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Summary[This summary does not form part of the decision. ]A complaint about the use of the term ‘holiday highway’ during a 1 News item, to refer to the road between Puhoi and Warkworth, was not upheld. The complainant submitted the term ‘holiday highway’ was ‘Labour Party propaganda’, and that its use minimises the seriousness of the road toll in that area and denigrates people who live in North Auckland or Northland. The Authority noted the term has been widely used in the media for a number of years to refer to the road, including prior to the recent General Election, and found it was not used with the malice or condemnation required to constitute a breach of the discrimination and denigration standard. Not Upheld: Discrimination and Denigration The broadcast[1] An item on 1 News reported on newly announced Government funding for road infrastructure....

Complaint under section 8(1B)(b)(i) of the Broadcasting Act 1989Promo for Beyond the Darklands – upcoming episode discussed the death of three-year-old Nia Glassie – excerpt of commentary from a news item referred to “kicking her head in” – allegedly in breach of good taste and decency, and responsible programming standards FindingsStandard 1 (good taste and decency) – while the subject matter of the upcoming episode was distressing, the promo itself was reserved and respectful – details of the abuse were widely reported by media – taken in context the promo did not threaten standards of good taste and decency – not upheld Standard 8 (responsible programming) – promo was correctly classified PGR and screened during an appropriate host programme – promo was not presented in a way that would have caused alarm or undue distress – not upheld This headnote does not form part of the decision....

Summary [This summary does not form part of the decision. ]During Vicious, a British sitcom about two older men in a long-term relationship, one of the main characters exclaimed ‘Jesus Christ! ’ in response to seeing a couple kissing. The Authority did not uphold the complaint that the remark was blasphemous and offensive to Christians. The use of variants of ‘Jesus’ as an exclamation does not amount to coarse language in modern secular society. Here it was intended to be humorous rather than abusive or offensive, and it was acceptable in context. Not Upheld: Good Taste and DecencyIntroduction[1] During Vicious, a British sitcom about two older men in a long-term relationship, one of the main characters exclaimed ‘Jesus Christ! ’ in response to seeing a couple kissing. The episode was rated AO and was broadcast on TV ONE at 10. 05pm on 26 September 2013....

Download a PDF of Decision No. 1991-065:Effron and Television New Zealand Ltd - 1991-065 PDF372. 4 KB...

Download a PDF of Decision No. 1993-077:Wells and Television New Zealand Ltd - 1993-077 PDF301. 25 KB...

Download a PDF of Decision No. 1992-058:Mental Health Foundation and Television New Zealand Ltd - 1992-058 PDF307. 63 KB...

BEFORE THE BROADCASTING STANDARDS AUTHORITY Decision No: 1997-123 Decision No: 1997-124 Dated the 25th day of September 1997 IN THE MATTER of the Broadcasting Act 1989 AND IN THE MATTER of complaints by R J A MILLER of Invercargill and L SMITH of Whangarei Broadcaster TELEVISION NEW ZEALAND LIMITED S R Maling Chairperson L M Loates R McLeod A Martin...

BEFORE THE BROADCASTING STANDARDS AUTHORITY Decision No: 94/95 Dated the 21st day of September 1995 IN THE MATTER of the Broadcasting Act 1989 AND IN THE MATTER of a complaint by R J ENGLAND of Wellington Broadcaster TELEVISION NEW ZEALAND LIMITED J Potter Chairperson L M Loates R McLeod...

Complaints under section 8(1B)(b)(i) and 8(1B)(b)(ii) of the Broadcasting Act 1989Breakfast – presenter deliberately mispronounced the name of Chief Minister of Delhi, Sheila Dikshit – stated that “Dick Shit” was “so appropriate because she’s Indian, so she would be dick in shit, wouldn’t she” – allegedly in breach of standards relating to good taste and decency, controversial issues, accuracy, fairness, discrimination and denigration and responsible programming – broadcaster upheld complaints under Standards 1, 6 and 7 – action taken allegedly insufficient FindingsStandards 1 (good taste and decency), 6 (fairness) and 7 (discrimination and denigration) – serious breach of broadcasting standards – action taken by broadcaster insufficient – upheld Standard 8 (responsible programming) – Breakfast was an unclassified news and current affairs programme – comments would not have alarmed or distressed viewers – not upheld OrdersSection 13(1)(a) – broadcast statement Section 16(4) – payment of $3,000 costs to the Crown This headnote does not form…...

ComplaintMotorway Patrol and promo – incident involving the complainants’ vehicle – complainants identifiable – breach of privacy – unfair – encouraged discrimination FindingsStandards 3 – privacy – no uphold Standard 6, Guideline 6b – not unfair to inadvertent participants who do not consent as events of public interest occurred in public place – no uphold, Guideline 6f – humiliation self-inflicted – no uphold, Guideline 6g – neither discrimination or denigration encouraged – no uphold This headnote does not form part of the decision. Summary [1] The loss of a trampoline off the roof of a vehicle as it drove across the Auckland Harbour Bridge was the incident dealt with in a promo for, and in the first segment of, Motorway Patrol broadcast on TV2 at 7. 30pm on 11 April 2002. Motorway Patrol is a reality series which records the work of police patrols on the Auckland motorways....

ComplaintReel Life: Thalidomide – A Necessary Evil – documentary – Dr Nigel Brown claims no evidence that any chemical which causes a birth defect in one generation can also cause defects in subsequent generations – inaccurate FindingsStandard G1 – legitimate expression of scientific opinion – no uphold This headnote does not form part of the decision. Summary A Reel Life documentary broadcast on TV One on 9 March 2001 between 9. 45pm and 10. 45pm, entitled Thalidomide – A Necessary Evil, examined the reappearance of thalidomide as an apparently effective drug in the treatment of a variety of illnesses including leprosy. During the course of the programme, Dr Nigel Brown from St George’s Hospital in London commented to the effect that there was no evidence that any chemical, including thalidomide, which had caused a birth defect in one generation could be blamed for similar defects in subsequent generations....

ComplaintOne News – drug related death of a Timaru youth – item implied that suspected overdose was a result of marijuana use – misleading – inaccurate FindingsStandard 5 and Guidelines 5a & 5b – not inaccurate – not misleading – no uphold This headnote does not form part of the decision. Summary [1] An item concerning the death of a Timaru youth who died of a suspected drug overdose was broadcast on One News at 6pm on Saturday 25 January 2003. The focus of the item was an interview with the father of the youth, who spoke of his son’s addiction to marijuana, his getting in with a "bad crowd" and his dependence on "drugs and alcohol". [2] Chris Clarke complained to Television New Zealand Ltd, the broadcaster, that the item left the viewer with the impression that the youth’s death was the result of an overdose of marijuana....

Complaint under section 8(1B)(b)(i) of the Broadcasting Act 1989High Country Rescue – profiled the attempted rescue of a tramper who died – made various references to the man’s “tramping party” and the “friends of the injured man” and showed brief footage of some of them with their faces blurred – allegedly in breach of privacy and fairness standardsFindingsStandard 6 (fairness) – complainant did not “take part” in the programme and was not sufficiently “referred to” for the purposes of the fairness standard – not upheld Standard 3 (privacy) – complainant was not identifiable – no private facts disclosed – footage of the complainant was not broadcast and so no disclosure of information obtained through an intrusion with the complainant’s interest in seclusion – not upheld This headnote does not form part of the decision....

Download a PDF of Decision No. 1993-080:McDonald and Television New Zealand Ltd - 1993-080 PDF332. 98 KB...

An appeal against this decision was dismissed in the High Court: AP 138/01 PDF1. 09 MBComplaintBanzai – comedy – sketch included shot of man’s naked penis – bad taste FindingsStandard G2 – borderline – context – no upholdThis headnote does not form part of the decision. Summary[1] An episode of Banzai, a British comedy series, was broadcast on TV2 at 10. 10pm on 14 August 2001. [2] Michael Hooker complained to Television New Zealand Ltd, the broadcaster, about a shot of a man’s naked penis which was included in the broadcast, and which he considered to be "well outside the currently accepted norms of taste and decency, given the context in which the scene was shown"....

Complaint under section 8(1B)(b)(i) of the Broadcasting Act 1989One News – item on the environmental state of the Manawatu River – presenter stated that the river was "rated among the most polluted in the Western World" – reporter said that the Cawthron Institute had described the river as "one of the most polluted in the Western World" – allegedly inaccurate FindingsStandard 5 (accuracy) – while statements that Manawatu River was one of the most polluted in the Western World were not precise, the overriding message was correct – viewers not misled – not upheld This headnote does not form part of the decision. Broadcast [1] An item on One News, broadcast at 6pm on Monday 9 August 2010, looked at the environmental state of the Manawatu River....

Complaint under section 8(1B)(b)(i) of the Broadcasting Act 1989Sunday – item reported on ex-All Black who now lived in Japan and his ongoing struggle with depression – reporter stated “Alone in Tokyo, population 35 million, chaotic, frenetic, intense. Perhaps the last place in the world you’d expect to find someone trying to stay balanced after coming through the blackest period of his life” – allegedly inaccurate FindingsStandard 5 (accuracy) – term “chaotic” used to convey reporter’s opinion – not a material point of fact – not upheld This headnote does not form part of the decision. Broadcast [1] An item on Sunday, broadcast on TV One on 24 October 2010, reported on an ex-All Black who now lived in Japan and his ongoing struggle with depression. The reporter travelled to Tokyo to interview him about the imminent publication of his book....

Complaint under section 8(1B)(b)(i) of the Broadcasting Act 1989Rugby World Cup Semi-Final: France v Wales – commentator used the word “Jesus” with reference to Wales being given a penalty kick – allegedly in breach of standards relating to good taste and decency and law and order FindingsStandard 1 (good taste and decency) – “Jesus” used as exclamation and spontaneous reaction during a live sports programme – not used in derogatory or abusive manner – contextual factors – not upheld Standard 2 (law and order) – broadcast did not encourage viewers to break the law or otherwise promote, condone or glamorise criminal activity – not upheld This headnote does not form part of the decision. Introduction [1] During the Rugby World Cup Semi-Final between France and Wales, broadcast on TV One at 8....

Summary[This summary does not form part of the decision. ]An episode of Dog Squad featured footage taken at a named international airport in New Zealand, during which a Ministry for Primary Industries detector dog found an apple in a couple’s bag. PN, a Quarantine Officer, was shown questioning the couple about the apple and issuing them with a fine. The faces of PN and the couple, and PN’s identity tag, were blurred and PN was not named. The Authority did not uphold a complaint that the segment breached PN’s privacy. While it found that, despite the blurring, PN was identifiable in the broadcast, it did not consider that any private information was disclosed during the segment....