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Summary[This summary does not form part of the decision. ]A complaint about an interview between Kim Hill and Rt Hon Winston Peters regarding the relationship between New Zealand First and the Labour Party was not upheld. The complainant submitted the interview was unbalanced because Kim Hill’s interviewing of Mr Peters was ‘biased, rude and condescending’. The Authority found that, while Ms Hill asked Mr Peters challenging and critical questions, Mr Peters had a reasonable opportunity to put forward his competing point of view. Given the level of public interest in the interview, Mr Peter’s position and his experience with the media, the Authority also found Ms Hill’s interview style did not result in Mr Peters being treated unfairly....

Complaint under s. 8(1)(a) of the Broadcasting Act 1989Nine to Noon – commentator (Hana O’Regan) compared the impact of views of the leader of the National Party (Dr Brash) to those of Hitler – allegedly offensive, irresponsible, unbalanced, unfair and inaccurateFindings: Principle 1 (good taste and decency) – context – not upheld Principle 4 (balance) – another perspective on extensively debated controversial issue – not upheld Principle 5 (fairness) – focus of comparison on process, not policy – not upheld Principle 6 (accuracy) – limited factual comparison accurate – not upheldThis headnote does not form part of the decision. Broadcast [1] Commentator Hana O’Regan was interviewed by the presenter (Linda Clark) on National Radio’s Nine to Noon between 9. 54 and 10. 00am on 11 February 2004....

ComplaintMorning Report – item about industrial accidents in timber mill – interviewer questioned union representative aggressively while appearing cordial with owner’s representative – unfair Complaint News Item – later news item included owner’s view only – unbalanced FindingsPrinciple 4; Principle 5 and Guidelines 5b and 5c – interviewer’s approach to each spokesperson similar – no uphold News item at 7. 30am balanced by item within period of current interest at 8. 00am – no uphold This headnote does not form part of the decision. Summary [1] A recent industrial accident at a timber mill, and the company’s accident record, were dealt with in an item during Morning Report broadcast on National Radio at about 7. 25am on 17 April 2003. The item included interviews with representatives from the union and the company. The discussion was referred to in an item during the news bulletin broadcast at 7. 30am....

Download a PDF of Decision No. 1991-051:Greer and Radio New Zealand Ltd - 1991-051 PDF815. 03 KB...

The Authority has not upheld a complaint that a report about bomb attacks at bus stops in Jerusalem breached the balance standard. The complainant alleged that the story lacked balance as the item did not include the Palestinian perspective on the ongoing tensions in Israel and Palestine. The Authority found that the standard was not breached, as this was a straightforward news item rather than a ‘discussion’ as the standard requires, and in any case, audiences can be expected to be aware of the major perspectives of this issue. Not Upheld: Balance...

The Authority has not upheld a complaint that the reading of an adaptation of the novel My Name Was Judas by author C. K. Stead was offensive to Christians in breach of the good taste and decency, and discrimination and denigration standards. The Authority did not consider that the broadcast’s content was likely to cause widespread undue offence or distress or undermine widely shared community standards and it did not reach the high threshold necessary for finding that it encouraged the denigration of, or discrimination against, Christians as a section of the community. The Authority also found that the balance standard did not apply as the programme was not a news, current affairs or factual programme. Not upheld: Good Taste and Decency, Discrimination and Denigration, Balance....

Summary[This summary does not form part of the decision. ] A segment on RNZ National’s programme This Way Up, titled ‘Why Women Live Longer’, featured an interview with a science journalist about her latest book. In the introduction to the segment, the programme presenter referred to the average life expectancy of men and women in New Zealand born in 2016. Mr Golden complained to the broadcaster under the accuracy standard that the references to life expectancy did not take into account quality of life. The Authority declined to determine the complaint on the basis that it was frivolous and trivial, and concerned matters of personal preference rather than matters of broadcasting standards that can be addressed under the Radio Code. Declined to Determine: Accuracy Introduction[1] A segment on the RNZ National programme This Way Up featured an interview with a science journalist about her latest book....

The Authority has upheld one aspect of a complaint that an interview with Sir Andrew Dillon, the CEO of the UK’s National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) breached the accuracy standard. The Authority found that listeners were invited by the item to draw negative comparisons between the role and functions of NICE and of PHARMAC in the New Zealand context, which was misleading through the omission of relevant contextual information about the two agencies. The Authority did not uphold the complaint under the balance standard, as inviting a comparison of the two agencies did not amount to a discussion of a controversial issue to which the balance standard applied....

The Authority has not upheld a complaint that an item on RNZ’s 9am news bulletin about an electricity shortage in New Zealand breached multiple standards. The complaint focused on the broadcast’s allegedly inappropriate use of terms such as energy, fossil fuels, power and electricity and the omission of contextual information. In the context of the news bulletin, the Authority found RNZ’s audience was unlikely to be misled. Accordingly, the accuracy standard was not breached. The remaining standards either did not apply or were not breached. Not Upheld: Offensive and Disturbing Content, Children's Interests, Promotion of Illegal or Antisocial Behaviour, Discrimination and Denigration, Balance, Accuracy, Privacy, Fairness...

Complaint under section 8(1)(a) of the Broadcasting Act 1989Insight – first of a three-part series on climate change – presenter said it was an attempt to balance the avalanche of reports that dominate the media – presented viewpoints of those who challenged the “perceived wisdom” that climate change was real and caused by humans – allegedly unbalanced Findings Principle 4 (balance) – programme clearly approached topic from a particular perspective – did not purport to be a balanced overview of the climate change debate – substantial amount of media coverage has been devoted to climate change – not upheld This headnote does not form part of the decision. Broadcast [1] An item on Radio New Zealand National’s Insight programme reported that a United Nations organisation called the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) had released its latest report....

Summary[This summary does not form part of the decision. ]Worldwatch broadcast a three-part interview series with Hanan Ashrawi, a Palestinian legislator, described as ‘one of the most powerful women in the Middle East’ and ‘a forceful advocate for Palestinian self-determination and peace in the Middle East’. The Authority did not uphold a complaint alleging that the interviews amounted to support for terrorism, ‘[s]olely blame[d] Israel for all the Palestinian suffering’, and contained a number of inaccurate and misleading allegations about the Israel-Palestine conflict. The interviews did not contain several of the statements complained about, but were rather the complainant’s interpretation of what he considered Ms Ashrawi had implied. Other comments complained about were clearly Ms Ashwari’s opinion, to which the accuracy standard did not apply....

Summary[This summary does not form part of the decision. ] A segment on Morning Report discussed a press release by a named investment banking firm. The Authority declined jurisdiction to accept and consider a complaint that the programme ought to have disclosed certain alleged conduct by that firm. The Authority found the broadcaster was correct to not accept this as a valid formal complaint, as the complaint was based on the complainant’s own opinion of the firm rather than raising issues of broadcasting standards within the broadcast. Declined Jurisdiction  Introduction[1] A segment on Morning Report discussed a press release from a named investment banking firm. [2] Allan Golden complained to the broadcaster RNZ that the segment breached the accuracy standard by omitting aspects of the firm’s alleged conduct and history that ought to have been disclosed to listeners....

Summary[This summary does not form part of the decision. ]Nine to Noon broadcast an interview with Joan Withers, chair of Mighty River Power, about her career and the energy industry, among other things. The Authority declined to determine a complaint that Ms Withers was not suitable to interview. RNZ's decision to interview Ms Withers is a matter of editorial discretion rather than broadcasting standards. The complainant has previously made similar complaints about Ms Withers and been warned that further similar complaints would be unlikely to be determined in future. Accordingly the Authority declined to determine the present complaint on the basis it was vexatious. Declined to Determine: Accuracy, Fairness, Responsible Programming Introduction[1] Nine to Noon broadcast an interview with Joan Withers, chair of Mighty River Power, about her career and the energy industry, among other things....

Download a PDF of Decision No. 1992-027:Noble and Radio New Zealand Ltd - 1992-027 PDF163. 37 KB...

The Authority has not upheld a complaint alleging an RNZ National news bulletin addressing airstrikes in Lebanon breached the balance, accuracy and fairness standards, including by failing to provide context for the airstrikes. The Authority found the broadcast was a simple report on events rather than a ‘discussion’ of issues to which the balance standard might apply. It found listeners were unlikely to get a misleading impression of events from the report and the fairness standard did not apply. Not Upheld: Balance, Accuracy, Fairness...

The Authority has not upheld a complaint that a broadcast on Radio New Zealand National’s Saturday Morning breached the balance, accuracy, and fairness standards. The broadcast was an interview of a UNICEF spokesperson and humanitarian worker about her experience living and working in Lebanon amid the ongoing Israel-Hamas-Hezbollah conflict. The Authority found the broadcast was clearly signalled as being from the interviewee’s perspective and was not claiming nor intending to be a balanced examination of perspectives on the conflict. The audience also could reasonably be expected to be aware of significant context and viewpoints from other media coverage. Regarding accuracy, the Authority found the likelihood of a listener being misled by omission of any of the identified perspectives and context was significantly reduced, noting other media coverage of the conflict....

The Authority has not upheld a complaint that two RNZ broadcasts, a week apart — Morning Report and The Detail — about New Zealand’s low-risk alcohol drinking guidelines were unbalanced and inaccurate. The Authority found that any inaccuracies regarding Canada’s alcohol guidelines were not material in the context of the overall broadcasts. With respect to balance, the Authority found the Morning Report broadcast was clearly signalled as focussing on one aspect of the much larger, complex debate on alcohol policy. Although the complainant was mentioned once during Morning Report, in the context the audience would not have expected a countering viewpoint to be presented from the complainant or the industry. The Detail carried significant public interest and sufficiently alerted listeners to alternative perspectives through a comment from the Executive Director of the New Zealand Alcohol Beverages Council and the host’s use of ‘devil’s advocate’ questioning. Not Upheld: Balance, Accuracy...

The Authority1 has not upheld a complaint that interviews on The Detail discussing a ‘power imbalance’ between retirement village operators and residents breached the balance, accuracy and fairness standards. The complainant alleged the broadcast was unbalanced and unfair as it did not provide an alternative perspective from a retirement village operator or the industry, and the statement, ‘operators are just sitting on the weekly fee’, was inaccurate. The Authority found the broadcast was signalled as coming from a particular point of view and viewers were unlikely to expect a countering perspective in the broadcast. The Authority also found the alleged inaccurate statement was clearly distinguishable as analysis, comment or opinion and was not materially misleading. The fairness standard did not apply. Not Upheld: Balance, Accuracy, Fairness...

BEFORE THE BROADCASTING STANDARDS AUTHORITY Decision No: 45/95 Dated the 31st day of May 1995 IN THE MATTER of the Broadcasting Act 1989 AND IN THE MATTER of a complaint by SUSAN BATTYE of Auckland Broadcaster RADIO NEW ZEALAND LIMITED I W Gallaway Chairperson L M Loates W J Fraser...