BSA releases 4 decisions relating to coverage of the 15 March 2019 mosque attacks
The Authority has released four decisions today relating to broadcast coverage of the 15 March 2019 mosque attacks. One of the decisions relates to a complaint about the naming of the alleged attacker in a news item. The complaint was not upheld.
The Authority upheld one complaint about coverage of the attacks on 15 March, finding that the use of extensive excerpts from the alleged attacker’s livestream video on Sky News New Zealand had the potential to cause significant distress to audiences in New Zealand, and particularly to the family and friends of victims, and the wider Muslim community.
Two of the remaining decisions related to coverage of the attacks by 1 News, which featured a very brief excerpt from the livestream video and footage of identifiable victims being taken to hospital, some with visible injuries. Taking into account the unprecedented circumstances and the high level of public interest in the coverage, the Authority did not uphold the complaints about 1 News.
You can read the full decisions here.
You can read our media release on these decisions here.