An item on Close Up reported on an incident at Fairfield College, Hamilton in which a group of teenage girls were admitted to hospital after taking drugs. The presenter included a summary of problems previously experienced at Fairfield College. The Authority did not uphold the complaint that the item breached the controversial issues, accuracy and fairness standards: the item did not discuss a controversial issue of public importance, it did not create a misleading impression about the problems faced at Fairfield College, and the College was provided with a reasonable opportunity to comment and its response was adequately conveyed in the broadcast.
Not Upheld: Controversial Issues, Accuracy, Fairness
An episode of the reality TV series Police Ten 7 reported on an alleged assault and robbery at a supermarket car park in Wellington. The police interviewed the victim, a man with cerebral palsy and consequent speech impairment. The voiceover made comments questioning the veracity of the victim’s story and the broadcast included two shots of his footwear, a pair of women’s high heels. The Authority upheld the fairness complaint: the man was not adequately informed of the nature of the programme and of his participation, and there was insufficient public interest to justify broadcasting the footage without first informing him. The Authority did not uphold the complaint that the programme breached the privacy, accuracy, and discrimination and denigration standards: the man was identifiable but no private facts were disclosed and filming was in a public place; the commentary reflected the unusual circumstances and genuine views of the police; and the discrimination and denigration standard does not apply to individuals and the broadcast did not encourage the denigration of, or discrimination against, a section of the community. The Authority made no order.
Upheld: Fairness
Not Upheld: Privacy, Accuracy, Discrimination and Denigration
No Order
Campbell Live featured a story about a tenant whose family allegedly suffered health problems as a result of living on a property that contained traces of methamphetamine. The Authority upheld the complaint that the item breached the accuracy and fairness standards: it overstated evidence, creating the impression that a ‘P’ lab had existed when the contamination was marginal and could have been caused by smoking, and it failed to include a report which found no trace of methamphetamine. The misleading impression as to the source, location and quantity of methamphetamine contamination, as well as the implication the complainant had done nothing to remediate the problem, resulted in an unfairly negative representation of the complainant, and the complainant’s comments as included were insufficient to counterbalance the damaging implications made about him. The Authority did not uphold the complaint about discrimination and denigration, as the standard does not apply to individuals. The Authority ordered TV3 to pay $1,400 towards the complainant’s legal costs.
Upheld: Accuracy, Fairness
Not Upheld: Discrimination and Denigration
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Order: $1,400 costs to complainant
An episode of Piha Rescue was broadcast on 16 January 2012 on TV One. The complainant emailed TVNZ’s “Viewer Correspondence” email address expressing concerns about the episode. TVNZ’s email response went into the complainant’s spam email folder. He then referred his complaint to the Authority on the basis that he had not received a response from the broadcaster to his original complaint. The Authority determined that it does not have jurisdiction to accept the referral because the complainant’s original email was not a valid “formal complaint” and TVNZ responded appropriately to his email.
Declined to Accept Referral
An episode of Homeland, a drama series in which the CIA investigates a possible terrorist threat, was broadcast on TV3 at 8.30pm. It contained brief nudity and a sex scene. The Authority did not uphold the complaint that the programme breached the good taste and decency, and responsible programming standards: the programme was correctly classified and the pre-broadcast warning for “sexual material” was adequate to cover the content in the programme.
Not Upheld: Good Taste and Decency, Responsible Programming
During an item on Campbell Live a reporter went in search of the famous British actor Michael Crawford in Kerikeri. A number of locals were informed that Mr Crawford was living in the area and the reporter was filmed outside his gate. The Authority did not uphold the complaint that this breached the privacy standard: Mr Crawford was identifiable but the item did not disclose any private facts about him.
Not Upheld: Privacy
An episode of Rude Tube, a programme showcasing a selection of viral videos from the internet, was called “Animal Madness” and included a clip of a man taking “an unscheduled toilet break” in a paddock, and being chased by a donkey apparently attempting to mate with him. The programme was preceded by a verbal and visual warning. The Authority did not uphold the complaint that the programme breached the good taste and decency, law and order, and violence standards: most viewers would not have been offended by the scenes, the broadcast did not encourage viewers to break the law, and the footage did not amount to “violence” as envisaged by the standard.
Not Upheld: Good Taste and Decency, Law and Order, Violence
During Robert & Jono’s Drive Show, broadcast on The Rock, one of the hosts told a personal anecdote about a man with Down Syndrome who fell off a swing and hurt himself; the host used the term “mental” several times to refer to people with intellectual disabilities. The Authority did not uphold the complaint that this breached standards relating to good taste and decency, discrimination and denigration, and fairness: the story was conveyed in a light-hearted manner and the term “mental” was used without malice or invective; the co-host made mitigating comments and the host also made comments that were positive towards people with intellectual disabilities; and the man referred to was not “exploited” or “humiliated”.
Not Upheld: Good Taste and Decency, Fairness, Discrimination and Denigration
The Rock radio station ran a promotion called “Win a Divorce” which culminated in a broadcast on Valentine’s Day during Robert and Jono’s Drive Show. The Authority did not uphold the complaint that the broadcast breached standards relating to good taste and decency, privacy, fairness and responsible programming since the concept of promoting an on-air request for divorce was not reflected in the actual broadcast: it turned out that the two participants had planned to subvert the broadcast from the beginning as a protest against the promotion and they spent the time berating the hosts.
Not Upheld: Good Taste and Decency, Privacy, Fairness, Responsible Programming
An episode of Good Morning included an interview with author and Associate Professor of Psychology Niki Harrè about her new book on the psychology of sustainability. The Authority did not uphold the complaint that a reference to Niki Harrè as a “psychologist” in a teaser for the item breached the accuracy standard: the single reference to “psychologist” in the teaser was not a material point of fact – the term was used colloquially and not intended to denote a technical meaning, and any impression it created was clarified by the item itself.
Not Upheld: Accuracy