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Complaint Fair Go – item about infomercial – presenter took dispute with marketing firm to Fair Go – marketing firm complainant – item failed to maintain standards of law and order – unbalanced – unfair – inaccurate Findings Standard 2 – statement of claim – "gagging writ" – no uphold Standard 4 – balance of perspectives aired – no uphold Standard 5 – inaccuracy – complainant did not threaten to sue if item broadcast – uphold on this point – no other inaccuracies – no Order Standard 6 – Topline not dealt with unfairly – no uphold This headnote does not form part of the decision Summary [1] An item on Fair Go examined a dispute between a television presenter who was hired by Topline International to present an infomercial. The item was broadcast on Fair Go on TV One at 7. 30pm on 18 September 2002....

An appeal against this decision was dismissed in the High Court: CIV 2003-485-2658 PDF1. 96 MBComplaintOne News – item about children kidnapped by "Lord’s Resistance Army" in Uganda – raped – tortured – forced to murder – unsuitable for children at that hourFindingsStandard 9 and Guidelines 9a, 9c and 9e – majority – children treated badly – upholdStandard 10 and Guideline 10g – majority – warning necessary in view of violent, disturbing and alarming material – upholdNo OrderThis headnote does not form part of the decision. Summary[1] The brutality suffered by the children kidnapped by the self-styled Lord’s Resistance Army in Uganda was dealt with in an item broadcast on One News, beginning at 6. 00pm on Saturday 5 July 2003. It was reported that as many as 20,000 children had been kidnapped over a period of 17 years and had been tortured, mutilated, raped or forced to kill....

Complaint under section 8(1B)(b)(i) of the Broadcasting Act 1989Last Chance Dogs – reality series about dogs with behavioural problems and their owners – episode showed three dogs being taken from their owner as they were not registered and were aggressive towards other dogs – allegedly in breach of law and order, controversial issues and responsible programming standards FindingsStandard 2 (law and order) – programme did not encourage viewers to break the law or otherwise promote, condone or glamorise criminal activity – focus was on dogs being removed from owner because they were not registered – not upheld Standard 4 (controversial issues) – programme did not discuss a controversial issue of public importance – not upheld Standard 8 (responsible programming) – standard not applicable – not upheld This headnote does not form part of the decision....

Complaint under section 8(1C) of the Broadcasting Act 1989Close Up – reported on man who faced losing two of his fingers if he chose to continue smoking cigarettes – presenter jokingly asked man if he wanted a cigarette – presenter’s comments allegedly in breach of standards relating to good taste and decency, fairness and responsible programming FindingsStandard 1 (good taste and decency), Standard 6 (fairness), and Standard 8 (responsible programming) – presenter’s offer of a cigarette was hypothetical and intended to highlight the man’s triumph in giving up smoking – not intended to “taunt” the man – man was a willing participant and took the comments with good humour – comments would not have offended or distressed most viewers – man treated fairly – broadcast not socially irresponsible – not upheld This headnote does not form part of the decision....

Complaint Overboard – film – "bitch" – "slut" – inappropriate – offensive language FindingsStandard 1 – not offensive in context – no uphold Standard 9 – not unsuitable for children – no uphold This headnote does not form part of the decision. Summary [1] Overboard, a comedy film, was broadcast by TV2 at 6. 30pm on Saturday 21 September 2002. It portrayed an arrogant and spoilt woman who, through a number of incidents, discovered humility and love. The film was rated "G". [2] Mark Bray complained to Television New Zealand Ltd, the broadcaster, that the language used was unacceptable during family viewing hours. He specifically referred to the use of the words "bitch" and "slut". [3] In declining to uphold the complaint TVNZ said, in context, the language did not breach current norms of good taste and decency....

Download a PDF of Decision No. 1993-047:Coalition of Concerned Citizens (NZ) and Television New Zealand Ltd - 1993-047 PDF267. 19 KB...

Download a PDF of Decision No. 1993-096–097:Sharp and Leonard-Taylor and Television New Zealand Ltd - 1993-096, 1993-097987. 7 KB...

Download a PDF of Decision No. 1992-011:Sugrue and Television New Zealand Ltd - 1992-011 PDF551. 41 KB...

BEFORE THE BROADCASTING STANDARDS AUTHORITY Decision No: 117/94 Dated the 24th day of November 1994 IN THE MATTER of the Broadcasting Act 1989 AND IN THE MATTER of a complaint by PHILLIP SMITS of Auckland Broadcaster TELEVISION NEW ZEALAND LIMITED I W Gallaway Chairperson J R Morris L M Loates W J Fraser...

BEFORE THE BROADCASTING STANDARDS AUTHORITY Decision No: 69/95 Decision No: 70/95 Dated the 27th day of July 1995 IN THE MATTER of the Broadcasting Act 1989 AND IN THE MATTER of complaints by WOMEN AGAINST PORNOGRAPHY of Auckland and PHILLIP SMITS of Auckland Broadcaster TELEVISION NEW ZEALAND LIMITED J M Potter Chairperson L M Loates W J Fraser R McLeod...

The Authority has not upheld a complaint about a 1News item on Mother’s Day profiling a women’s duck shooting group in the Hawke’s Bay. The complaint alleged the tone of the item was disrespectful to wildlife including native wildlife, through irreverent comments such as describing duck shooting as ‘fun’ and good for ‘mental health’, which was ‘deeply offensive’; and it lacked balance and accuracy by not telling the other side of the story from the growing number of people who oppose duck shooting, or providing broader context about wildlife decline including among the four native species that are ‘allowed to be shot’. The Authority found the item was clearly framed as a light-hearted human-interest story rather than an in-depth exploration of a controversial issue requiring balancing viewpoints. Its tone and content were unlikely to disproportionately disturb or offend most viewers, in the context....

BEFORE THE BROADCASTING STANDARDS AUTHORITY Decision No: 28/94 Dated the 9th day of May 1994 IN THE MATTER of the Broadcasting Act 1989 AND IN THE MATTER of a complaint by GRAEME NORTH of Warkworth Broadcaster TELEVISION NEW ZEALAND LIMITED I. W. Gallaway Chairperson J. R. Morris R. A. Barraclough L. M. Dawson...

The Authority has not upheld a complaint that a 1News report breached the accuracy standard through its story about the Independent Police Conduct Authority’s findings concerning a fatal shooting. The complainant considered the story misleading for its emphasis on the shooting being ‘unjustified’ without further context, including regarding the ‘fine margin’ of the decision. When considered as a whole, the Authority found a reasonable viewer was unlikely to come away from the broadcast with a wrong idea or impression of the facts. Not Upheld: Accuracy...

The Authority has not upheld a complaint alleging a clarification broadcast by 1News, stating ‘Israel says it does not target civilians in any of its actions’, breached the accuracy standard because the statement was a ‘blatant inaccuracy’. The Authority found the broadcast did not state as fact that Israel does not target civilians. It accurately reported Israel’s official position and clearly attributed the statement to Israel. Not Upheld: Accuracy...

BEFORE THE BROADCASTING STANDARDS AUTHORITY Decision No: 8/94 Dated the 21st day of February 1994 IN THE MATTER of the Broadcasting Act 1989 AND IN THE MATTER of a complaint by RAPE PREVENTION GROUP of Christchurch Broadcaster TELEVISION NEW ZEALAND LIMITED I. W. Gallaway Chairperson J. R. Morris R. A. Barraclough L. M. Dawson...

The Authority has not upheld a complaint a 1News item on 80-year commemorations for D-Day breached the accuracy standard by stating that D-Day ‘was the turning point in the war against Nazi Germany’. The complainant considered this was inaccurate as D-Day was only the turning point for the Western Front, not the Eastern Front or World War II as a whole. The Authority found the alleged inaccuracy was not material to the segment, and would not have impacted audience’s understanding of the broadcast as a whole. Not Upheld: Accuracy...

Complaint under section 8(1B)(b)(i) of the Broadcasting Act 1989Sunday – interview with a man about the fate of his wife who died in the February 2011 Christchurch earthquake – showed sequence of photographs as reporter stated, “As these police photos show, there were concrete cutters used on the western side of the building, but what about on the side [the woman] and four others were trapped? ” – photographs allegedly inaccurate and misleading FindingsStandard 5 (accuracy) – photographs used to illustrate assertions, based on eyewitness evidence, that concrete cutters were available but not used – use of photographs not material in the context of the item – photographs would not have misled viewers in any significant respect – not upheld This headnote does not form part of the decision....

Download a PDF of Decision No. 1993-005:Georgeson and Television New Zealand Ltd - 1993-005 PDF365. 46 KB...

Download a PDF of Decision No. 1993-091:Sharp and Television New Zealand Ltd - 1993-091 PDF374. 61 KB...