A scene from Coronation Street, broadcast at 5.30pm, showed two female characters kissing. The Authority declined to uphold the complaint that this breached standards relating to good taste and decency, responsible programming, children’s interests, and controversial issues. The scene was brief and innocuous and no less acceptable for being a kiss between two women; the content was consistent with the programme’s G rating and, given the context, was not unsuitable for children; the programme screened in an appropriate time-band; and the controversial issues standard only applies to news, current affairs and factual programmes.
Not Upheld: Good Taste and Decency, Controversial Issues, Responsible Programming, Children’s Interests
All Decisions
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
During the Fair Go Ad Awards, two teams of advertisers were asked to design advertising campaigns within the programme, to “sell us Quade Cooper for New Zealand’s next Prime Minister”. The campaigns included comments such as “everyone hates Quade Cooper”. A complaint was made that the “Hate Quade” theme was unfair and encouraged “hatred of a person”. The Authority did not uphold the complaint: the piece was intended to be light-hearted and humorous and was presented in the spirit of good-natured ribbing and team rivalry, so was not unfair, and the discrimination and denigration standard only applies to sections of the community, not to individuals.
Not Upheld: Fairness, Discrimination and Denigration
The Last House on the Left, the remake of a horror movie, contained a scene which showed the violent rape of a young teenage girl. The Authority did not uphold the complaint that the scene breached the good taste and decency and violence standards: the movie was screened at 10.50pm, the “narrative” context justified the rape scene, the rape scene was well signposted for viewers, and not gratuitous or designed to titillate, and there was an explicit warning for graphic and sexual violence.
Not Upheld: Good Taste and Decency, Violence
An item on Sunday, entitled “Before We Say Goodbye”, reported on the case of Sean Davison, who was facing charges for assisting his mother’s suicide. Footage of Mr Davison in the Dunedin High Court was shown, during which a Corrections Officer, the complainant, was briefly visible in the background. The Authority declined to uphold the complaint that the broadcast breached standards relating to privacy, fairness and discrimination and denigration: the item did not disclose any private facts about the complainant, the footage of him was extremely brief and did not cause damage to his reputation or dignity, and the discrimination and denigration standard does not apply to individuals.
Not Upheld: Privacy, Fairness, Discrimination and Denigration
Two Campbell Live items reported on controversial comments made by the Chief Executive (CE) of the Employers and Manufacturers Association (EMA), Alasdair Thompson, that some female workers are less productive because they take sick leave when they are menstruating. The first item was an excerpt from an interview with Mr Thompson, while the second consisted of a panel discussion about Mr Thompson’s behaviour during the interview. Both items questioned whether Mr Thompson should remain in his position at the EMA. The Authority declined to uphold complaints that the items were unfair, inaccurate, unbalanced and breached individuals’ right to privacy: the interview footage was fair; the items focused on Mr Thompson’s comments and his competency to fulfil his role as CE of the EMA, rather than the specific issue of pay equity, but balance was achieved in relation to both issues; and the items did not breach anyone’s privacy. In a minority decision, one member found that the broadcast of only a small part of the interview would have left viewers with an unfairly negative impression of Mr Thompson.
Not Upheld: Accuracy, Controversial Issues, Privacy
Not Upheld (majority): Fairness
An item on One News, broadcast on TV One, reported on Prime Minister John Key referring the matter of the “tea tapes” to the police. It included Mr Key’s comment that because the crime rate had been lowered the police “do have a little bit of spare time”. At the end, the reporter said, “John Key may face criticism . . . for saying that police have too much time on their hands.” The Authority declined to uphold the complaint that the broadcast breached standards relating to controversial issues, accuracy and fairness. Viewers heard Mr Key’s original comment so they would not have been misled; politicians should expect robust commentary on their views during an election period; and the item presented alternative views on the involvement of police in the matter.
Not Upheld: Controversial Issues, Accuracy, Fairness
An episode of reality series Four Weddings was broadcast at 2pm on TV One. It included a ‘naturist’ ceremony where the bride and groom and most of the guests were shown naked. The Authority declined to uphold the complaint that the broadcast breached standards relating to good taste and decency and children’s interests. The nudity was matter-of-fact and non-sexual, nudity is not in itself harmful to children, and the programme was preceded by a verbal and written warning.
Not Upheld: Good Taste and Decency, Children’s Interests
An episode of the cartoon comedy Family Guy, broadcast on FOUR at 7.30pm, contained sexual content and innuendo. The Authority declined to uphold the complaint that the broadcast breached standards relating to good taste and decency, responsible programming and children’s interests. The sexual content was subtle and inexplicit and the sexual innuendo would have gone over the heads of younger viewers; the content was not unsuitable for supervised child viewers; and the episode was correctly rated PGR, preceded by a visual and verbal warning, and screened in an appropriate time-band.
Not Upheld: Good Taste and Decency, Responsible Programming, Children’s Interests
Items broadcast on Campbell Live on TV3 asked viewers for their opinions on changing the New Zealand flag and gave a brief visual overview of the history of New Zealand flags. The Authority declined to determine the complaint that this breached standards relating to controversial issues, accuracy, fairness, discrimination and denigration, and responsible programming: the complainant’s concerns were matters of personal preference and editorial discretion and the complaint was frivolous and trivial.
Declined to Determine: Controversial Issues, Accuracy, Fairness, Discrimination and Denigration, Responsible Programming