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An item on Breakfast discussed shortages in the supply of cat food. The Authority did not uphold a complaint that the presenter’s and guest’s use of the phrases ‘fussy puss’ and ‘are pussies fussy’ breached the good taste and decency and children’s interests standards. The Authority found that the phrases would not have caused widespread undue offence or distress, and were unlikely to undermine or violate widely shared community norms. With regard to the children’s interests standard, noting that children were not the target audience for the programme and were unlikely to understand any sexual innuendo in the terms, the Authority considered any potential harm did not reach a level justifying regulatory intervention. Not Upheld: Good Taste and Decency, Children’s Interests...

BEFORE THE BROADCASTING STANDARDS AUTHORITY Decision No: 59/94 Dated the 2nd day of August 1994 IN THE MATTER of the Broadcasting Act 1989 AND IN THE MATTER of a complaint by EXCLUSIVE BRETHREN CHRISTIAN FELLOWSHIP Broadcaster TELEVISION NEW ZEALAND LIMITED I. W. Gallaway Chairperson J. R. Morris R. A. Barraclough L. M. Dawson...

BEFORE THE BROADCASTING STANDARDS AUTHORITY Decision No: 1996-003 Dated the 18th day of January 1996 IN THE MATTER of the Broadcasting Act 1989 AND IN THE MATTER of a complaint by COMPLAINANT S of Cambridge Broadcaster RADIO PACIFIC LIMITED J M Potter Chairperson L M Loates R McLeod...

BEFORE THE BROADCASTING STANDARDS AUTHORITY Decision No: 1998-083 Dated the 30th day of July 1998 IN THE MATTER of the Broadcasting Act 1989 AND IN THE MATTER of a complaint by PETER LORD of Christchurch Broadcaster TELEVISION NEW ZEALAND LTD S R Maling Chairperson L M Loates R McLeod J Withers...

ComplaintNine to Noon – offensive language – "nigger" FindingsPrinciple 1 – context – used to explain another word’s offensiveness – no uphold This headnote does not form part of the decision. Summary The word "nigger" was used by presenter Kim Hill in Nine to Noon broadcast on National Radio on 3 May 2000 just after 11. 00am. John Lowe complained to Radio New Zealand Ltd, the broadcaster, that the use of the word was unacceptable and unnecessary on public radio, and breached the good taste and decency standard. RNZ explained that the word arose in the context of a discussion about the origin of the word "munted" which had apparently been used on the programme earlier that day. According to a fax received from a South African listener, the word "munted" had the same derogatory meaning as "nigger"....

BEFORE THE BROADCASTING STANDARDS AUTHORITY Decision No: 1997-042 Dated the 17th day of April 1997 IN THE MATTER of the Broadcasting Act 1989 AND IN THE MATTER of a complaint by P M MACCALLUM of Havelock North Broadcaster RADIO NEW ZEALAND LIMITED J M Potter Chairperson L M Loates R McLeod A Martin...

BEFORE THE BROADCASTING STANDARDS AUTHORITY Decision No: 110/95 Dated the 26th day of October 1995 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 J M Potter Chairperson L M Loates R McLeod...

An appeal by Michael Hooker against this decision was dismissed in the High Court: AP SW 6/02 PDF1. 09 MBComplaintStripsearch – series incorrectly classified as PGR – unsuitable for children – adult themes – breach of good taste – denigrated men – deceptive programming practice – broadcaster not mindful of effect on children FindingsStandard G2 – did not exceed current norms of decency and good taste – no upholdStandard G4 – participants not treated unjustly or unfairly – no upholdStandard G6 – not relevant – no upholdStandard G7 – no upholdStandard G8 – warning that hybrid classification in final episode potentially a deceptive programming practice – no upholdStandard G12 – no upholdStandard G13 – series did not discriminate against men – no upholdThis headnote does not form part of the decision. Summary[1] Stripsearch was a seven-part series broadcast on TV2 on Tuesday evenings at 8....

Complaint under section 8(1B)(b)(i) of the Broadcasting Act 1989One News – item on the death of a Georgian luger at the Winter Olympics – included footage of the crash that killed the athlete and a still shot of him being attended to by paramedics – allegedly in breach of good taste and decency FindingsStandard 1 (good taste and decency) – broadcaster handled the crash with adequate care and sensitivity – still shot of paramedic giving CPR to the bloodied athlete on the borderline of acceptability – contextual factors – not upheld This headnote does not form part of the decision. Broadcast [1] An item on One News, broadcast on TV One at 6pm on Saturday 13 February 2010, reported on the death of a Georgian luger during a practice run at the Winter Olympic Games in Canada....

Complaint under section 8(1B)(b)(i) of the Broadcasting Act 1989Talkback with Danny Watson – discussion about the Catholic Church’s excommunication of the mother and doctor of a nine-year-old girl in Brazil who had been raped, become pregnant, and had an abortion – the view of one of the people who rang in support of the Church’s actions was later criticised by other callers – a number of callers rang in criticising the Church’s actions – allegedly in breach of good taste and decency, fairness and discrimination and denigration standards Findings Standard 6 (fairness) – complainant and Catholic Church treated fairly – not upheld Standard 1 (good taste and decency) – subsumed into consideration of Standard 6 Standard 7 (discrimination and denigration) – criticisms of the Catholic Church lacked necessary invective for a breach of the standard – robust nature of talkback – not upheld This headnote does not form part of the…...

ComplaintThe Sopranos – offensive language – fuck – suck your dick FindingsStandard G2 – AO – warning – language appropriate to characters – no uphold This headnote does not form part of the decision. Summary An episode of The Sopranos was broadcast on TV2 on 18 May beginning at 9. 30pm. The Sopranos is an award-winning series from the United States which focused on a mob family's involvement with organised crime. J Lex Lawrence complained to Television New Zealand Ltd, the broadcaster, that the language was offensive. He noted that he had been watching another channel and when he switched to TV2 he heard, in the space of about three minutes, the f word being used "at least 12 times". TVNZ said it could understand how a viewer unfamiliar with the series could easily be offended by the content. However, it noted, the programme had been broadcast at 9....

Complaint under section 8(1)(a) of the Broadcasting Act 1989How to Look Good Naked – episode contained footage of bare breasts and women in their underwear – allegedly in breach of good taste and decency, fairness, programme information and children’s interests standards. Findings Standard 1 (good taste and decency) – images of semi-naked women were not sexualised or salacious – contextual factors – not upheld Standard 6 (fairness) – item conveyed a positive message – item did not denigrate women – not upheld Standard 8 (programme information) – programme did not use subliminal perception – not upheld Standard 9 (children’s interests) – programme classified PGR – broadcaster sufficiently considered the interests of child viewers – not upheld This headnote does not form part of the decision. Broadcast [1] An episode of How to Look Good Naked, broadcast on TV One at 7....

Complaint under section 8(1)(a) of the Broadcasting Act 1989Popetown – animated comedy set in a fictional Vatican City – priest accidentally removed “Pope’s” head and sewed it back on – allegedly in breach of good taste and decency, unbalanced and unfairFindingsStandard 1 (good taste and decency) – contextual factors – not upheld Standard 4 (balance) – not a news, current affairs or factual programme – balance not required – not upheld Standard 6 (fairness) and guideline 6g (denigration) – high protection given to satire and comedy – programme had clear satirical and humorous intent – did not encourage denigration – not upheldThis headnote does not form part of the decision. Broadcast [1] An animated comedy series called Popetown centred around Father Nicholas, an idealistic young priest who lives in a fictional Vatican City (called Popetown) with a group of corrupt cardinals and a pogo-stick riding infantile Pope....

During the programme Tim Roxborogh & Tim Beveridge Afternoons, the hosts discussed Russia’s recent invasion of Ukraine. In response to Roxborogh’s question of ‘how do you stop Putin? ’ Beveridge answered that the only thing would be ‘…a bullet to the back of Putin’s head. He has to be taken out by someone. ’ The complainant alleged that these comments breached the good taste and decency, violence, law and order, and fairness standards as they incited violence. The Authority did not uphold the complaint, finding the comments did not reach a threshold justifying regulatory intervention. In particular, the Authority noted the comments did not amount to a threat or call to action, were not likely to incite action against President Putin, and were made in the context of a discussion about President Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, which has led to significant loss of life and the displacement of Ukrainians....

The Authority did not uphold a complaint under the good taste and decency standard about the use of the phrase ‘child pornography’ in a Newshub item reporting on the arrest of Sir Ron Brierley. The complaint was that the item should have instead referred to child sexual exploitation, as ‘pornography’ infers consent and normalises a terrible practice. The Authority acknowledged the complainant’s concerns about the use of appropriate terminology with regard to very serious criminal conduct against children, and noted that what is appropriate terminology is contested internationally among authorities and global agencies. The Authority also consulted the Digital Safety Team at the Department of Internal Affairs (DIA), which deals with issues including countering child sexual exploitation. DIA advised that it does not use the phrase ‘child pornography’ and considers the term ‘child sexual abuse material’ most accurately describes the illegal material involving children....

Summary[This summary does not form part of the decision. ]An item on ONE News discussed further charges laid against a man accused of a double shooting in South Auckland. During the item, images of the crime scene were shown, including footage of blood on a pavement. The Authority did not uphold a complaint alleging that the footage of blood breached the privacy of those involved (ie, the surviving victim and the victims’ relatives or friends), and that the footage would have disturbed young viewers. No individuals were identified during the broadcast, including the surviving victim or either of the victims’ relatives or friends. In addition, the image of blood was brief and was not graphic or explicit, and viewers could reasonably expect that a news broadcast reporting on a double shooting might contain some footage relating to the crime....

Summary [This summary does not form part of the decision. ]A song titled ‘I’m Not Real’ was broadcast on Base Breakfast at about 9. 25am, and contained the lyrics ‘bitches’, ‘ass’, ‘hoes’ and variants of ‘fuck’. The Authority upheld the complaint that the broadcast of these expletives in this timeslot breached standards of good taste and decency. The Authority did not make any order, noting that the broadcaster had acknowledged the broadcast was unacceptable, and that the decision would provide sufficient guidance going forward. Upheld: Good Taste and DecencyNo OrderIntroduction[1] A song titled ‘I’m Not Real’ by Mac Miller featuring Earl Sweatshirt & Vinny Radio was broadcast on Base Breakfast at about 9. 25am on Tuesday 25 June 2013. The song contained the lyrics ‘bitches’, ‘ass’, ‘hoes’ and variants of ‘fuck’....

Download a PDF of Decision No. 1991-050:Wardlaw and Television New Zealand - 1991-050 PDF632. 24 KB...

Complaint Mercury Lane – segment on short film Cow – film shown in full – bestiality – bad taste FindingsStandard G2 – context – no uphold This headnote does not form part of the decision. Summary [1] Mercury Lane was broadcast on TV One at 9. 05pm on 24 November 2001. The programme is a series which looks at various aspects of the arts in New Zealand. One of the segments was about the short film Cow. The film was broadcast in its entirety, and comment from the actors and the writer/director followed. [2] E P Cook complained to Television New Zealand Ltd, the broadcaster, about a scene in Cow in which one of the characters appears to be having sex with a cow. [3] TVNZ did not consider that the scene breached standards relating to good taste and decency, in the context in which it was broadcast....