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Complaint An Audience with the King – offensive language – broadcaster failed to consider children’s viewing interests FindingsStandard 1 – majority – contextual matters – no uphold Standard 9 – broadcaster was mindful of children – no uphold This headnote does not form part of the decision. Summary [1] An Audience with the King recorded the performance of stand-up comedian Mike King before a live audience. The programme was broadcast on TV2 at 9. 30pm on Friday 11 October 2002. [2] Graham Fox complained to Television New Zealand Ltd, the broadcaster, that the programme was offensive, and that it was irresponsible to have broadcast such material at a time when children were likely to be watching television. [3] In response, TVNZ said that the programme in context did not breach current norms of good taste and decency, and that it had considered the viewing interests of children....

ComplaintOne News – Shop closure in country town – comment from observer – "It’s going to be a bugger to lose that shop" – language offensive. FindingsStandard G2 – language not inappropriate in context – no upholdThis headnote does not form part of the decision. Summary The comment "It’s going to be a bugger to lose that shop" was used by a man interviewed during an item about the closure of the Deka shop in Dargaville. The item was broadcast on One News on 16 March 2001 at 6. 00pm. Paul Schwabe complained to Television New Zealand Ltd, the broadcaster, that the word "bugger" was offensive. TVNZ responded that the word was not inappropriate in the context of the item, and declined to uphold the complaint. Dissatisfied with TVNZ’s decision, Mr Schwabe referred the complaint to the Broadcasting Standards Authority under s. 8(1)(a) of the Broadcasting Act 1989....

ComplaintOur World: The Farm that Time Forgot – Captain’s Log – commercial break in each programme included a Toyota bugger advertisement – programme presentation – offensive language FindingsSection 4(1)(a) and standard G2 – conjunction – advertisements in context – no uphold Standard G7 – no technical deception – no uphold Standards G8 and G12 – not unsuitable at 8. 40pm – no uphold This headnote does not form part of the decision. Summary [1] An episode of Our World entitled The Farm that Time Forgot was broadcast by TV One starting at 8. 05pm on Saturday 28 April 2001. During a commercial break at about 8. 40pm, a Toyota advertisement containing the word "bugger" was broadcast....

Complaint under section 8(1B)(b)(i) of the Broadcasting Act 1989 Promo for Nothing Trivial – broadcast during One News – characters used the terms “balls”, “arse” and “bastard” – allegedly in breach of good taste and decency and children’s interests standards Findings Standard 1 (good taste and decency) – language of a low level – One News aimed at adult audience – contextual factors – not upheld Standard 9 (children’s interests) – broadcaster adequately considered children’s interests by broadcasting the promo during One News – not upheld This headnote does not form part of the decision. Introduction [1] A promo for Nothing Trivial, a drama following the personal lives of members of a pub quiz team, was broadcast on TV One between 6pm and 7pm on Wednesday 24 August 2011, during One News which was unclassified....

Complaint under section 8(1B)(b)(i) of the Broadcasting Act 1989Nightline – item on closure of Gardies, a well-known student pub in Dunedin – contained male nudity including genitalia – allegedly in breach of good taste and decency standard FindingsStandard 1 (good taste and decency) – nudity was matter-of-fact and non-sexual – contextual factors – not upheld This headnote does not form part of the decision. Broadcast [1] An item on Nightline, broadcast on TV3 at 10. 39pm on Friday 18 June 2010, reported on the closure of a well-known student pub in Dunedin, The Garden Tavern, known as Gardies. The reporter stated that nudity had been a “big chapter in the bar’s history”, and approximately one minute into the item a group of young men were shown playing nude rugby outside the bar. The men were filmed running towards the camera, exercising and stretching, with their genitalia visible....

Complaint under section 8(1B)(b)(i) of the Broadcasting Act 1989Promo for Bad Santa – promo screened during family Christmas movie The Santa Clause 2 – contained brief shots of “Bad Santa” smoking and throwing a rock at a car windshield – “Bad Santa” told child sitting on his knee that he “loved a woman who wasn’t clean” and when asked if that was Mrs Santa he replied “No, it was her sister” – allegedly in breach of good taste and decency and children’s interests standards FindingsStandard 9 (children’s interests) – sexual references were implied and would have gone over the heads of younger viewers – promo was correctly rated PGR and did not contain any material which warranted a higher classification of AO – broadcaster adequately considered children’s interests – not upheld Standard 1 (good taste and decency) – most viewers would not have been offended by the promo when broadcast in this…...

Complaint under section 8(1B)(b)(i) of the Broadcasting Act 1989Shortland Street – showed characters smoking cigarettes and dropping their cigarette butts on the ground – allegedly in breach of good taste and decency, and law and order standards FindingsStandard 1 (good taste and decency) and Standard 2 (law and order) – footage of characters smoking and dropping cigarette butts on the ground would not have offended most viewers and did not encourage viewers to break the law – acceptable in context and relevant to developing storyline – behaviour not portrayed as desirable – well within broadcaster’s right to employ dramatic licence – not upheld This headnote does not form part of the decision. Introduction [1] An episode of Shortland Street showed two characters smoking cigarettes before dropping their cigarette butts on the ground. The programme was broadcast on TV2 at 7pm on 19 April 2013....

Complaints under section 8(1B)(b)(i) of the Broadcasting Act 1989Seven Sharp – presenters made comments about leader of the Conservative Party Colin Craig – allegedly in breach of good taste and decency, law and order, privacy, controversial issues, fairness, accuracy, discrimination and denigration, responsible programming, and violence standards FindingsStandard 6 (fairness) – comments in 17 April item aimed at Colin Craig in his professional capacity and therefore not unfair – comments in 24 April item were insulting and personally abusive to Colin Craig and therefore unfair to him – upheld in part Standard 1 (good taste and decency) – alleged coarse language did not threaten current norms of good taste and decency – abusive nature of comments more appropriately addressed as a matter of fairness to Colin Craig, rather than harm to general audience – not upheld Standard 7 (discrimination and denigration) – items did not encourage discrimination or denigration against people who opposed…...

Summary [This summary does not form part of the decision. ] An item on The Paul Henry Show featured a recent Police press release about a so-called tourist who had reportedly been driving with a kayak attached width-ways to the roof of his car. The presenter commented that the man was ‘a bloody twat’ and that his actions ‘pissed him off’. The Authority did not uphold a complaint about the presenter’s choice of language and his denigration of foreign tourists. In the context of a late-night programme and the presenter’s well-known style, the language did not threaten current norms of good taste and decency and ‘foreign tourists’ are not a section of the community to which the discrimination and denigration standard applies....

Download a PDF of Decision No. 1992-068:Harang and Television New Zealand Ltd - 1992-068 PDF353. 15 KB...

Download a PDF of Decision No. 1993-073–074:Sharp and Harang and Television New Zealand Ltd - 1993-073, 1993-074 PDF698. 63 KB...

Download a PDF of Decision No. 1993-098–099:McElroy and Pryor and Television New Zealand Ltd - 1993-098, 1993-099 PDF802. 78 KB...

The Authority has upheld a complaint about a broadcast of The DailyMail TV, finding that footage broadcast during the programme was inappropriate for the PGR classification and time of broadcast, and required an audience advisory for disturbing content. The programme was broadcast at 3. 30pm on a weekday, and featured partially censored footage of an American stabbing victim in the moments before she died. While the woman’s injuries were blurred, her distressed facial expression and blood splatters on the floor were visible. A second story featured censored footage of two 19-year-old women who claimed they had been drugged, filmed inside a bar naked and allegedly performing sex acts. The Authority found that this content went beyond what could be expected from a PGR-classified programme broadcast during children’s normally accepted viewing times and that the programme should have been classified AO – Adults Only....

The Authority has not upheld a complaint about the use of food in an episode of Taskmaster NZ, a game show in which comedians are tasked with completing strange and whacky challenges. The complaint was that the wastage of food and playing with food was offensive and disrespected tikanga. The Authority found in the context of a game show intended to be entertaining and humorous, the content did not undermine community standards or cause harm that justified limiting the broadcaster’s right to freedom of expression. The Authority noted that the broadcaster acknowledged the complainant’s concerns relating to tikanga and had discussed this with its content team. Not Upheld: Good Taste and Decency...

During the programme Tim Roxborogh & Tim Beveridge Afternoons, the hosts discussed Russia’s recent invasion of Ukraine. In response to Roxborogh’s question of ‘how do you stop Putin? ’ Beveridge answered that the only thing would be ‘…a bullet to the back of Putin’s head. He has to be taken out by someone. ’ The complainant alleged that these comments breached the good taste and decency, violence, law and order, and fairness standards as they incited violence. The Authority did not uphold the complaint, finding the comments did not reach a threshold justifying regulatory intervention. In particular, the Authority noted the comments did not amount to a threat or call to action, were not likely to incite action against President Putin, and were made in the context of a discussion about President Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, which has led to significant loss of life and the displacement of Ukrainians....

Summary[This summary does not form part of the decision. ]A segment on Polly & Grant for Breakfast featured the hosts reading out and discussing a list of countries referred to as ‘the last places on Earth with no internet’. The list was long and included countries such as India, Indonesia, Zimbabwe, Ghana, Guatemala and Nicaragua. The list was evidently sourced from an online article that contained relevant information about the countries listed having internet user penetration rates of less than 20%. That information was omitted during the broadcast, and created an impression that the countries listed had no internet. The Authority nevertheless did not uphold a complaint under the accuracy standard. The Authority noted that the accuracy standard only applies to news, current affairs or factual programming and found that it did not apply to this light-hearted, entertainment-based programme....

ComplaintNewstalk ZB – discussion regarding "National Penis Day" – included reference to penis on Michaelangelo’s David – breach of good taste and decency FindingsPrinciple 1 – contextual matters – no uphold This headnote does not form part of the decision. Summary [1] On Newstalk ZB an interview with the Executive Director of the New Zealand AIDS Foundation regarding "National Penis Day" was broadcast on 2 September 2002 at 5. 34pm. The discussion concerned the Foundation not being able to publicise the day by putting up billboards featuring penises. [2] David Robb complained to The Radio Network Ltd (TRN), the broadcaster, that the item was offensive and the material inappropriate, particularly for child listeners. [3] In response, TRN maintained that the comments in context did not breach current norms of good taste and decency. It declined to uphold the complaint....

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 19893 News – interviewed Cyclone Yasi survivor – reporter stated “Jesus, what went through your mind? ” – allegedly in breach of standards relating to good taste and decency, and discrimination and denigration FindingsStandard 1 (good taste and decency) – “Jesus” used to convey exclamation of shock – contextual factors – not upheld This headnote does not form part of the decision. Broadcast [1] An item on 3 News, broadcast on TV3 at 6pm on Friday 4 February 2010, reported on Cyclone Yasi in Queensland. During the item, the reporter interviewed a survivor who explained that she had been sitting on the toilet when a big tree came through the wall, to which the reporter responded, “Jesus, what went through your mind?...