An episode of Shortland Street on TV2 showed characters smoking cigarettes and dropping their cigarette butts on the ground. The Authority did not uphold the complaint that this breached the good taste and decency, and law and order standards: the footage was acceptable in context and relevant to the developing storyline. It was well within the broadcaster’s right to employ dramatic licence.
Not Upheld: Good Taste and Decency, Law and Order
In two interviews the host of Cruise FM made comments that were critical of, and threatening towards, local council members and a rival radio station. The Authority upheld the complaint that the comments were unfair. The comments were personally abusive and had the potential to be very damaging, and the host abused his position by using the airwaves to discredit council members and staff at a rival radio station. The Authority ordered the radio station to broadcast a statement and also to pay costs to the Crown of $2,500.
Upheld: Fairness
Not Upheld: Good Taste and Decency, Law and Order, Accuracy, Discrimination and Denigration
Orders: Broadcast of statement, $2,500 costs to Crown
Five items reporting on an episode of escalating violence in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in the Gaza Strip were broadcast on Radio New Zealand National. The Authority did not uphold the complaint that they breached the balance standard because they were biased towards the Palestinian position. The broadcaster had clearly made reasonable efforts to present significant viewpoints, including the Israeli perspective, across more than 250 news bulletins and programmes within the period of current interest.
Not Upheld: Controversial Issues
An item on Sunday profiled a young man who was a recidivist car thief. It showed brief footage of a car he had stolen, including its number plate. The Authority did not uphold GW’s privacy complaint. The complainant and her husband were not identifiable through the footage of their car and number plate, and no private facts were disclosed about them that would be considered highly offensive to an objective reasonable person.
Not Upheld: Privacy
A music video for the Lana Del Ray song "Born to Die" was broadcast on C4. It contained the lyrics "Let's go get high" and briefly showed the artist smoking what the complainant alleged was a marijuana cigarette. The Authority determined that this did not breach the law and order standard: the lyrics and footage did not glamorise drug use and did not encourage viewers to break the law or otherwise promote or condone criminal activity.
Not Upheld: Law and Order
A promo for The Graham Norton Show’s Christmas special showed a photograph of a couple dressed as Mary and Joseph holding a dog in swaddling clothes. The Authority did not uphold the complaint that this breached the good taste and decency and discrimination and denigration standards: the content was a light-hearted attempt at humour as opposed to a criticism of Christians and would not have offended most viewers in context. Further, the innocent lampooning of religious figures comes within the broadcaster’s right to freedom of expression.
Not Upheld: Good Taste and Decency, Discrimination and Denigration
During Overnight Talkback with Bruce Russell, the host and a caller discussed a meteorite exploding over central Russia and causing a shock that injured many people. The host made comments to the effect he would rather it happened in Russia than in New Zealand. The Authority did not uphold the good taste and decency complaint, as the host’s comments were expressed in a light-hearted and flippant manner and would not have offended or distressed most listeners in context.
Not Upheld: Good Taste and Decency
An AO comedy programme, A Night at the Classic, contained extensive coarse language and sexual references. Given the late time of broadcast (10pm), the specific pre-broadcast warning and the AO classification, the Authority concluded that the programme did not breach standards of good taste and decency and responsible programming.
Not Upheld: Good Taste and Decency, Responsible Programming
The ZM Morning Crew hosts ran a competition called “Racial Profiling”, in which the hosts and a contestant were asked to guess whether individuals who had committed certain offences in the United States were “black, white or Asian”. The Authority did not uphold good taste and decency, discrimination and denigration, or responsible programming complaints: the segment was an attempt at humour and satire and the outcome as broadcast demonstrated flaws in racial stereotyping; the broadcast would not have offended most listeners in context and was not socially irresponsible; and although some of the content was challenging it did not reach the high threshold required for encouraging denigration of, or discrimination against, any of the groups referred to as sections of the community.
Not Upheld: Good Taste and Decency, Discrimination and Denigration, Responsible Programming
During the heavy metal radio programme, House of Noizz on Planet FM, the host made derogatory comments about “an ex-member of the family”, the mother of his named nephew. The Authority upheld complaints that this was unfair, as the host abused his position by making comments that were insulting and abusive to the complainant, and the complainant had made repeated attempts to stop the content being broadcast. The Authority determined that the privacy and good taste and decency standards were not breached, however. The host’s comments were opinion, not private facts, and would not have offended or distressed most listeners. The Authority made no order.
Upheld: Fairness
Not Upheld: Good Taste and Decency, Privacy, Accuracy, Discrimination and Denigration, Responsible Programming
No Order