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The Authority has not upheld a complaint about a segment on Seven Sharp regarding an advertisement by Fluoride Free NZ. Mark Atkin, on behalf of Fluoride Free NZ, complained that the programme was in breach of the balance and accuracy standards. The Authority found that the segment did not discuss a controversial issue of public importance, as required for the balance standard to apply. The Authority also found that none of the points identified by the complainant were inaccurate. Not Upheld: Balance, Accuracy...

Summary[This summary does not form part of the decision. ]A Seven Sharp item discussed the reasons that outgoing New Plymouth Mayor Andrew Judd was not seeking re-election. These included that Mr Judd had suffered abuse and become ‘deeply unpopular’ because of his campaign to increase Māori representation on the New Plymouth District Council, in particular by proposing that a Māori ward be established on the Council. The Authority did not uphold a complaint that the reporter’s statements about the referendum regarding the establishment of a Māori ward were inaccurate. While several of the reporter’s statements could be seen to conflate the issues about representation, the surrounding statements clarified what was being discussed so viewers would not have been misled. In the context of the item, these statements did not reach the threshold for breaching the accuracy standard....

The Authority has declined to determine a complaint about a 1News broadcast discussing racial tensions arising from coalition government policies. The item mentioned a 1News Verian poll on whether the coalition government’s policies were increasing, decreasing, or making no real difference to racial tensions in Aotearoa New Zealand. The complainant alleged the broadcast, and the poll were ‘incredibly biased’ and that the broadcast breached the discrimination and denigration, accuracy, balance, and fairness standards. The Authority declined to determine the complaint on the basis it raised issues under the accuracy, balance, and fairness standards that could all be dismissed on grounds previously explained to the complainant; the broadcast could not be considered to encourage discrimination or denigration; and the complaint concerned issues of personal preference and had been adequately addressed in the broadcaster’s decision....

Summary [This summary does not form part of the decision. ] During The Chase, a British quiz show, the host introduced one of the trivia experts as ‘“The Governess” Anne Hegerty – big brain, big bo…ots? ’ to audience laughter. The Authority declined to uphold a complaint that the host commented on Ms Hegerty’s ‘big boobs’ which was discriminatory against women, distasteful and unfair to Ms Hegerty, among other things. While the comment may have offended some viewers, it did not reach the threshold necessary to find a breach of broadcasting standards. Not Upheld: Discrimination and Denigration, Good Taste and Decency, Fairness, Responsible Programming, Accuracy   Introduction [1] During The Chase, a British quiz show, the host introduced the four trivia experts (the ‘chasers’) as follows: Who will you be up against today? Could it be Paul ‘The Sinnerman’ Sinha – big brain, bad suit?...

Download a PDF of Decision No. 1991-023:Burt and Television New Zealand Ltd - 1991-023 PDF293. 72 KB...

BEFORE THE BROADCASTING STANDARDS AUTHORITY Decision No: 1996-043 Dated the 18th day of April 1996 IN THE MATTER of the Broadcasting Act 1989 AND IN THE MATTER of a complaint by KRISTIAN HARANG of Auckland Broadcaster TELEVISION NEW ZEALAND LIMITED J M Potter Chairperson L M Loates R McLeod A Martin...

BEFORE THE BROADCASTING STANDARDS AUTHORITY Decision No: 1996-154 Dated the 14th day of November 1996 IN THE MATTER of the Broadcasting Act 1989 AND IN THE MATTER of a complaint by JOHN TURNEY of Kumeu Broadcaster TELEVISION NEW ZEALAND LIMITED J M Potter Chairperson L M Loates R McLeod A Martin...

ComplaintSunday – Item about prison officer who became pregnant to inmate and left prison service – item included class photo of featured officer with other prison officers – complainant standing next to featured officer – breach of privacy FindingsStandard 3 and Guideline 3a – Privacy Principles (i), (iii), (iv) and (v)- no offensive facts disclosed – no prying – no uphold This headnote does not form part of the decision. Summary [1] An item about a relationship in prison between a former prison officer and a man convicted of rape, in which the prison officer said she became pregnant, was screened on Sunday, broadcast on TV One at 7. 30pm on 16 March 2003. The item included the "class" photo" of the former prison officer. [2] TG complained to the Broadcasting Standards Authority, under s....

Complaint Moving On – offensive language – "pissing out" – incorrect classification – unsuitable for children FindingsStandard 1 – context – no uphold Standard 7 – appropriate classification – no uphold Standard 9 – no uphold This headnote does not form part of the decision. Summary [1] Moving On was broadcast on TV2 at 7. 30pm on 25 April 2002. The programme followed the fortunes of people moving house. [2] Gordon Hayes complained to Television New Zealand Ltd, the broadcaster, about a sequence during which a man featured on the programme used the phrase "pissing out" to describe steam coming from his car’s engine. Mr Hayes said that the phrase was "crude language which should not be allowed in a G programme". [3] TVNZ declined to uphold the complaint....

Complaint60 Minutes – sex tourist trade in Thailand – breasts exposed – offensive behaviour – unsuitable for children FindingsStandard G2 – not unsuitable in context – no uphold Standard G12 – warning sufficed to comply – no uphold This headnote does not form part of the decision. Summary A 60 Minutes item broadcast on TV One on 12 November 2000 beginning at 7. 30pm examined the exploitation of young women in the sex industry in Thailand. It examined the attitudes of a group of Australian men who went to Thailand for sex holidays. Kristian Harang complained to Television New Zealand Ltd, the broadcaster, that a scene where a young woman exposed her breasts was offensive and inappropriate for broadcast at a time when children were likely to be watching television. He also complained about some night club scenes where women were seen "gyrating"....

Complaint under section 8(1)(a) of the Broadcasting Act 1989Facelift – character used the words “Jesus” and “Christ” – allegedly in breach of good taste and decencyFindingsStandard 1 (good taste and decency) – context – not upheldThis headnote does not form part of the decision. Broadcast [1] Facelift, a satirical programme which lampooned politicians and other high profile New Zealanders, screened on TV One at 10. 05pm on 19 September 2005. On this occasion, Facelift ridiculed television coverage of the election results two nights earlier. The character playing TV One’s political editor, Mark Sainsbury, used the words “Jesus” and “Christ”. Complaint [2] Brian Stratford complained to Television New Zealand Ltd, the broadcaster, that the character had used the words “Jesus” and “Christ” as exclamations. He considered that this was blasphemous and offensive....

Complaints under s. 8(1)(a) and s. 8(1)(c) of the Broadcasting Act 1989Sunday – item on alleged police pack rape of Louise Nicholas – footage shown of former police house where rapes allegedly occurred – current house owner alleged item breached privacy and was unfair Findings Standard 3 (privacy) – no identification of current owner of house – not upheld This headnote does not form part of the decision. Broadcast [1] An item on Sunday reported on allegations of possible improper behaviour by the police, and a cover up in relation to accusations of rape by Louise Nicholas against three policemen. It was broadcast on TV One on 21 March at 7. 30pm. [2] The item included shots of the former police house where the rapes were alleged to have occurred. A car was shown in the driveway of the house....

Complaint under section 8(1C) of the Broadcasting Act 1989One News – item reported on the funeral of prominent New Zealand businessman Allan Hubbard – included footage filmed outside his funeral – allegedly in breach of standards relating to good taste and decency, privacy, fairness and responsible programming FindingsStandard 3 (privacy) – Mrs Hubbard and other people shown in the footage were identifiable but no private facts disclosed and filming was in a public place – those shown were not particularly vulnerable – not upheld Standard 1 (good taste and decency) – filming was non-intrusive and respectful – footage would not have offended or distressed viewers – not upheld Standard 6 (fairness) – Hubbard family treated fairly – not upheld Standard 8 (responsible programming) – footage formed part of an unclassified news programme – item would not have disturbed or alarmed viewers – not upheld This headnote does not form part of the decision.…...

Complaint under section 8(1B)(b)(i) of the Broadcasting Act 1989Rude Tube – series featured viral video clips from the internet – “Animal Madness” episode included a clip of a man taking “an unscheduled toilet break” in a paddock, and being chased by a donkey apparently attempting to mate with him – allegedly in breach of good taste and decency, law and order, and violence standards FindingsStandard 1 (good taste and decency) – contextual factors – most viewers would not have been offended – not upheld Standard 2 (law and order) – broadcast did not encourage viewers to break the law or promote, glamorise or condone criminal activity – not upheld Standard 10 (violence) – footage did not amount to “violence” as envisaged by the standard – not upheld This headnote does not form part of the decision....

Complaint under section 8(1)(a) of the Broadcasting Act 1989Top of the Class – boy commented that playing the recorder was “gay” – allegedly encouraged denigration of and discrimination against homosexual peopleFindingsStandard 6 (fairness) and guideline 6g (denigration and discrimination) – boy used the word “gay” to mean “lame” or “stupid” – did not amount to the high level of invective required for a breach of the standard – not upheldThis headnote does not form part of the decision. Broadcast [1] Top of the Class was a reality entertainment programme, broadcast on TV One, in which New Zealand celebrities were paired with 10-year-old look-alikes and vied with each other in various competitions. In an episode broadcast at 7. 30pm on Sunday 11 June 2006, the contestants were learning how to play the recorder. One of the young schoolboys said “recorders is (sic) gay, extremely gay”....

Complaint under section 8(1)(a) of the Broadcasting Act 1989Breakfast, One News Promo and One News – announcement that President George W. Bush named Time magazine’s “Man of the Year” – remarks that Adolf Hitler, Joseph Stalin and Mikhail Gorbachev had previously held that title – allegedly unfairFindings Standard 6 (fairness) – no unfairness – not upheldThis headnote does not form part of the decision. Broadcast [1] A news item on Breakfast on TV One at approximately 7. 40am on 20 December 2004 announced that US President George W. Bush had been named Time magazine’s “Man of the Year”. One of the presenters went on to say: Wasn’t it interesting that Time magazine voted George Bush their “Man of the Year” – they don’t always get it right…in 1938 Hitler was Time magazine’s “Man of the Year”. [2] A promo for One News on TV One at approximately 5....

Complaint60 Minutes – Police shooting of Steven Wallace – unbalanced – erroneous FindingsStandard G1 – no inaccuracy – no uphold Standard G6 – broadcast balanced – balance also achieved in period of current interest – no uphold This headnote does not form part of the decision. Summary An item on 60 Minutes looked at events in Waitara in the minutes before the Police shooting of Steven Wallace. The item was broadcast on TV One at 7. 30pm on 6 May 2001. Ian White complained to the broadcaster, Television New Zealand Ltd, that the broadcast was "totally unbalanced and erroneous". TVNZ did not consider that the programme had been inaccurate. It also maintained that the programme had been balanced. Dissatisfied with TVNZ’s decision, Mr White referred the complaint to the Broadcasting Standards Authority under section 8(1)(a) of the Broadcasting Act 1989....

Summary An episode of The Ricki Lake Show was screened on Labour Day - a public holiday. The episode was broadcast on TV2 on 25 October 1999, commencing at 2. 00pm. The programme was rated AO because it contained adult content. Ms Watkins complained to Television New Zealand Limited, the broadcaster, that TVNZ breached broadcasting standards by broadcasting an AO classified programme before 8. 30pm on a public holiday. TVNZ agreed that the episode should not have been shown during PGR time. It said that the mistake occurred because its scheduler had not checked the schedule adequately, given that the date was a public holiday, and its new computer system had not prompted its scheduler that the show had been scheduled outside its time band. TVNZ upheld the complaint, apologised to the complainant, and advised that steps had been taken to ensure that the incident would not recur....

Complaint under section 8(1B)(b)(i) of the Broadcasting Act 1989Breakfast – interview with medical researcher about the effectiveness of treatment by chiropractors – allegedly inaccurate FindingsStandard 5 (accuracy) – programme presented researcher as authoritative – he made a number of inaccurate statements – upheld No Order This headnote does not form part of the decision. Broadcast [1] During Breakfast, broadcast on TV One between 6. 30am and 9am on 9 March 2009, one of the presenters interviewed a medical researcher, Dr Shaun Holt, about the effectiveness of chiropractors. Dr Holt said that chiropractors were “as good as conventional medicine” for treating back pain, although conventional medicine was not particularly effective because back pain was very hard to treat. He said “by all means see a chiropractor, they may well help,” but that many claimed to treat other medical conditions and research showed that chiropractic was not beneficial for those conditions....