An item on Radio Tarana News reported on District Court proceedings involving the complainant, a former Fiji government minister, regarding a dispute over rent allegedly owed to the landlord of a building he leased. The Authority did not uphold his complaint that the item was unfair, inaccurate and unbalanced. The item was a straightforward, brief news report, and the complainant’s position was fairly included in the item.
Not Upheld: Fairness, Accuracy, Controversial Issues, Good Taste and Decency, Discrimination and Denigration
A ONE News item reported that 21,000 people had recently had their job-seeker benefits cut for travelling overseas. The Authority did not uphold the complaint that the item did not sufficiently include balancing comment. The item presented a number of comments in support of the beneficiaries, and it was clear the interviewees were offering their own opinion, which is not subject to standards of accuracy.
Not Upheld: Controversial Issues, Accuracy, Fairness, Discrimination and Denigration
Seven Sharp screened footage of an incident involving celebrity singer Beyoncé’s sister physically attacking Beyoncé’s husband in a lift. The Authority did not uphold the complaint that the item made light of the serious issue of violence or denigrated men.
Not Upheld: Law and Order, Discrimination and Denigration, Violence.
A Radio Sport host commented to the programme producer, ‘I wonder when Team New Zealand are going to tell us all that one of their chief designers quit a couple of weeks ago.’ The Authority did not uphold the complaint that this was inaccurate because no designer had resigned. Listeners would have interpreted the comments as speculation or gossip, rather than confirmed fact.
Not Upheld: Accuracy
Campbell Live broadcast two items that were critical of Ranfurly Veterans Home and Hospital, relating to an incident in which a resident, Q, was found lying on the driveway after falling from his power chair. The Authority upheld one aspect of the accuracy complaint in relation to another incident involving a resident, F, and upheld the complaint that the items were unfair to Q, and to Ranfurly. The Authority did not uphold the complaint that the residents’ privacy was breached. The Authority did not make any order as only limited aspects were upheld.
Upheld: Accuracy, Fairness
Not Upheld: Privacy
No Order
In an election advertisement for the National Party, John Key referred to ‘Labour, The Greens and Dotcom’. The Authority did not uphold the complaint that the reference to ‘Dotcom’ was misleading because there was no ‘Dotcom Party’. The advertisement did not explicitly refer to any ‘Dotcom Party’, Kim Dotcom has been a prominent figure in the election, and most listeners would have understood it to be a reference to the Internet Party, and that political party advertising is broadcast in the context of a robust political arena in the lead-up to a general election.
Not Upheld: Election Programmes Subject to Other Standards (Accuracy)
At the end of an episode of Seven Sharp, presenter Mike Hosking made comments about the most recent report of the IPCC. The Authority did not uphold four complaints that his comments were misleading and irresponsible. The comments were clearly Mr Hosking’s opinion, and the right to freedom of speech explicitly protects expressions of opinion even if they are unpopular or incorrect. Mr Hosking is well known for this type of monologue where he offers his opinion on any number of issues, sometimes in a provocative manner.
Not Upheld: Accuracy
The opening scenes of an episode of Rake included four instances of the word ‘fuck’. The Authority did not uphold the complaint that this constituted strong adult material which screened too close to the Adults Only 8.30pm watershed. The language was not so frequent or offensive that it required a restriction to a later time, and was relevant to the narrative and to character development. The programme was also preceded by a clear warning for coarse language.
Not Upheld: Children’s Interests
A repeat broadcast of an episode of Serious Crash Unit investigated a collision between two vehicles where one driver died. The Authority did not uphold the complaint from the surviving driver that the repeat broadcast, without his consent, breached his privacy. The complainant signed a consent form, and the timeline between the accident and the repeat broadcast more than four years later, in the absence of any further objections from him, suggested that he gave his consent freely, and not under duress.
Not Upheld: Privacy
On Newstalk ZB on 2 April 2014, in response to a news item reporting that the average New Zealand woman weighed 72 kilograms, the host Rachel Smalley could be heard, during an advertisement break, referring to these women as ‘heifers’ and ‘a bunch of lardos’. The Authority did not uphold the complaint that the action taken by the broadcaster was insufficient, or that the comments breached standards of good taste and decency. Size or weight is not one of the specified sections of the community under the discrimination and denigration standard, the comments were off the cuff and not intended for broadcast, and the host and the broadcaster both issued public apologies.
Not Upheld: Good Taste and Decency, Discrimination and Denigration (Action Taken)