In a One News item broadcast on Waitangi Day, the presenter referred to the Treaty of Waitangi as “the nation’s founding document”. The Authority did not uphold the complaint that this was inaccurate: the reporter’s description was not a material point of fact to which the standard applied and the description would not have misled viewers in the context of the item.
Not Upheld: Accuracy
During Michael Laws Talkback the host expressed the view that medical personnel were deliberately
overmedicating patients with dementia, causing them to die. He used the term “zombie” when referring to a person with dementia. The complainant called the station to challenge the host’s comments but was cut off. The Authority did not uphold the complaint that this breached standards relating to accuracy, fairness, and discrimination and denigration: broadcasters have the right to screen calls, as a matter of editorial discretion; the host did not make any derogatory or abusive comments but simply chose not to engage with the complainant; and the use of the term “zombie” was not vitriolic or an attack against people with dementia – the host was expressing his opinion and comments were typical of his style.
Not Upheld: Accuracy, Fairness, Discrimination and Denigration
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 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
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
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 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
Fair Go carried out testing on imported and locally produced “extra virgin” olive oil, and reported that European imports had failed sensory and chemical tests. The story made references to the testing being “IOC accredited” (International Olive Oil Council). The Authority upheld the accuracy complaint as these references were not technically correct and gave greater status to the testing than was justified. Nevertheless, the complainant was given a reasonable opportunity to respond, and its response was adequately presented so the programme overall was not unfair. The Authority made no order.
Upheld: Accuracy
No Order
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
An episode of Scooby Doo! Mystery Incorporated showed two cartoon characters kissing and making romantic comments. The Authority did not uphold the complaint that this breached standards relating to good taste and decency, responsible programming and children’s interests: the kissing scenes, including dialogue, were innocuous and inexplicit, the content was consistent with the programme’s G classification, and the scenes would not have offended most viewers or disturbed or alarmed children.
Not Upheld: Good Taste and Decency, Responsible Programming, Children’s Interests