Search Rapua

ComplaintOne News – pronunciation of "Waikato" – denigration of New Zealand English and its speakers FindingsSection 11(b) – no issue of broadcasting standards raised by this complaint – decline to determine This headnote does not form part of the decision. Summary [1] The pronunciation of "Waikato" during One News, broadcast on TV One at 6. 00pm on 29 March 2002, was the subject of a complaint. [2] Peter Zohrab, on behalf of the New Zealand Equality Party, complained to Television New Zealand Ltd, the broadcaster, that the pronunciation was incorrect. He considered the manner of pronunciation was "racist" and encouraged the denigration of New Zealand English and its speakers. [3] TVNZ declined to uphold the complaint. It did not consider that its pronunciation of "Waikato" in any way denigrated New Zealand English. [4] Dissatisfied with TVNZ’s decision, Mr Zohrab referred his complaint to the Broadcasting Standards Authority under s....

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....

Complaint60 Minutes – documentary – youth suicide – mental health – psychosis and depression – drug use – misleading to blame suicide on cannabis – statements from Life Education Trust Director misleading Findings(1) Standard G1 – no inaccuracies – no uphold (2) Standard G6 – no bias or imbalance – story told from family perspective – honest opinions broadcast – no uphold This headnote does not form part of the decision. Summary An item on 60 Minutes broadcast by TV One at 7. 30pm on 13 February 2000 concerned the suicide of James Carruthers. The programme was based around the reflections of James’s parents, and the factors they believed had led to his death. Mr Currie complained to Television New Zealand Ltd, the broadcaster, that the programme had misleadingly blamed cannabis use for James’s behaviour and suicide....

Complaints under section 8(1B)(b)(i) of the Broadcasting Act 1989One News and One News Tonight – reported on teachers’ industrial action – stated that the teachers’ union had rejected the Government’s offer of a 2 percent pay increase, and that teachers were fighting for a 4 percent increase on their base salaries – allegedly in breach of controversial issues, accuracy and fairness standards FindingsStandard 4 (controversial issues) – items discussed a controversial issue of public importance – broadcaster made reasonable efforts to present significant viewpoints and spoke to representatives of the teachers – not upheld Standard 5 (accuracy) – complainant has not provided evidence that the figures were inaccurate – not upheld Standard 6 (fairness) – complainant did not identify any individuals or organisations he believed had been treated unfairly – no unfairness – not upheld This headnote does not form part of the decision....

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…...

Complaint under section 8(1B)(b)(i) of the Broadcasting Act 1989Promo for Nothing Trivial – broadcast during Coronation Street – contained sexual references – allegedly in breach of children’s interests standard FindingsStandard 9 (children’s interests) – sexual references were fleeting and innocuous – consistent with viewer expectations of Coronation Street and PGR timeband – contextual factors – not upheld This headnote does not form part of the decision. Broadcast [1] A promo for Nothing Trivial, a drama following the personal lives of members of a pub quiz team, was broadcast on TV One between 7. 30pm and 8. 30pm on 12 July 2011, during Coronation Street which was rated PGR. [2] In the promo, the characters were shown talking about their quiz topic strengths, while thinking about their personal lives, as follows: Emma: I like animals and I know a bit about cooking. . ....

Complaint under section 8(1C) of the Broadcasting Act 1989One News – item reported on verdict in Ewen McDonald murder trial – reporter commented, “You could well be thinking, if he’s not guilty, why hasn’t he walked out these doors behind me and spoken to media?...

Download a PDF of Decision No. 1993-073–074:Sharp and Harang and Television New Zealand Ltd - 1993-073, 1993-074 PDF698. 63 KB...

Download a PDF of Decision No. 1992-031:Group Opposed to Advertising of Liquor and Television New Zealand Ltd - 1992-031 PDF188. 21 KB...

Download a PDF of Decision No. 1991-035:Group Opposed to Advertising of Liquor and Television New Zealand Ltd - 1991-035 PDF313. 12 KB...

Summary[This summary does not form part of the decision. ]An episode of Dog Squad showed dog handlers with the Department of Corrections searching visitors to a prison. The episode showed two occasions of the complainant (SW) being searched; firstly, her bag was searched when she was driving onto prison premises, and secondly, a sniffer dog identified that she was carrying contraband (tobacco) inside the prison and she was shown surrendering this to Corrections staff. In both instances her face was blurred. The Authority upheld SW’s complaint that broadcasting the footage breached her privacy. She was identifiable despite her face being blurred (by clothing, body type, voice, etc), and the disclosure of private facts about her, including prescription drugs she was taking, among other things, was highly offensive....

Paula Rose declared a conflict of interest and did not participate in the determination of this complaint. Summary[This summary does not form part of the decision. ]On 14 November 2016, in a 1 News special update, the newsreader updated viewers on events surrounding a 7. 8 magnitude earthquake centred near Kaikoura that occurred just after midnight that day. The newsreader stated, ‘there has been another quake-related death at Mt Lyford; that is after someone suffered a heart attack’. The Authority did not uphold a complaint from the partner of the person who died at Mt Lyford that this statement was inaccurate given that his partner had died from earthquake-related injuries, but not a heart attack. The Authority acknowledged these were distressing circumstances for the complainant....

Warning: This decision contains content that some readers may find distressing. Following the 15 March 2019 attacks on two mosques in Christchurch, 1 News at 6pm twice broadcast an edited clip taken from the alleged attacker’s 17‑minute livestream video. The Authority did not uphold a complaint that the broadcast was in breach of the good taste and decency and violence standards. The content of the clip, and the broadcast as a whole, was newsworthy and had a high level of public interest. The very brief clip was an edited segment of the livestream video which provided information to audiences, but which did not contain explicit graphic or violent content and did not promote or glorify the actions of the attacker. Specific warnings and extensive signposting ensured audiences were sufficiently informed about the disturbing nature of the content....

The Authority has not upheld a complaint about the use of food in an episode of Taskmaster NZ, a game show in which comedians are tasked with completing strange and whacky challenges. The complaint was that the wastage of food and playing with food was offensive and disrespected tikanga. The Authority found in the context of a game show intended to be entertaining and humorous, the content did not undermine community standards or cause harm that justified limiting the broadcaster’s right to freedom of expression. The Authority noted that the broadcaster acknowledged the complainant’s concerns relating to tikanga and had discussed this with its content team. Not Upheld: Good Taste and Decency...

A segment on Sunday contained a story about two women suffering debilitating symptoms of menopause, and included a brief discussion with a doctor about the use of Hormone Replacement Therapy as a treatment option. The complainant alleged the broadcast breached the accuracy and balance standards as it inaccurately described HRT as ‘safe’, promoted HRT’s benefits for other health issues, contained a statement that a 20-year-old study linking breast cancer to HRT had been discredited as flawed, and failed to provide countering views on HRT’s safety and on the validity of the study. The Authority did not uphold the complaint, finding it was reasonable for TVNZ to rely on Dr Teagle as an authoritative source, the segment was materially accurate, the story was clearly told from a particular perspective, and the alleged harm did not outweigh the broadcaster’s right to freedom of expression. Not Upheld: Accuracy, Balance...

The Authority has not upheld two complaints about an interview on Q+A with Jack Tame with recently-appointed Prime Minister Chris Hipkins, covering a wide range of topics. One complaint alleged Tame was rude and disrespectful in his interviewing style and showed ‘complete disregard for the position of the country's Prime Minister’. The other complaint alleged comments made by Tame about former Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern’s strengths particularly in the foreign policy sphere (including that she appeared on the cover of Vogue and had ‘soft power’) amounted to ‘misogyny’ by suggesting this was due to her looks, and reflected ‘bigoted views towards women’. The Authority found Tame’s interview style and questioning did not go beyond the level of robust scrutiny or challenge that could reasonably be expected in an interview with the Prime Minister on issues of high public importance....

BEFORE THE BROADCASTING STANDARDS AUTHORITY Decision No: 81/95 Dated the 31st day of July 1995 IN THE MATTER of the Broadcasting Act 1989 AND IN THE MATTER of a complaint by MINISTER OF HOUSING (HON MURRAY McCULLY) Broadcaster TELEVISION NEW ZEALAND LIMITED J M Potter Chairperson L M Loates W J Fraser R McLeod...

The Authority has not upheld a complaint that an episode of Motorway Patrol breached the privacy standard. A short segment of the programme focused on a Senior Constable attending a crash on an Auckland motorway. It featured footage of the complainant as a ‘Good Samaritan’ who had stopped to check on the person in the crashed vehicle. The Authority acknowledged the impact of the broadcast on the complainant, who said they were not informed the filming was for broadcast purposes and were not asked for consent. However, applying the relevant guidelines under the privacy standard, the Authority found the broadcast did not disclose information attracting a reasonable expectation of privacy and would not be highly offensive to an objective reasonable person....

The Authority has not upheld a complaint under the offensive and disturbing content standard regarding a match of Super Smash Cricket which featured the te reo Māori phrase ‘kore puta’ (following the English phrase ‘not out’) onscreen when a review was called for whether the player batting was out or not out. The complainant considered the word ‘puta’ was highly offensive due to its different meaning in other languages such as Spanish and Portuguese. The Authority did not uphold the complaint, finding that in the context of a broadcast of a New Zealand domestic cricket match, and the previous phrase onscreen ‘decision pending’ also translated in te reo, it was clear the word ‘puta’ was being used as a te reo translation for the word ‘out’. In this context, the Authority did not need to consider what the word may mean in other languages....