Showing 121 - 140 of 147 results.
A news item on the centenary celebrations of the Chinese Communist Party reported that as part of President Xi Jinping’s speech he said ‘anyone opposing China will have their heads bashed against a great wall of steel’. The complainant alleged this was inaccurate and unbalanced, mainly because TVNZ had cut off the full quote, which clarifies the ‘great wall of steel’ is forged by ‘1. 4 billion Chinese people’ and therefore conveys a more metaphorical meaning. The Authority found the item did not breach the accuracy standard on the basis that the broadcast was not likely to mislead viewers as a result of omitting part of President Xi’s sentence, and it was not inaccurate for TVNZ to use the more literal translation of ‘heads bashed’ over ‘collide’ in its translation....
The Authority has not upheld a complaint that two items on 1 News concerning Russia’s invasion of Ukraine breached the balance, accuracy, discrimination and denigration, and fairness standards. The first item reported on possible war crimes committed by Russia in Ukraine, and the second on New Zealand providing further financial and military aid to Ukraine. The Authority found the broadcaster made reasonable efforts to present significant points of view in the items, and the accuracy standard was not breached. While the complainant was concerned the broadcasts discriminated against Russian people, the Authority found the broadcasts did not refer to Russian people generally, and rather referred to the Russian government or its military. The fairness standard did not apply. Not upheld: Balance, Accuracy, Discrimination and Denigration, Fairness...
The Authority has not upheld complaints under the accuracy, balance, and fairness standards regarding an item on 1 News reporting on the global economy. The item referred to the National Party’s tax policy and included comments from both the Leader of the Opposition Christopher Luxon MP and Rt Hon Jacinda Ardern. The complainants considered the report’s editing of comments misled the audience to ‘think that PM Jacinda Ardern thinks financial discipline is not right nor good for New Zealand’. The Authority did not consider a reasonable viewer would be left with this impression. The balance and fairness standards were not breached. Not upheld: Accuracy, Balance, Fairness...
The complainant referred a complaint concerning an item broadcast on 1 News accompanied by submissions in excess of 100 pages, indicating further submissions would be required. The Authority ordered the complainant to resubmit the complaint in a more proportionate form, constituting a single submission not exceeding 2,000 words, within 20 working days of this decision. Order to resubmit complaint in a form not exceeding 2,000 words within 20 working days...
The Authority has not upheld a complaint about a 1 News item investigating Waka Kotahi’s communications around its use of glyphosate. The complainant stated the item was unbalanced as it did not present views supporting glyphosate’s safety. The Authority found, as the broadcast was narrowly focused on one aspect of a larger debate around glyphosate use, no further balancing material relating to glyphosate safety was required. It noted the item had signalled the existence of other views and glyphosate’s safety was the subject of ongoing media coverage. Accordingly, viewers could reasonably be expected to be aware it was the subject of competing points of view and were unlikely to be left misinformed by the broadcast. Not Upheld: Balance...
The Authority has declined to determine a complaint an item on 1 News reporting on the leak of classified Pentagon documents and the presence of butterfly land mines in Ukraine breached the balance standard. The Authority found the complaint related to the complainant’s personal preferences on what should be broadcast and raised issues which had been addressed in recent decisions. Decline to determine (section 11(b) in all the circumstances the complaint should not be determined): Balance...
The Authority has not upheld a complaint about a 1 News item recapping the match between champion heavyweight boxers Tyson Fury and Deontay Wilder. The broadcast was within audience expectations of sports reporting and footage of the knockout punch was justified in the context of a boxing match. The Authority did not consider the broadcast of this sporting event promoted, glamorised or condoned criminal or serious antisocial activity. Not Upheld: Good Taste and Decency, Violence, Law and Order...
Summary[This summary does not form part of the decision. ]An item on 1 News discussed former MP Steven Joyce’s valedictory speech in Parliament. The item focused on Mr Joyce recounting in his speech an incident where he had a sex toy thrown at him at Waitangi several years earlier. Footage was shown of Mr Joyce recounting this story during his speech, and of the incident at Waitangi. The Authority did not uphold a complaint that this broadcast and in particular showing the footage of the sex toy breached the good taste and decency standard. Given the incident was newsworthy and attracted widespread coverage at the time, as well as the light-hearted nature of Mr Joyce’s speech, and the broadcast’s target audience, the Authority found the broadcast was unlikely to cause widespread undue offence or distress....
The Authority has not upheld a complaint about an item on 1 News that discussed ‘growing calls’ for New Zealand’s right to silence laws to be urgently changed. The complaint was the item failed to present the views of the many authorities who support the status quo, or include relevant historical context, and used unduly emotive language to advance an unbalanced narrative. The Authority noted the balance standard allows for significant viewpoints to be presented over time, within the period of current interest, and does not require every programme to canvass all significant views on a particular topic. It found there was extensive coverage around the time of the broadcast that provided a range of views and information on the right to silence in cases of child abuse. It also found the broadcast approached this issue from a particular perspective and did not purport to be a balanced examination....
The Authority has not upheld a complaint that broadcasting an image of Julian Batchelor’s car (sign-written with ‘stop co-governance’ advertising, including Batchelor’s website domain name, and cell phone number) breached Batchelor’s privacy due to the car’s licence plate not being blurred. The Authority found that no private information had been disclosed – noting the car was parked in a publicly visible place, and the Authority has previously found brief footage of licence plates in a broadcast does not amount to an offensive disclosure of private facts, for the purposes of the standard. Not Upheld: Privacy...
The Authority has not upheld a complaint about a 1 News item on Tross Publishing, which it reported had been ‘accused of publishing books that are anti-Māori, inaccurate and harmful’ and discussed the use of its books in schools. While the complainant was concerned the broadcast was ‘anti-white’ and ‘anti-immigrant,’ the Authority found it did not encourage the denigration of, or discrimination against ‘white’ people, and that immigrants are not a recognised section of the community for the purposes of the standard. It also found the broadcaster made reasonable efforts to present significant points of view in the item, the broadcast did not breach the accuracy standard, and Tross Publishing was treated fairly in the broadcast. Not Upheld: Discrimination and Denigration, Balance, Accuracy, Fairness...
The Authority has not upheld a complaint that a 1 News item, reporting on the sustainability implications of the Government’s programme providing free period products to schools, breached the offensive and disturbing content broadcasting standard. The broadcast outlined types of sustainable period products and included a demonstration on how to wash period underwear, using red-tinted liquid. The Authority found the content was within audience expectations of the item, and news programming more generally, and unlikely to cause widespread undue offence or distress or undermine widely shared community standards. Not Upheld: Offensive and Disturbing Content...
The Authority has not upheld a complaint an item on 1 News reporting on Immigration New Zealand’s decision to allow Kellie-Jay Keen-Minshull (also known as Posie Parker) into New Zealand breached the balance and fairness standards. The complainant was concerned with the broadcast’s description of Parker as ‘anti-trans’ rather than ‘pro-women’, and its link between Parker and people doing Nazi salutes at her events. The Authority found the item was balanced, referring to comments from both the Immigration Minister and Parker herself. It also considered Parker was treated fairly in the broadcast, noting the right to freedom of expression means broadcasters are free to use descriptors they consider appropriate, provided they do not breach broadcasting standards. Not Upheld: Balance, Fairness...
Warning: This decision contains content that some readers may find distressing. An item on 1 News reporting on a mass shooting in Buffalo, US, showed an edited clip from the attacker’s livestream video. The clip, approximately 16 seconds long and without audio, showed the masked attacker driving into the supermarket carpark, stopping his vehicle, getting out of the car and raising a gun. The complaint alleged the broadcast of the clip breached the good taste and decency, violence, and law and order broadcasting standards....
The Authority has not upheld a complaint about an item on 1 News in which Darryl Leigh Thomson was described as a co-writer of the song ‘E Tū’. While the Authority agreed it was not accurate to describe Mr Thomson as having co-written the song, it found TVNZ made reasonable efforts to ensure accuracy. Not Upheld: Accuracy...
An item on 1 News reported on Posie Parker entering Aotearoa New Zealand for speaking events, and explored the opposition she would face from transgender rights supporters. The Authority did not uphold a complaint the item was biased and unbalanced. While the broadcast did discuss a controversial issue of public importance for the purpose of the balance standard, the item clearly signalled it was approaching the issue from the perspective of transgender communities intending to attend the counter‑protest, sufficiently signalled the major perspectives on the issue, and the audience could reasonably be expected to be aware of alternative perspectives in any case. Not Upheld: Balance...
The Authority has not upheld a complaint an item on 1 News breached the complainant and her grandchild’s privacy. The item, which reported on the implications of GP shortages in Northland, included footage of the complainant and her grandchild (who was in a moonboot with crutches) leaving a medical centre, and of them in the waiting room. The Authority acknowledged the sensitive nature of health information and encouraged broadcasters to obtain the consent of persons filmed in a medical centre (particularly where children are involved). However, the Authority found there was no reasonable expectation of privacy in the particular facts disclosed (being attendance at a medical centre) noting the complainant was initially depicted outside the centre, from a public footpath, where there was no expectation of privacy. No additional information was disclosed by the subsequent footage from within the waiting room. Not Upheld: Privacy...
Summary[This summary does not form part of the decision. ] The Authority has not upheld a complaint about the action taken by a broadcaster in response to a complaint it received about incorrect reporting of casualties in an event in Gaza. Three news bulletins on 1 News and 1 News Midday reported inconsistent numbers of Palestinians killed and injured following protests in Gaza. The broadcaster upheld a complaint that two of the bulletins were inaccurate, however the complainant was dissatisfied with the action taken by the broadcaster in response to these breaches and referred the complaint to the Authority on this basis. The Authority found that TVNZ took sufficient action, noting the broadcaster apologised in its decision to the complainant and circulated a reminder to all newsroom staff about the importance of reporting this type of information correctly....
The Authority has not upheld complaints about three broadcasts concerning Kellie-Jay Keen-Minshull’s (also known as Posie Parker) entry into New Zealand for her ‘Let Women Speak’ events. The complainant was concerned the broadcasts were unfair towards Parker, homosexual people (by grouping them with transgender people) and women, and that the broadcasts misrepresented Parker and the Let Women Speak events. The Authority declined to determine aspects of the complaints, given similar findings in recent decisions, and otherwise found the broadcasts did not breach the applicable broadcasting standards. Not Upheld: Discrimination and Denigration, Balance, Accuracy, Fairness; Declined to Determine: Discrimination and Denigration, Balance, Accuracy, Fairness (section 11(b) of the Broadcasting Act 1989 – in all of the circumstances)...
The Authority has not upheld a complaint that a 1 News Covid Update broadcast breached the balance and accuracy standards by featuring modelling of the current COVID-19 outbreak provided by Professor Shaun Hendy. The Authority found the balance standard was not breached. While the item discussed the topic of COVID-19 modelling, which is a controversial issue of public importance, it was clearly signalled as approaching the topic from a particular perspective. Viewers could also reasonably be expected to be aware of alternative views from other coverage. The accuracy standard was not breached as the modelling was analysis, comment or opinion and so was not subject to the standard. Not Upheld: Balance, Accuracy...