMITED I. W. Gallaway Chairperson J. R. Morris R. A. Barraclough L. M. Loates...

Summary [This summary does not form part of the decision. ] Two teams of comedians on 7 Days made comments about the complainant, a Christchurch City Council candidate who had been in the news for exposing people who visited an illegal brothel. The Authority did not uphold the complaint that this was unfair. The complainant willingly put himself in the public eye, and it was reasonable to expect scrutiny. The comedy genre of the programme, and the tone of the comments, indicated this was not intended as a personal attack on the complainant, or to be informative, but was purely for the purpose of entertainment and humour, so potential harm to the complainant was minimal....

Summary [This summary does not form part of the decision. ]During 3 News: Firstline, TV3’s political correspondent commented that Colin Craig was the ‘toilet paper’ of conservative politics and ‘he’s got the Christians [voting for him]’. The Authority did not uphold two complaints that these comments were unbalanced, inaccurate and unfair. The segment clearly comprised the correspondent’s own analysis and commentary rather than statements of fact, so viewers would not have been misled and the broadcaster was not required to present other views. As the leader of a political party, Mr Craig should expect criticism and scrutiny, so the comments were not unfair. Not Upheld: Fairness, Accuracy, Controversial Issues, Good Taste and Decency, Discrimination and DenigrationIntroduction[1] During 3 News: Firstline, TV3’s political correspondent commented that Colin Craig was the ‘toilet paper’ of conservative politics, and that ‘he’s got the Christians [voting for him]’....