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BEFORE THE BROADCASTING STANDARDS AUTHORITY Decision No: 1998-002 Dated the 29th day of January 1998 IN THE MATTER of the Broadcasting Act 1989 AND IN THE MATTER of a complaint by WING-YAU YEE of Auckland Broadcaster RADIO i98FM LIMITED S Maling Chairperson L Loates R McLeod...

ComplaintTarget – description of house cleaner as tradesperson – denigration of tradespeople – inaccurate – unfair – unbalanced – offensive Findings (1) Standard G1 – no inaccuracy – no uphold (2) Standard G2 – no uphold (3) Standard G4 – no unfairness – no uphold (4) Standard G13 – no denigration or discrimination – genuinely held opinion – no uphold This headnote does not form part of the decision. Summary An episode of Target broadcast on TV3 at 7. 00pm on 14 May 2000 featured footage of employees of four Hamilton house cleaning services who had been secretly filmed as part of a hidden camera trial. One of the male cleaners had been filmed engaging in improper sexual behaviour....

ComplaintSong "Goodnight Irene" – lyrics offensive FindingsPrinciple 1 – not offensive in context – no uphold This headnote does not form part of the decision. Summary [1] The song "Goodnight Irene" was one of collection of tracks played by Manawatu Sounz AM 999 between 7. 45–8. 15am on 27 January 2002. The song was written by a black American blues singer, known as Leadbelly, early in the 20th century. [2] Mrs McIntyre complained to Manawatu Access Radio Charitable Trust, the broadcaster, that the lyrics in the third verse, in particular the phrase "I’ll take morphine and die", were offensive. [3] In response, Manawatu Access Radio explained that the lyrics were in the original song and were not an unusual example of lyrics written at that time in that they reflected the precarious existence of poor people. It declined to uphold the complaint....

Complaint under section 8(1B)(b)(i) of the Broadcasting Act 19893 News and Sports Tonight – words “tough” and “disconnect” allegedly used by presenters – allegedly in breach of good taste and decency, law and order, and privacy Findings Standards 1 (good taste and decency), 2 (law and order) and 3 (privacy) – adequate response from broadcaster – use of the words did not threaten broadcasting standards in any way – not upheld This headnote does not form part of the decision. Broadcast [1] 3 News was broadcast on TV3 at 6pm on Friday 25 September 2009. Sports Tonight was broadcast on TV3 at 11pm on Wednesday 30 September 2009....

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....

ComplaintMarathon Man – film – offensive language – warning ought to have been broadcast – complaint upheld by broadcaster – action taken insufficient FindingsAction taken sufficient This headnote does not form part of the decision. Summary [1] The movie Marathon Man was broadcast on Prime at 8. 30pm on 22 May 2002. [2] Mrs M Charlton complained to Prime Television New Zealand Ltd, the broadcaster, that the movie contained offensive language, and that viewers ought to have been warned about its use. [3] Prime upheld the complaint and apologised to the complainant. It explained that appropriate staff had been reminded of Prime’s collective responsibility "with emphasis placed on not making assumptions on behalf of viewers and that warnings must be specific in nature". [4] Dissatisfied with the action taken in response to her complaint, Mrs Charlton referred her complaint to the Broadcasting Standards Authority under s....

ComplaintNewstalk ZB – offensive language – socially irresponsible – racist – cocky nigger FindingsPrinciple 1 – majority finding that broadcast breached good taste – uphold Principle 7 – broadcast did not encourage denigration of/discrimination against Africans/African-Americans – no uphold OrderNo penalty This headnote does not form part of the decision. Summary Newstalk ZB’s morning talkback show on 15 September 2000 included an item about a press conference with boxing legend Muhammad Ali, held at the Olympic Games in Sydney the previous day. During the item, the host used the words "cocky nigger" when referring to Muhammad Ali at the time of his gold medal win at the Rome Olympics in 1960. Jason Ake, Lewis Scott and Mrs A Reeves complained to The Radio Network Limited, the broadcaster, that the words "cocky nigger" breached standards of good taste and decency, and were derogatory and socially irresponsible....

ComplaintInventions from the Shed – documentary – rated G – bugger – offensive language FindingsSection 4(1)(a) – applied under standard G2 – word not used gratuitously – acceptable in context – no uphold This headnote does not form part of the decision. Summary The documentary Inventions from the Shed described some inventions created by men and women while pottering in their sheds. One invention involved a gadget for making sheep shearing easier, and the inventor, while describing it, used the word "bugger", or variations of it, on three occasions. The programme was broadcast on TV One at 8. 30pm on 18 June 2001. Paul Schwabe complained to Television New Zealand Ltd, the broadcaster, that the use of the offensive word "bugger" in a G rated programme breached broadcasting standards. In response, TVNZ argued that the dialogue was natural for the inventor shown, and it declined to uphold the complaint....

Complaint under section 8(1B)(b)(i) of the Broadcasting Act 19897 Days – contained racial comments, coarse language and sexual connotations – allegedly in breach of standards relating to good taste and decency and responsible programming FindingsStandard 1 (good taste and decency) – content amounted to legitimate humour/satire referencing current affairs issues – consistent with expectations of New Zealand comedy programme broadcast at 9. 30pm – contextual factors – not upheld Standard 8 (responsible programming) – programme correctly classified AO and screened at 9. 30pm – not upheld This headnote does not form part of the decision. Broadcast [1] An episode of 7 Days, a comedy programme in which two teams of comedians reviewed the week’s news stories, was broadcast at 9. 30pm on TV3 on Friday 1 April 2011....

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Complaint under section 8(1)(a) of the Broadcasting Act 1989Newstalk ZB – The Justin du Fresne Show – joke arising from controversy over Prime Minister’s allegedly speeding motorcade. FindingsPrinciple 1 (Good taste and decency) – obvious attempt at humour – no bad language used – not personal attack on Prime Minister – not upheld Principle 7 (Social responsibility) – obvious attempt at humour – not upheld This headnote does not form part of the decision. Broadcast [1] On The Justin du Fresne Show, broadcast on Newstalk ZB on the morning of 19 July 2004, presenter Justin du Fresne told a joke arising from the earlier controversy over the Prime Minister’s allegedly speeding motorcade....

Complaint under section 8(1)(a) of the Broadcasting Act 1989Radio Hauraki – hosts on breakfast show referred to Helen Clark donating a testicle – allegedly in breach of good taste and decency and social responsibility. Findings Principle 1 (good taste and decency) – contextual factors – not upheld Principle 7 (social responsibility) – item light-hearted and satirical in nature – broadcaster was mindful of children’s interests – not upheld This headnote does not form part of the decision. Broadcast [1] At 8. 30am on 11 May 2007, Radio Hauraki broadcast a segment in its breakfast show hosted by the "Morning Pirates", Willy De Wit, Mark Perry and Dean Butler. One of the hosts described a story about a woman in the UK who had recently donated her kidney to her employer, who was in need of a transplant....

Summary[This summary does not form part of the decision. ]An episode of Friends featured Rachel discussing a dream in which she and Chandler had sex, and later telling the group she had a dream about her, Chandler and Joey. Monica was dating Ethan, who claimed to be a senior in college and revealed that he was a virgin. The couple were shown kissing on the couch and then lying in bed together, when it was revealed that Ethan was in fact a senior at high school. The Authority did not uphold a complaint that this episode breached the good taste and decency standard by containing sexual material unsuitable for children at the broadcast time of 4. 30pm. Any visual sexual content was implied and verbal references to sex amounted to innuendo which was unlikely to be understood or imitated by younger viewers....

Warning: This decision contains language that some readers may find offensiveSummary[This summary does not form part of the decision. ]During an interview on Breakfast about a proposed cull of Himalayan tahr, the Minister of Conservation, Hon Eugenie Sage, appeared to use the word ‘cunters’ when referring to the educational effort undertaken by tahr hunters. The Authority did not uphold a complaint that the Minister’s use of this word during this interview breached the good taste and decency and discrimination and denigration standards. The use of the word was an accidental slip of the tongue and it was clear that the Minister intended to refer to ‘hunters’ during this section of the interview. The use of the word was not deliberate nor was it used with any malice or invective....

Complaint under section 8(1B)(b)(i) of the Broadcasting Act 1989D’Arcy Waldegrave Drive – host and producer referred to rugby players as “Jesus” and “God” – allegedly in breach of standards relating to good taste and decency, discrimination and denigration, and responsible programmingFindingsStandard 1 (good taste and decency), Standard 7 (discrimination and denigration), Standard 8 (responsible programming) – use of “Jesus” and “God” to compliment rugby players would not have offended or distressed most listeners in context – comments did not carry any invective and did not encourage the 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] During D’Arcy Waldegrave Drive on Radio Sport, the host and producer discussed the selection of the All Blacks training squad, including a rookie, Steven Luatua, who played for the Auckland Blues....