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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....

BEFORE THE BROADCASTING STANDARDS AUTHORITY Decision No: 1998-005 Decision No: 1998-006 Dated the 12th day of February 1998 IN THE MATTER of the Broadcasting Act 1989 AND IN THE MATTER of complaints by PHILLIP SMITS of Auckland Broadcaster TELEVISION NEW ZEALAND LIMITED S R Maling Chairperson L M Loates R McLeod J Withers...

BEFORE THE BROADCASTING STANDARDS AUTHORITY Decision No: 1998-105 Dated the 10th day of September 1998 IN THE MATTER of the Broadcasting Act 1989 AND IN THE MATTER of a complaint by NEW ZEALAND MINERALS INDUSTRY ASSOCIATION Broadcaster TELEVISION NEW ZEALAND LIMITED S R Maling Chairperson L M Loates R McLeod...

The Authority has upheld a complaint that an item on Fair Go was unfair to the fencing contractor investigated. The Authority found that the fencing contractor was not treated fairly, due to the way he was set-up to be interviewed (under the guise of calling him to a job) and because he was not given a fair and reasonable opportunity to respond to the allegations made against him in the programme. The Authority also found that the inclusion of information about the contractor’s past which had a criminal element was unfair as it was not relevant to the issues being investigated in this item and contributed to an unfairly negative impression of him. The accuracy complaint was not upheld as the item did not mislead or present inaccurate information, and the balance standard did not apply as the item did not discuss a controversial issue of public importance....

The Authority has not upheld a complaint about language used in a Seven Sharp interview with Neil Finn. At two separate points in the interview, presenter Jeremy Wells and Finn referred to another band member as ‘a GC’ and a ‘good [beep]’; and later Finn quoted a review of his own album, which said, ‘red card, you [beep]’. The Authority found the broadcast was unlikely to cause widespread disproportionate offence or distress, and unlikely to adversely affect child viewers, taking into account: Seven Sharp is an unclassified news and current affairs programme targeted at adults (during which adult supervision is expected); the content was consistent with audience expectations of Seven Sharp and Jeremy Wells; Wells and Finn had the right to express themselves in language of their choosing (within the boundaries of the standards); and all uses of the c-word were appropriately censored....

The Authority has not upheld two complaints relating to a news item on Nicola Willis MP being appointed the National Party’s Finance Spokesperson. The complaints alleged the broadcast breached the accuracy and balance standards as it omitted the Speaker’s intervention of Willis’s questions to the Finance Minister during Question Time, allegedly leading viewers to believe the questions were delivered seamlessly and without fault. The Authority found the accuracy standard was not breached as the broadcast was materially accurate, and the balance standard did not apply, as the questions did not reflect a controversial issue of public importance. Not Upheld: Accuracy, Balance...

The Authority has not upheld a complaint an item on 1 News, reporting on the destruction of the Kakhovka Dam in the region of Kherson, Ukraine, incorrectly attributed responsibility for the incident, and shelling of the region after the incident, to Russia. The Authority noted the broadcast did not state, either expressly or implicitly, who was responsible for the dam’s destruction. Further, while the Authority acknowledged the broadcast may have implied Russia was responsible for some shelling in the Kherson region, this suggestion was not inaccurate, and the broadcast did not state Russia shelled the region after the dam’s destruction. It accordingly found no breach of the accuracy standard. The remaining standards did not apply. Not Upheld: Accuracy, Balance, Fairness...

Summary[This summary does not form part of the decision. ]An episode of Cold Feet, a British comedy-drama series which followed the intertwining lives of three couples at different stages in their relationships, contained sex scenes. The Authority did not uphold a complaint that the sex scenes breached the children’s interests and good taste and decency standards. Cold Feet was not targeted at child viewers, it was classified Adults Only and broadcast during an appropriate timeband, and was preceded by a specific warning for sex scenes. The level of sexual content was not overly explicit and was justified by the episode’s narrative context. Overall the broadcaster adequately ensured child viewers could be protected from adult content, and the episode would not have offended or surprised the general viewing audience....

Summary [This summary does not form part of the decision. ]Seven Sharp screened footage of an incident involving celebrity singer Beyoncé’s sister physically attacking Beyoncé’s husband in a lift. The Authority did not uphold the complaint that the item made light of the serious issue of violence or denigrated men. Not Upheld: Law and Order, Discrimination and Denigration, Violence. Introduction[1] Seven Sharp screened footage of an incident involving Beyoncé’s sister physically attacking Beyoncé’s husband in a lift, that had attracted the attention of media worldwide. It was broadcast at 7pm on TV ONE on 13 May 2014. [2] Wayne Burrows complained that the hosts ‘made light of this serious issue laughing and joking about the violence’. He said that by laughing the presenters glamorised the violent behaviour, and because the violence was by a woman against a man, the laughter denigrated men....

Summary[This summary does not form part of the decision. ]Two ONE News items covered the lava eruption of Mount Kilauea that threatened a small town in Hawaii. The complainant alleged that the temperatures of the lava given in the news items were inaccurate. The Authority declined to determine the complaint on the basis it was trivial, as it related to a technical and insignificant aspect of the broadcast. The complainant continues to refer similar complaints to the Authority despite previous decisions. Declined to determine: AccuracyIntroduction[1] Two ONE News items covered the lava eruption of Mount Kilauea which threatened a small town in Hawaii. [2] Mr McDonald complained that references to the temperatures of the lava in the two items were inaccurate. [3] The issue is whether Mr McDonald's concerns raise issues of broadcasting standards of a level which warrant our determination....

Download a PDF of Decision No. 1992-023:Society for the Protection of the Unborn Child and Television New Zealand Ltd - 1992-023 PDF433. 55 KB...

Download a PDF of Decision No. 1991-019:Seymour and Television New Zealand Ltd - 1991-019 PDF1015. 04 KB...

Complaints under section 8(1B)(b)(i) of the Broadcasting Act 1989Close Up – item on Haitian Vodou – interviewed New Zealand vodou high priest and one of his spiritual children – allegedly in breach of privacy, accuracy, fairness and discrimination and denigration Findings Standard 3 (privacy) – interviewee’s partner could have been identified through their relationship but no private facts disclosed in a highly offensive manner – not upheld Standard 5 (accuracy) – points raised by the complainants were not material points of fact – not inaccurate or misleading – not upheld Standard 6 (fairness) – Haitian Vodou not an organisation to which the standard applies – not upheld Standard 7 (discrimination and denigration) – broadcast did not carry invective necessary to encourage denigration of, or discrimination against, Haitian Vodou believers as a section of the community – not upheld This headnote does not form part of the decision....

ComplaintOne News – Rodney Hide MP – "scam buster" – spoke at seminar in Fiji – affidavit that his presence gave investors confidence to invest – investment was a scam – inaccurate – unbalanced – unfair FindingsS. 4(1)(d) and Standard 4 – reasonable opportunities given – no uphold Standard 5 – not unfair – no uphold Standard 6 – inaccuracies (1) different use of the term "family"; (2) not a "self-proclaimed scam buster"; (3) affidavit not dated that day – uphold on these three points – no other inaccuracies No Order This headnote does not form part of the decision. Summary [1] An affidavit, which recorded that Rodney Hide MP’s presence as a speaker at an investment seminar in Fiji had given a man and his family the confidence to invest, was reported in an item broadcast on One News on 15 May 2002....

ComplaintDocumentary New Zealand: "To Age or Not to Age" – misleading – adverse health outcomes possible – unbalanced – broadcaster (TVNZ) upheld balance complaint – not impartial – broadcaster investigating commissioning possible documentary on dieting and ageing in 2002 – action taken insufficient FindingsImportant information contained in programme – action taken insufficient OrderBroadcast of approved statement This headnote does not form part of the decision. Summary [1] "To Age or Not to Age" was the title of the documentary broadcast by TV One at 8. 30pm on 30 July 2001 in the weekly documentary time slot. Using a number of medical criteria, the programme set out to measure the effectiveness of the approaches promoted by Leslie Kenton for staying healthy and feeling younger....

Complaint under section 8(1B)(b)(i) of the Broadcasting Act 1989Ugly Betty promo – classified G – contained sexual themes – allegedly in breach of good taste and decency, programme classification and children’s interests standards Findings Standard 7 (programme classification) – content of promo required a higher classification of PGR – promo should not have screened during a G-rated programme – upheld Standard 9 (children’s interests) – content of promo was more suitable for a mature audience – should not have been broadcast during a G programme children were likely to be watching – upheld Standard 1 (good taste and decency) – subsumed into consideration of Standards 7 and 9 No Order This headnote does not form part of the decision. Broadcast [1] A promo for the comedy programme Ugly Betty was broadcast on TV2 at 7....

Complaint under section 8(1) of the Broadcasting Act 1989 Election programme – advertisement for the New Zealand Labour Party – woman said “I just can’t trust you” referring to John Key, Leader of the Opposition – allegedly denigrated Mr Key Findings Election Programmes Code Standard E3 (denigration) – statements in the advertisement did not reach the threshold for a breach of the denigration standard – not upheld This headnote does not form part of the decision. Broadcast [1] An advertisement for the New Zealand Labour Party was broadcast on TV One on Sunday 2 November at 6. 30pm. It showed a woman in her home giving a drink to a toddler sitting in a high chair. The woman said to camera: You hear people saying, “Helen’s been there a while, give the other guy a go”. And I was thinking, “yeah, sounds fair enough”....

ComplaintAssignment – preview of following week’s item of state of New Zealand railways – interviewees use words "bugger" and "shit-house" – breach of good taste and decency FindingsS. 4(1)(a) – language acceptable in context – no upholdThis headnote does not form part of the decision. Summary [1] The closing segment of Assignment broadcast on TV One on 18 October 2001 at 8. 30pm previewed an item to be broadcast the following week about the state of New Zealand’s railways. One of the interviewees used the word "bugger" and another used the word "shit-house". [2] Paul Schwabe complained to Television New Zealand Ltd, the broadcaster, that the broadcast of the language was "deliberate gutter television" and contrary to good taste and decency....

ComplaintSpin Doctors Election Special – drama – public relations company, satirised while suggesting election campaign strategies – "piss-head" – offensive language – imitation vomit – offensive behaviour FindingsStandard 1 – not offensive in context – no uphold Standard 9 – not unsuitable for older children – no uphold This headnote does not form part of the decision. Summary [1] An election special episode of Spin Doctors was broadcast at 9. 00pm on TV One on 10 July 2002. It satirised the staff of a public relations company as they were shown trying to put together election campaign strategies for a number of political parties. [2] Elaine Hadfield complained to Television New Zealand Ltd, the broadcaster, about some of the language used and the behaviour depicted with reference to the Prime Minister. She said that the Prime Minister deserved respect, not ridicule....