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The Authority did not uphold a complaint regarding a comment made by radio panellist Catherine Robertson about ‘murderous fantasies’, concerning punishment of an individual who escaped COVID-19 managed isolation. It was a satirical comment intended to be humorous and in line with audience expectations for the programme. The Authority noted satire and humour are important aspects of freedom of expression. It found limiting the broadcaster’s right to freedom of expression on this occasion was not justified. Not Upheld: Violence, Law and Order, Balance...

The Authority has not upheld a complaint about a segment of Punjabi talkback programme Dasam Granth Da Sach. During the programme the host made comments about a well-known female Sikh preacher, including that she should marry a Taksali (traditionally trained Sikh) rather than a Jāgaruka (enlightened Sikh), because she supports the ideology of the former, and because husbands ‘in our society’ resort to beating when offended by their wives. The host also used words that can carry sexual connotations but, in the specific context of the broadcast, were unlikely to do so. The Authority acknowledged the potentially offensive nature of the comments to some people, but found overall the potential harm arising was not at a level justifying regulatory intervention or restriction of the broadcaster’s right to freedom of expression on this occasion. Not Upheld: Good Taste and Decency, Children’s Interests, Discrimination and Denigration, Violence, Privacy, Fairness...

The Authority has not upheld a complaint about a segment of Punjabi talkback programme, Bhakhde Masley. During the programme, the host engaged in a heated argument with a caller, calling him a ‘dog’ and saying ‘someone should beat you with a shoe. ’ The Authority acknowledged that the comments were in poor taste, but found they were unlikely to undermine widely shared community standards because, amongst other reasons, talkback is a robust environment and the host’s comments were not explicit or graphic. For the same reasons, the Authority also found the comments did not amount to unduly disturbing violent content and that they were unlikely to incite or encourage violence. Not Upheld: Good Taste and Decency, Violence   ...

Complaint under section 8(1)(a) of the Broadcasting Act 1989One News – item showed autopsy photographs of child who had been beaten to death – allegedly in breach of good taste and decency, privacy, fairness, programme classification, children’s interests, and violence standards Findings Standard 1 (good taste and decency) – contextual factors – not upheld Standard 3 (privacy) – standard does not apply to deceased individuals – not upheld Standard 6 (fairness) – standard does not apply to deceased individuals – not upheld Standard 7 (programme classification) – standard does not apply to unclassified news programmes – not upheld Standard 9 (children’s interests) – broadcaster sufficiently mindful of the interests of child viewers – not upheld Standard 10 (violence) – broadcaster exercised care and discretion in broadcasting the photographs – not upheld This headnote does not form part of the decision....

Complaint under s. 8(1)(a) of the Broadcasting Act 1989Trial by Ordeal – documentary – examined three jury trials of John Barlow charged with double murder – questioned fairness in view of the length of the process – interviewed some participants and set up mock jury to hear evidence – allegedly gratuitous murder reconstructions, offensive and unnecessarily violent, and favoured defence over prosecutionFindings Standard 1 (good taste and decency) and Guideline 1a – context – not upheld Standard 4 (balance) – opposing perspectives advanced – not upheld Standard 10 (violence) and Guidelines 10b (cumulative effect) and 10f (repeated gratuitously) – reconstructions, while gruesome, were not gratuitous or repeated unnecessarily – not upheldThis headnote does not form part of the decision. Broadcast [1] Trial by Ordeal was a documentary broadcast on TV One at 9. 00pm on 12 February 2004....

SummaryAn item on Real TV, broadcast on TV3 on 14 July 1998 commencing at 9. 30 pm, focussed on an accident at Western Springs Speedway in 1997 when parts of a racing car broke away, flew among the spectators and injured a number of people. The item included footage of an injured child being assisted after the accident, and an interview with the child’s mother. Ms Mansson, the mother of the child, complained to TV3 Network Services Limited, the broadcaster, about the use of the footage which had originally been filmed for news coverage. She wrote that the accident had been a frightening and life threatening experience, the memories of which continued to mentally and physically affect her family. The repeated use of the footage had added to the family’s ongoing distress, she contended....

Complaint under section 8(1B)(b)(i) of the Broadcasting Act 1989Game of Two Halves – included woman whipping a man’s partially bare buttocks – allegedly in breach of good taste and decency and violence standards Findings Standard 1 (good taste and decency) and Standard 10 (violence) – segment was distasteful and gratuitous but upholding complaint would unreasonably restrict broadcaster’s right to freedom of expression – not upheld This headnote does not form part of the decision. Broadcast [1] Game of Two Halves, a sports quiz show featuring two teams of various sporting personalities, screened on TV One at 9. 45pm on 1 August 2008. The teams were captained by sporting personalities Marc Ellis and Matthew Ridge. [2] At the end of the episode, the captain of the losing team had to undergo what was called the “Studio Forfeit”, in which the opposing team inflicted light-hearted punishment....

Summary[This summary does not form part of the decision. ]An episode of a weekly mixed martial arts championship highlights and commentary programme, MMA: One Championship Weekly, was broadcast on TVNZ DUKE at 8. 30am on Saturday 15 April 2017. The primary focus of the episode was a build-up to an upcoming match between Eduard Foyalang and Ev Ting scheduled for 21 April 2017. The episode profiled each of the fighters with reference to their backgrounds and family life. It also included 5-6 minute clips of their previous fights against other opponents. Mr Dandy complained that the use of footage from MMA fights was offensive and inappropriate to broadcast at a time when children may be watching television unsupervised....

Summary[This summary does not form part of the decision. ]A complaint about a promo for Children Who Kill, broadcast at 5:30pm on a weekday during an episode of The Chase, has not been upheld by the Authority. The promo featured footage of a young boy and girl, with a voiceover explaining that the young boy murdered the girl and asking ‘should children who commit murder die behind bars? ’ The Authority did not uphold this complaint under the children’s interests or violence standards. The Authority found the promo did not go beyond the expectations of The Chase or TVNZ 1’s mature target audience. The Authority further noted that while murder and death are adult themes, the promo itself did not contain any unduly disturbing or graphic images or detail that required the restriction of the broadcaster’s right to freedom of expression....

Complaint under section 8(1B)(b)(i) of the Broadcasting Act 19893 News – item reported on death of Osama Bin Laden – included image of bruised and bloodied face – allegedly in breach of standards relating to good taste and decency, controversial issues, responsible programming, children’s interests and violence FindingsStandard 1 (good taste and decency) – image related to major international event – clear warning given – contextual factors – not upheld Standard 10 (violence) – contextual factors – image preceded by prolonged and detailed warning – broadcaster exercised adequate care and discretion when dealing with the issue of violence – not upheld Standard 9 (children’s interests) – 3 News was an unclassified news programme targeted at adults – news often deals with unpleasant material – clear warning – broadcaster adequately considered children’s interests – not upheld Standard 8 (responsible programming) – 3 News was an unclassified news programme – standard not applicable – not…...

Summary[This summary does not form part of the decision. ]A promo for Face Off, a reality competition show in which the contestants are special effects make-up artists, screened during the animated movie Chicken Run. The Authority upheld a complaint that the promo breached standards of good taste and decency. The promo’s images of gory and wounded prosthetic body parts went beyond audience expectations of a G-rated family movie and were likely to distress child viewers. The Authority however did not agree that the images showed ‘violence’ or violent acts as envisaged by the violence standard. Upheld: Good Taste and DecencyNot Upheld: ViolenceOrder: Section 16(4) $500 costs to the CrownIntroduction[1] A promo for Face Off, a reality competition show in which the contestants are special effects make-up artists, screened during Chicken Run, an animated family movie which was rated G (for general audiences)....

ComplaintPromo – Charmed – slutty – offensive language – incorrect classification – broadcaster not mindful of children FindingsStandard G2 – context – no uphold Standard G8 – PGR rating correct – no uphold Standard G12 – correct classification and time of broadcast – no uphold Standard G22 – PGR rating correct – no uphold Standard G24 – not relevant This headnote does not form part of the decision. Summary [1] A promo for Charmed was broadcast on TV3 on 30 September 2001 at 8. 20pm, during the film The Phantom Menace. [2] Michael Hooker complained to TV3 Network Services Ltd, the broadcaster, about the use of the word "slutty" in a promo which was broadcast during PGR time. [3] TV3 declined to uphold the complaint. It considered that the promo was acceptable for screening during PGR time....

Summary [This summary does not form part of the decision]A ONE News item showed security footage of a violent attack on a liquor store worker by four men to assist police in identifying and apprehending the attackers. Two explicit warnings were given prior to the footage. The Authority did not uphold the complaint that the violence shown was gratuitous. It was an important news story aimed at identifying and catching the attackers and was accompanied by clear warnings from the broadcaster. Not Upheld: Good Taste and Decency, Violence, Responsible ProgrammingIntroduction[1] A ONE News item showed a violent attack on a liquor store worker by four men. The security footage showed the store worker being punched, kicked and dragged across the store, having a bottle of spirits smashed over his head and being kicked in the head as he lay on the ground....

Download a PDF of Decision No. 1993-058:Andrews and Television New Zealand Ltd - 1993-058 PDF489. 29 KB...

Summary[This summary does not form part of the decision. ]3 News reported on a gun attack on a Tunisian beach resort, and showed amateur video footage of the event. The footage contained images of people shouting and running around in confusion, and gunshots and bomb blasts could be heard. The footage also showed the gunman lying in the street after he had been shot dead by police. The Authority upheld a complaint that this footage was disturbing and should have been preceded by a warning. While recognizing the high public interest in the story and the footage, viewers were not given a reasonable opportunity to exercise discretion because they were not adequately warned of its nature. The Authority did not make any order....

Download a PDF of Decision No. 1991-041:Children's Media Watch and Television New Zealand Ltd - 1991-041 PDF788. 47 KB...

BEFORE THE BROADCASTING STANDARDS AUTHORITY Decision No: 41/95 Dated the 29th day of May 1995 IN THE MATTER of the Broadcasting Act 1989 AND IN THE MATTER of a complaint by RICHARD ENGLAND of Wellington Broadcaster TELEVISION NEW ZEALAND LIMITED I W Gallaway Chairperson L M Loates W J Fraser...

Complaint under section 8(1B)(b)(i) and 8(1B)(b)(ii) of the Broadcasting Act 1989One News – two items covering the murder trial of Clayton Weatherston – first item contained footage of Mr Weatherston in court describing his attack – second item included the prosecutor saying the word “fucking” three times – allegedly in breach of good taste and decency, fairness, discrimination and denigration, responsible programming, children’s interests and violence standards Findings13 July item Standard 1 (good taste and decency) – details of attack given by Mr Weatherston were explicit – item should have been preceded by a warning – upheld Standard 9 (children’s interests) – item should have been preceded by a warning – broadcast during children’s normally accepted viewing times – broadcaster did not adequately consider the interests of child viewers – upheld Standard 10 (violence) – item contained explicit details of violence – broadcaster did not exercise sufficient care and discretion – upheld Standard 6 (fairness)…...

Complaint under section 8(1)(a) of the Broadcasting Act 1989South Park – episode included reference to a prank in which the character Butters was sleeping and another character, Cartman, purportedly put Butters’ penis in Cartman’s mouth and took a photo – another scene involved Cartman blindfolding Butters and trying to trick Butters into letting Cartman put his penis into Butters’ mouth – allegedly in breach of good taste and decency and violence standards Findings Standard 1 (good taste and decency) – item had a complex and multifaceted storyline – acts were not intended to be sexual – contextual factors – not upheld Standard 10 (violence) – broadcaster exercised sufficient care when dealing with the issue of violence – not upheld This headnote does not form part of the decision....