Litmus Testing, 2021
This year’s Litmus Testing research reports on public attitudes towards discrimination and denigration on TV and radio and views on recent BSA decisions on complaints relating to this standard.
The decisions that were tested relate to complaints involving: use of the term ‘Paddy-wagons’ (Newshub TV); an item about immigration (Mike Hosking Breakfast Show); an item referring to a person as a Jew (Kickoff TV, Sky Sport); an item about iwi roadblocks (Magic Talk Radio); and use of the term ‘gypsy’ (1 News).
For all five items, the majority of research participants agreed with the BSA’s decisions, with an average of 78% rating them as very good, good or acceptable. Participants also provided useful feedback about their attitudes to discrimination and denigration in broadcast media generally, with comments reflecting some very divergent views.
The research findings will be assessed together with the outcomes of our stakeholder survey and other inputs to the current review of the Broadcasting Codes.
You can read the full findings and a media release highlighting key outtakes here:
Full Report: Litmus Testing 2021 – Public attitudes towards discrimination and denigration [PDF]
Media Release: BSA research reveals shifting attitudes to discrimination and denigration on TV/radio