Three decisions released
The BSA today released two new decisions concerning complaints about election-related broadcast content – one complaint about political commentary during the Newshub Leaders Debate and one complaint about a Radio Sport presenter’s comment on a Labour campaign advertisement. The Authority did not uphold these complaints, highlighting the importance of political expression during the election period.
Earlier this week the Authority also released a decision regarding an episode of RNZ’s Insight, which focused on the management of New Zealand’s fisheries and whether camera monitoring on fishing vessels would improve illegal discarding of fish. During the programme, the Executive Director of Greenpeace NZ discussed a camera monitoring trial run by the complainant, Trident Systems. The Authority found that while the interviewee’s statements were not in breach of the accuracy or balance standards, they did reflect negatively on Trident Systems, who ought to have been given the opportunity to respond. The Authority therefore found that Trident Systems was treated unfairly in the broadcast.