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BEFORE THE BROADCASTING STANDARDS AUTHORITY Decision No: 1997-066 Decision No: 1997-067 Dated the 22nd day of May 1997 IN THE MATTER of the Broadcasting Act 1989 AND IN THE MATTER of complaints by MAURICE HOY of Auckland and K J WERDER of Waitoa Broadcaster TV3 NETWORK SERVICES LIMITED J M Potter Chairperson L M Loates A Martin...

Summary[This summary does not form part of the decision. ]The Authority has upheld one aspect of a complaint from three complainants about a segment of Punjabi talkback programme Panthic Vichar, broadcast on community radio station, Planet FM. During the programme, host Kuldip Singh made a number of allegations against the complainants, regarding use of grant money and cheating or ‘unjust’ behaviour at a kabaddi tournament. The Authority found that the host’s comments reflected negatively on the complainants and as such, they should have been given an opportunity to respond to the allegations. The Authority did not uphold the remaining aspects of the complaint. The Authority acknowledged the limited resources available to the broadcaster, but reminded it of its obligations under the Broadcasting Act 1989 to receive and consider formal complaints through a proper process, including where the broadcast subject to complaint is in a language other than English....

Summary[This summary does not form part of the decision. ]A campaign clip for the Ban 1080 Party (an election programme for the purposes of the Election Programmes Code) was broadcast on 10 September 2017 on Māori Television. The clip featured a voiceover discussing the purported use and effects of sodium fluoroacetate (1080 poison) on New Zealand’s flora, fauna and waterways, accompanied by footage of animal carcasses and 1080 baits in water. The Authority did not uphold a complaint that the election programme was misleading and breached the Election Programmes Code and the Free-To-Air Television Code. The Authority found that the election programme did not contain statements of fact that were misleading, inaccurate, or indistinguishable from opinion. The claims made within the context of the broadcast were statements of political advocacy and opinion, made for the purpose of encouraging voters to vote for the Ban 1080 Party....

The Authority declined to determine a complaint regarding a news item covering the expansion of a sexual violence court pilot. The complainant submitted that the victim advocate interviewed in the item should not have been interviewed and should not have been referred to as a rape survivor. The Authority concluded that, in all the circumstances of the complaint, it should not be determined by the Authority. The Authority found the concerns raised in the complaint are matters of editorial discretion and personal preference rather than broadcasting standards, and are therefore not capable of being determined by the broadcasting standards complaints procedure. Declined to determine: Good Taste and Decency, Programme Information, Violence, Law and Order, Discrimination and Denigration, Balance, Accuracy, Privacy, Fairness...

Summary[This summary does not form part of the decision. ]During an episode of Seven Sharp the presenter Hilary Barry welcomed a temporary presenter, Matt Chisholm, who responded by saying ‘it’s bloody good to be here’. The Authority did not uphold a complaint that the use of the word ‘bloody’ breached the good taste and decency standard, finding the use of the term in the context of this programme was not inappropriate or unnecessary. The Authority has consistently found this expression to be colloquial language commonly used as an exclamation in our society. The Authority noted that Seven Sharp is aimed at adult viewers and the expression was not intended to be aggressive or pejorative. Overall, the Authority found that any potential for harm by the use of this term did not justify a restriction on the broadcaster’s right to freedom of expression....

The Authority has not upheld a complaint that a radio host’s description of a rugby match between the Blues and the Crusaders as ‘a battle of good versus evil’ breached broadcasting standards. The Authority found that the comment was used to describe a competitive sporting rivalry between the Blues and the Crusaders and in context it was not likely to cause undue distress or harm. The Authority determined that the comment was not unfair to the Crusaders as it was a general comment about the nature of the match, and that there was no identified section of the community for the purposes of the discrimination and denigration standard. The Authority also emphasised the importance of freedom of expression and the value of hearing the authentic New Zealand voice. Not Upheld: Good Taste and Decency, Fairness, Discrimination and Denigration...

The Authority has not upheld a complaint that use of the phrase ‘how the hell’ in an item on Breakfast breached the good taste and decency standard. The Authority found the use of the word would not have caused widespread undue offence or distress or undermined widely shared community values. Not Upheld: Good Taste and Decency...

The Authority has not upheld a complaint about the introduction for a piece broadcast on RNZ Concert: ‘Being a coloured man wasn’t an advantage to 19th century English composer Samuel Coleridge-Taylor. But he did, fortunately, have some influential supporters… so his music did get heard. ’ The complaint was that the description of the composer as ‘coloured’ perpetuated racism. The Authority acknowledged the complainant’s concerns and the changing nature of language over time. In this case, it found the description of the composer, in the context of the broadcast, did not encourage discrimination or denigration and was unlikely to cause offence at a level justifying restriction of the right to freedom of expression.   Not Upheld: Good Taste and Decency, Discrimination and Denigration...

The Authority has not upheld a complaint about the promo for Hustlers which was broadcast during the movie Minions. The promo did not breach the good taste and decency or children’s interests standards as it was consistent with the PG classification for Minions. Child viewers were unlikely to understand the adult themes, and the promo did not contain nudity or explicit sexual content. Not Upheld: Good Taste and Decency, Children’s Interests...

The Authority has not upheld a complaint that it was inappropriate to broadcast images of spiders due to viewers potentially having arachnophobia. The Authority found the images were unlikely to cause widespread undue offence, and the introduction to the item gave viewers who did not want to see spiders the opportunity to switch off. The programme information and discrimination and denigration standards did not apply. Not Upheld: Good Taste and Decency, Programme Information, Discrimination and Denigration....

Complaint under section 8(1B)(b)(i) of the Broadcasting Act 1989Nightline – item on Māori TV’s bid for the free-to-air broadcasting rights to the Rugby World Cup – included satirical sketch about what Māori TV’s coverage would look like – allegedly in breach of good taste and decency, controversial issues, accuracy, fairness, discrimination and denigration and responsible programming standards Findings Standard 7 (discrimination and denigration) – legitimate satire – lacked necessary invective to cross threshold for denigration of Māori as a section of the community – Māori TV not a section of the community – not upheld Standard 6 (fairness) – Māori TV treated fairly – Pita Shaples and Julian Wilcox treated fairly – not upheld Standard 1 (good taste and decency) – contextual factors – not upheld Standard 4 (controversial issues – viewpoints) – item was satire – did not “discuss” a controversial issue of public importance – not upheld Standard 5 (accuracy) – item did…...

ComplaintLate Edition – news item – Solicitor General to appeal sentences of two convicted murderers, Dartelle Alder and Colin Bouwer – complainant convinced Mark Burton shown in item – breach of good taste and decency – inaccurate FindingsStandards 1 and 5 – complainant mistaken – Mark Burton not shown in item – no uphold This headnote does not form part of the decision. Summary [1] An item on Late Edition broadcast on TV One at 10. 45pm on 16 January 2002 reported that the Solicitor General was to appeal the sentences of two convicted murderers, Dartelle Alder and Colin Bouwer. The item included footage of the two men. [2] Ron Jenkins complained to Television New Zealand Ltd, the broadcaster, that the item included footage of Mark Burton, who was found not guilty on the grounds of insanity of murdering his mother....

ComplaintEating Media Lunch – satirised television series Target which uses hidden cameras to watch workmen in a private house – workers behaved in crude and coarse manner which the complainants regarded as offensive FindingsStandard 1 – majority – satirical context – not upheld – minority – overstepped boundaries despite satire – upheld This headnote does not form part of the decision Summary [1] The Target series was satirised during Eating Media Lunch broadcast on TV2 at 9. 30pm on 25 November 2003. Target often uses hidden cameras to portray the sometimes offensive behaviour of workmen who believe they are alone in a private home. Eating Media Lunch is a series which sets out to satirise and parody aspects of the media. The behaviour suggested in the Target parody included telephone sex, drug use, masturbation, defecation and urination....

Complaint under section 8(1B)(b)(ii) of the Broadcasting Act 1989Breakfast – host read out viewer feedback and made comments about a female guest's appearance – allegedly in breach of good taste and decency and fairness standards – broadcaster upheld fairness complaint, apologised to complainant and spoke to host and senior staff of Breakfast – action taken allegedly insufficient Findings Standard 6 (fairness) – action taken sufficient – breach of standards handled appropriately by the broadcaster – not upheld This headnote does not form part of the decision. Broadcast [1] During Breakfast, broadcast on TV One between 6. 30am and 9am on 25 March 2009, a Greenpeace representative was invited onto the programme to discuss the issue of compensation for the health effects of nuclear testing. [2] Following the interview, in a viewer feedback segment at 7....

Complaint under section 8(1)(a) of the Broadcasting Act 1989Nine to Noon – discussion about taxi safety – referred to taxi drivers as “cabbies” – allegedly in breach of good taste and decency, unbalanced, inaccurate and unfair FindingsPrinciple 1 (good taste and decency) – “cabbies” not pejorative – not upheld Principle 4 (balance) – broadcaster not required to present views of non-Taxi Federation companies – not upheld Principle 5 (fairness) – did not imply that non-Taxi Federation members were at the “bottom end” of the industry – not unfair – not upheld Principle 6 (accuracy) – programme was ambiguous as to whether Taxi Federation represented all companies – not inaccurate – not upheld This headnote does not form part of the decision....

Complaint under section 8(1)(a) of the Broadcasting Act 1989One News – item showed footage of female strippers dancing in a strip club – allegedly in breach of good taste and decency and children’s interests Findings Standard 1 (good taste and decency) – contextual factors – not upheld Standard 9 (children’s interests) – majority – broadcaster was sufficiently mindful of the interests of child viewers – 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 21 August 2007, reported on the controversy in Australia following an admission by an Australian politician that he had visited a strip club while in New York. The reporter then questioned several New Zealand MPs about whether they had ever been to a strip club....

ComplaintThe Chimp Channel – animals trained to perform unnatural behaviours – bad taste – bad effect on children – insensitive FindingsStandard G2 – not in bad taste – no uphold Standard G12 – broadcaster apparently mindful of children – no uphold Standard V17 – animals not humiliated or badly treated – no uphold This headnote does not form part of the decision. Summary The Chimp Channel was screened weekly on TV2 at 5. 30pm on Saturdays. It was a comedy series set in a television studio in which most of the actors were animals. Melanie Vivian complained to Television New Zealand Ltd, the broadcaster, that it was contrary to animal welfare for animals to be trained to perform "unnatural behaviours"....

Complaint under section 8(1B)(b)(i) of the Broadcasting Act 1989One News– teaser for upcoming item on knife crime – contained footage of carving knife and man simulating stabbing motion – allegedly in breach of good taste and decency FindingsStandard 1 (good taste and decency) – images used to illustrate story on knife crime – contextual factors – not upheld This headnote does not form part of the decision. Broadcast [1] One News, broadcast on TV One at 6. 00pm on 5 July 2010, contained a brief eight-second teaser for an upcoming item on proposed legislative changes to reduce knife crime in New Zealand. In the teaser the news reader stated: Cutting down on knife crime – tough new measures that’ll make it harder for young people to buy them over the counter....

Warning: This decision contains content that some readers may find distressing. An item on 1 News reporting on a mass shooting in Buffalo, US, showed an edited clip from the attacker’s livestream video. The clip, approximately 16 seconds long and without audio, showed the masked attacker driving into the supermarket carpark, stopping his vehicle, getting out of the car and raising a gun. The complaint alleged the broadcast of the clip breached the good taste and decency, violence, and law and order broadcasting standards....