Tarana Drive Time Chit Chat Show, a talkback programme broadcast in Hindi, contained some discussion about "promiscuous characters". In a conversation with a caller, the host made comments about the complainant and her Facebook messages. The Authority did not uphold the complaint that this breached the privacy standard: the comments were general only and did not mention identifying features, so it was unlikely the complainant was identifiable beyond those who already knew about her private Facebook messages.
Not Upheld: Privacy
A news item on Radio New Zealand National about the French and Greek elections reported that “the polls have opened in Greece for parliamentary elections seen as a referendum on the country’s harsh austerity measures”. The Authority first determined that it had jurisdiction to accept the complaint. It did not uphold the complaint that the item breached the controversial issues, accuracy and fairness standards: the use of the word “harsh” did not require the presentation of alternative viewpoints; the word was not a material point of fact and would not have misled viewers; “harsh” was intended to mean strict or stringent and was not pejorative in this context; upholding the accuracy complaint would unreasonably restrict the broadcaster’s right to freedom of expression; and the fairness standard only applies to individuals.
Not Upheld: Controversial Issues, Accuracy, Fairness
An episode of Target featured hidden camera footage of employees from three different electrical companies working in the Target house. The companies were each given a score out of ten for their employees’ performance. The Authority upheld the complaint that the programme breached the privacy standard: the complainant was identifiable, he had an interest in seclusion in the Target house, the broadcast of the hidden camera footage was an offensive intrusion in the nature of prying, the complainant did not give his informed consent to the broadcast, and there was insufficient public interest in the footage to justify the breach of privacy. The Authority made no order.
Upheld: Privacy
No Order
A re-broadcast of an episode of the reality TV series The Inspectors showed an Environmental Health Officer carrying out a routine spot check at a Dunedin fish and chip shop and making critical comments about the state of the premises, downgrading it from a ‘B’ to a ‘D’. The inspection took place in 2009 and the programme was first broadcast on TV One in 2010. The complaint was about the latest broadcast in January 2012. The Authority upheld the complaint that this broadcast breached the privacy and fairness standards: the shop owner was identifiable even though his face was pixellated; any consent given was not informed and did not extend to the broadcast of the footage three years after filming; there was a high level of public interest in the footage at the time of filming but not three years later; and it was fundamentally unfair to broadcast footage three years after filming – the disclaimer at the start of the programme was not sufficient to mitigate the unfairness in this respect.
The Authority did not uphold the complaint that the programme breached the accuracy standard as it did not contain any material inaccuracies. The Authority made no order.
Upheld: Privacy, Fairness
Not Upheld: Accuracy
No Order
A news item on Checkpoint allegedly contained certain comments from Radio New Zealand’s economics reporter. The Authority declined to determine the complaint that these comments breached the accuracy, fairness and responsible programming standards: the comments identified by the complainant did not match the broadcast time and date specified and the Authority was therefore unable to assess broadcasting standards against those comments.
Declined to Determine: Accuracy, Fairness, Responsible Programming
During Nine to Noon on Radio New Zealand National, the host interviewed the chair of the Productivity Commission about the Commission’s recent report to Government on housing affordability. The introduction by the interviewer included the comment, “with section prices actually falling in some of the city’s outlying areas”. The Authority did not uphold the complaint that this comment was inaccurate: the host’s brief comment in the introduction was not a material point of fact in the context of the interview and would not have materially altered listeners’ understanding of the issues discussed.
Not Upheld: Accuracy
An item on Nightline that followed up an earlier report on a “strip club turf war” in Wellington contained brief footage of a woman who was wearing a G-string dancing erotically on a pole. The Authority did not uphold the complaint that this breached the good taste and decency standard: the footage was very brief and had some relevance to the subject matter, the programme was broadcast more than two hours after the Adults Only watershed, and the majority of viewers would not have been offended in this context.
Not Upheld: Good Taste and Decency, Discrimination and Denigration, Repsonsible Programming
A One News item reported on the continuing debate over who owns New Zealand water, as part of the wider discussion about the Government’s proposal to sell state-owned enterprises (SOEs), and contained the graphic of a sign: “For Sale, NZ SOEs”. The Authority did not uphold the complaint that this breached the accuracy standard: the graphic was not a “material point of fact”, and given the extensive coverage of the Government’s proposed partial asset sales, viewers would not have been misled.
Not Upheld: Accuracy
In a segment on Police Ten 7 profiling an aggravated robbery of a bar, a wanted offender was described as “possibly Māori but pale skinned” and “possibly Māori, [with a] light complexion”. The Authority did not uphold the complaint that this breached the discrimination and denigration standard since it did not encourage the denigration of, or discrimination against, Māori as a section of the community.
Not Upheld: Good Taste and Decency, Accuracy, Fairness, Discrimination and Denigration
An episode of Media 7, a weekly commentary and review show on TVNZ7, included an interview with an investigative journalist and foreign correspondent in Afghanistan. He made comments that were critical of a reporter and her account of the Kandahar massacre which had recently been broadcast on Australian current affairs show Dateline. The Authority did not uphold the complaint that the episode breached the fairness and accuracy standards: the ability to robustly review media is essential to the functioning of a healthy democracy; the criticisms overall were aimed at the reporter in her professional, as opposed to her personal, capacity; the complainant was provided with a fair and reasonable opportunity to comment and his response was fairly summarised; and the use of Dateline extracts was not unfair. The journalist’s comments were clearly distinguishable as his personal and professional opinion and therefore exempt from standards of accuracy.
Not Upheld: Accuracy, Fairness