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The Authority has not upheld a complaint about comments made on The Edge Full Noise Workday in support of free emergency contraceptive pills being handed out at an Olivia Rodrigo concert during her North American tour. In the context, the comments were considered unlikely to cause widespread disproportionate offence or distress or undermine widely shared community standards. With regard to the promotion of illegal or antisocial behaviour standard, the Authority noted that such contraceptive pills are a legal medication in New Zealand and their use is not considered ‘serious antisocial behaviour’ as contemplated by the standard. Not Upheld: Offensive and Disturbing Content, Promotion of Illegal or Antisocial Behaviour...

An announcer on The Edge Breakfast recounted an experience at her antenatal class where she discussed how to address constipation post childbirth. The complaint was this segment breached the good taste and decency and children’s interests standards. The Authority did not uphold the complaint, taking into account the programme’s target audience, audience expectations, and the low-level language complained about (being of an anatomical, rather than a profane or sexual nature). Not Upheld: Good Taste and Decency and Children’s Interests...

Summary[This summary does not form part of the decision. ]During Paul Henry on Radio Live the presenters said ‘bloody’ and ‘bugger’ several times. The Authority did not uphold a complaint that this language was unacceptable. These terms constituted low-level coarse language which would not have offended a significant number of listeners in the context of the broadcast. The language was within audience expectations of the presenters, the programme and the radio station. Not Upheld: Good Taste and DecencyIntroduction[1] During Paul Henry on Radio Live the presenters said ‘bloody’ and ‘bugger’ several times. [2] Dr John Tanner complained that this language was unacceptable. [3] As Dr Tanner did not nominate a specific standard in his complaint, MediaWorks assessed the complaint under what it considered to be the most relevant standard....

Leigh Pearson declared a conflict of interest and did not take part in the determination of this complaint. Summary [This summary does not form part of the decision. ] During Talkback with Sean Plunket, one caller expressed views opposing drilling including the fact drilling resources were sent to China who manufactured it into ‘crap’. Later in the programme, the host sarcastically referred back to the caller’s comments, referring to the ‘Damn Chinese’. The Authority did not uphold the complaint that his comments were offensive and disrespected Chinese people. The host was being sarcastic, and was actually defending China, not being derogatory. In any case the comments did not carry any invective and did not encourage the denigration of, or discrimination against, Chinese people. Not Upheld: Good Taste and Decency, Discrimination and Denigration Introduction [1] During Talkback with Sean Plunket, one topic of discussion was proposed offshore drilling in Taranaki....

While filling in on Magic Talk’s Magic Mornings, John Banks discussed former CEO Grainne Moss’s departure from Oranga Tamariki. One talkback caller made comments which were endorsed by Mr Banks. MediaWorks found these were denigrating towards Māori and breached the good taste and decency and discrimination and denigration standards. The Authority upheld a complaint that the action taken by MediaWorks did not sufficiently remedy the harm caused by the breaches. It found the comments were foreseeable in the broadcast environment MediaWorks had created. Upheld: Good Taste and Decency (Action Taken), Discrimination and Denigration (Action Taken) Orders: Section 13(1)(a) – broadcast statement; Section 16(4) – $3,000 costs to the Crown...

The Authority has not upheld a complaint concerning an election programme for the National Party. The complainant considered the programme’s statement “only a party vote for National can change the government’” was misleading as ‘voting for National could change the government but it’s not the only way to change the government. ’ The Authority considered listeners would have understood the statement to be advocacy or opinion rather than fact, encouraging the public to vote for National, and that there are a number of other parties that could be voted for. Not Upheld: E2: Election Programme Advocacy – Distinguishing Factual Information from Opinion or Advocacy...

Summary[This summary does not form part of the decision. ]The Authority has not upheld a complaint about a RadioLIVE Drive show, which discussed the issue of property managers or landlords asking to see the bank statements of prospective tenants. The Authority found the broadcast did not breach any of the broadcasting standards raised by the complainant, noting the broadcast included a range of viewpoints from the hosts, interviewees and listeners who phoned into the programme. The broadcast discussed a legitimate issue and was in line with audience expectations for the programme and for talkback radio. The Authority therefore found no actual or potential harm that might have outweighed the important right to freedom of expression....

Summary[This summary does not form part of the decision. ]A segment on Thane & Dunc included an interview with a man, X, who had a relationship with a couple (the complainant and Z). During the interview, X described the nature of the relationship. He did not name the couple, referring to them as ‘A’ and ‘B’. A second interview with X was broadcast the following day, during which the hosts told X they had spoken with the couple, who alleged the relationship was abusive. The hosts interrogated X about his behaviour, then demanded X apologise and agree to make no further contact with the couple involved. The Authority upheld a complaint that these broadcasts breached the privacy of the complainant and Z....

Summary[This summary does not form part of the decision. ]During a voice break on the radio music show Selectah, the presenter said, 'If you are a scooter rider, in the city, in Auckland, let me give you one piece of advice: Don't get your scooter fixed by Scootling, they charge way too much. ' MediaWorks upheld a fairness complaint from the owner of Scootling and offered him a number of options for redress including an on-air apology and free advertising. The Authority disagreed with the complainant that this action was insufficient. It also declined to uphold his complaints that the broadcast otherwise breached standards relating to law and order and accuracy. Not Upheld: Fairness (Action Taken), Law and Order, Accuracy Introduction[1] During a voice break on a radio music show, Selectah, the presenter said: I'm waiting for my scooter guy to turn up. . ....

Warning: This decision contains language that some readers may find offensive. Summary[This summary does not form part of the decision. ]The song ‘Fire Water Burn’ by the Bloodhound Gang was broadcast on The Rock FM at 5. 45pm on 25 October 2017. The song contained the word ‘motherfucker’, which was partially censored, and also contained lyrics such as, ‘but if I crashed into Uranus I would stick it where the sun don't shine’. The Authority did not uphold a complaint that the song, in its edited format, breached the good taste and decency standard. The Authority acknowledged that the censoring could have been more effective in disguising the word used, and that some of the lyrics may offend listeners....

The Authority did not uphold a complaint that a spoof of OMC hit song ‘How Bizarre’, in which the singer mimicked the original artist’s accent, breached the discrimination and denigration standard. The Authority found the accent used was an attempt to imitate the distinctive singing voice of Mr Fuemana and sound of ‘How Bizarre’, in the spirit of spoofing the song itself, rather than an attempt to imitate a specifically Māori or Pacific Island English accent. It did not encourage discrimination against or denigration of Māori or Pacific Islanders. Not Upheld: Discrimination and Denigration...

Leigh Pearson declared a conflict of interest and did not participate in the determination of this complaint. Summary[This summary does not form part of the decision. ]During Talk with Sean Plunket, the CEO of the National Foundation for the Deaf called in to discuss captioning on television, and especially the perceived problem of the lack of captioning of broadcasts of the 2015 Rugby World Cup. Mr Plunket argued, ‘You can actually watch the rugby with the sound off, you can see – they’ve got big numbers on their backs – you can see what’s happening’ and asked, ‘Really is this such a problem? ’ After further discussion, he stated, ‘You do have a hearing problem because you’re not actually engaging in a conversation’. The Authority did not uphold a complaint that Mr Plunket’s comments amounted to bullying and denigrated the deaf community....

Summary[This summary does not form part of the decision. ]Hosts on The Morning Sound radio show discussed the news that the Tui Brewery at Mangatainoka had made a number of workers redundant. The hosts commented that the Brewery was where the ‘pretty’ and ‘hot girls’ worked and expressed their concern about them being ‘laid off’, making comments such as, ‘All the pretty girls are going. . . ’, ‘I hope they don’t get rid of any of the hot girls’, and ‘I don’t know if I can drink the beer if it’s not had the ladies’ touch. ’ The Authority did not uphold a complaint that this discussion was denigrating or discriminatory towards any female workers made redundant, or to women generally. The hosts were clearly referring to a series of satirical Tui television advertisements, which depicted the Mangatainoka Brewery as being run by women....

A broadcast of The Long Lunch hosted by Wendyl Nissen included an interview with Horowhenua District Councillor (HDC) Ross Campbell, who talked about his decision to wear a body camera to Council meetings after what was described as incidents of bullying towards him. MediaWorks upheld the complaint under the fairness standard, finding that it should have sought comment from HDC prior to the broadcast, but did not take any remedial action. The Authority upheld HDC’s complaint that the action taken by MediaWorks following the finding of the breach of the fairness standard was insufficient. The Authority found that MediaWorks ought to have broadcast a follow-up item to remedy the breach. The Authority also upheld the complaint that the item was unbalanced as it did not include any comment from HDC or acknowledgement of an alternative viewpoint with respect to the allegations of bullying....

Summary [This summary does not form part of the decision. ] The George FM Breakfast show contained a discussion about the complainant’s use of the dating application Tinder, during which derogatory comments were made about him. The broadcaster upheld the complaint this was unfair. However, the Authority found that the action taken by the broadcaster was insufficient, as the apology broadcast by the show’s hosts was insufficiently specific or formal to effectively remedy the breach. The Authority ordered a broadcast statement including an apology to the complainant. Upheld: Fairness (Action Taken) Not Upheld: Privacy, Accuracy, Discrimination and Denigration, Responsible Programming Order: Section 13(1)(a) broadcast statement including apology to the complainant Introduction [1] The George FM Breakfast show contained a discussion about the complainant’s use of the dating application Tinder, during which derogatory comments were made about him....

Summary[This summary does not form part of the decision. ]During The Edge’s Smash! 20 countdown show, a caller successfully answered a series of questions based on the songs in the countdown and won a prize. While taking the caller’s personal details, the announcer left the phone channel in ‘on-air’ mode and inadvertently broadcast the caller’s full name, address, school, date of birth and mobile number. The Authority upheld a complaint that the broadcast breached the caller’s privacy. The caller was clearly identifiable and disclosed a high level of personal detail on air, over which she had a reasonable expectation of privacy. The Authority acknowledged the caller’s disclosure was the result of an unfortunate technical error on the announcer’s part, and that the broadcaster took immediate actions to respond to the breach. The Authority did not make any order in these circumstances. Upheld: PrivacyNo OrderIntroduction[1] During The Edge’s Smash!...

A Today FM news bulletin featured an item reporting on pro-trans demonstrations at an Auckland event where ‘anti-trans rights activist’ Posie Parker had been scheduled to speak. The complainant considered the item’s description of Parker as an ‘anti-trans rights activist’ rather than a ‘women’s rights campaigner’ was in breach of the fairness, balance, accuracy and discrimination and denigration broadcasting standards. The Authority found that, given Parker’s views, the description ‘anti-trans rights activist’ was not unfair given its literal accuracy. The balance standard did not apply as the item was a straightforward news report which did not ‘discuss’ the issue and, in any event, listeners were alerted to alternative viewpoints in the item. The discrimination and denigration and accuracy standards were not breached. Not Upheld: Fairness, Balance, Discrimination and Denigration, Accuracy...

The Authority has not upheld a complaint under the good taste and decency and other standards about comments on Magic Talk regarding the LynnMall terror incident. Host Stephen McIvor responded “well spoken” to a caller who praised police for their actions (killing the suspect) which saved the country money. While insensitive, the comments did not reach the threshold for regulatory intervention. The remaining standards either did not apply or were not breached. Not Upheld: Good Taste and Decency, Children’s Interests, Violence, Law and Order...

Summary [This summary does not form part of the decision. ]In an election advertisement for the National Party, John Key referred to ‘Labour, The Greens and Dotcom’. The Authority did not uphold the complaint that the reference to ‘Dotcom’ was misleading because there was no ‘Dotcom Party’. The advertisement did not explicitly refer to any ‘Dotcom Party’, Kim Dotcom has been a prominent figure in the election, and most listeners would have understood it to be a reference to the Internet Party, and that political party advertising is broadcast in the context of a robust political arena in the lead-up to a general election. Not Upheld: Election Programmes Subject to Other Standards (Accuracy)Introduction[1] An advertisement for the National Party was broadcast on Radio Live on 15 September 2014. The advertisement stated: What have we learnt in this election?...