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Complaint under section 8(1B)(b)(i) of the Broadcasting Act 1989Radio New Zealand National News – item reported that 66 New Zealanders had opted to change their status as Distinguished Companions of the New Zealand Order of Merit and take on the titles “Sir” or “Dame” – included interview with Witi Ihimaera – presenter referred to Mr Ihimaera as being a Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit – allegedly inaccurate FindingsStandard 5 (accuracy) – the full title of Mr Ihimaera’s honour was not a material point of fact – listeners understood that he could have received the title of “Sir” but had declined to adopt it – not upheld This headnote does not form part of the decision....

Complaint under section 8(1)(a) of the Broadcasting Act 1989Ideas: Cut or Uncut – item discussed Professor Sitaleki Finau’s call for male circumcisions to be publicly funded by the New Zealand Ministry of Health for cultural and health reasons – item included interviews with six people who provided their views on the topic – allegedly unbalanced Findings Principle 4 (balance) – broadcaster made reasonable efforts to present significant points of view – not upheld This headnote does not form part of the decision. Broadcast [1] An item on Radio New Zealand National called Ideas: Cut or Uncut, broadcast at 11am on 16 September 2007, discussed male circumcision and a call by Professor Sitaleki Finau, Massey University’s Director of Pacific Studies, for the practice to be publicly funded in New Zealand for cultural and health purposes....

ComplaintConcert FM – Classical Chart – chart not an accurate reflection of top 10 classical recordings sold each week in New Zealand FindingsPrinciple 6 – not "news and current affairs" – musical entertainment – no uphold This headnote does not form part of the decision. Summary [1] Concert FM’s Classical Chart is a weekly programme broadcast on Concert FM. The programme lists the top 10 classical recordings sold in New Zealand that week. [2] Warwick Bennett complained to Radio New Zealand Ltd, the broadcaster, that the Classical Chart did not accurately represent the sales of classical albums in New Zealand. He argued that some classical albums were being excluded. [3] RNZ declined to uphold the complaint that the chart was inaccurate, stating that whether certain albums were listed or not was in part a matter of editorial judgment....

Download a PDF of Decision No. 1993-107:Fudakowski and Radio New Zealand Ltd - 1993-107 PDF483. 7 KB...

The Authority has not upheld a complaint that a Midday Rural News segment on RNZ National, regarding a proposed solar panel development on a Waipara farm, breached the accuracy and balance standards. It found the points raised by the complainant as being inaccurate or misleading were either not misleading or were not materially misleading, as they were unlikely to affect the audience’s understanding of the report as a whole. In relation to the balance standard, the Authority found the brief broadcast, which was focused on the farmer’s perspective on the installation of the proposed development on his farm, did not discuss a controversial issue of public importance as required for the standard to apply. Not Upheld: Accuracy, Balance...

Summary[This summary does not form part of the decision. ]An item on Checkpoint reported that the Sky World building, a multi-storey entertainment complex in central Auckland, had not been issued with a warrant of fitness in 435 days, and that the building remained open throughout that time, with the knowledge of Auckland Council, despite critical fire safety compliance issues. The item (which was broadcast on free-to-air television as well as on radio) included footage of the reporter attempting to contact the owner of the complex, ‘A’, visiting his home and offices, where he spoke to two employees, ‘X’ and ‘Y’. JNJ Management made a direct privacy complaint to the Authority, submitting that these segments breached the privacy of A and his employees....

A complaint that segments on Morning Report which discussed the abortion legislative reform process were unbalanced was not upheld. First, the Authority found the complaint amounted to a ‘formal complaint’ for the purposes of the Broadcasting Act 1989. However the Authority found the items did not breach the balance standard as they clearly approached the topic of abortion legislative reform from a particular perspective and that listeners could reasonably be expected to have a level of awareness of significant arguments in the debate. Not Upheld: Balance...

Summary[This summary does not form part of the decision. ]A Nine to Noon programme included a segment featuring UK correspondent Dame Ann Leslie. In response to the host’s question ‘What is on your mind this week? ’, Dame Leslie commented on the British Labour Party, its leader Jeremy Corbyn and the Black Lives Matter UK organisation. The Authority did not uphold a complaint that Dame Leslie’s comments constituted an attack on Mr Corbyn, denigrated the BLM UK activists, and were inaccurate and unbalanced. Mr Corbyn and BLM UK were not treated unfairly, as both could reasonably expect to be subject to robust media scrutiny as a consequence of their public profile. While the item was a current affairs piece to which the balance standard applied, the issues were approached from Dame Leslie’s perspective and listeners would not have expected alternative views to be given....

Summary[This summary does not form part of the decision. ]Mediawatch included an interview with a senior member of New Zealand's media community. The Authority declined to determine the complaint that the interviewee was 'corrupt' and therefore the interview constituted inaccurate, unfair and irresponsible broadcasting. The complainant has previously made a number of similar complaints which did not raise matters of broadcasting standards, and has been warned that further similar complaints would be unlikely to be determined in the future. Accordingly the Authority considered the complaint to be vexatious. Declined to Determine: Good Taste and Decency, Accuracy, Fairness, Discrimination and Denigration, Responsible ProgrammingIntroduction[1] Mediawatch included an interview with a senior member of New Zealand's media community. [2] Mr Golden argued in essence that as Mediawatch 'implies it takes the behaviour of the news media seriously', the decision to interview someone who is 'corrupt' amounted to inaccurate, unfair and irresponsible broadcasting....

Summary[This summary does not form part of the decision. ]Morning Report contained two items about the Government’s proposal for a specific criminal charge for family violence. A number of family violence experts were interviewed, and the introduction to one of the items stated that ‘14 women, six men and 10 children’ are killed by family violence annually. The Authority upheld a complaint that this statistic was inaccurate because the broadcaster’s source was significantly outdated, and it was part of the introduction which framed the discussion. However, the Authority did not uphold the aspect of the accuracy complaint that the items were misleading because they implied that men are overwhelmingly the perpetrators and women almost always victims of family violence....

Summary[This summary does not form part of the decision. ]A complaint about an interview between Kim Hill and US Palestinian writer and journalist Dr Ramzy Baroud was not upheld. The complaint was that the interview was unbalanced because there was no alternative perspective presented to counter Dr Baroud’s views that Israel’s actions amounted to ‘incremental genocide’ of the Palestinians, among other things. The Authority found RNZ made reasonable efforts as required by the balance standard, taking into account Ms Hill’s challenging of Dr Baroud and the use of devil’s advocate questioning, and other contextual factors. The Authority acknowledged that some may not agree with the terms used by Dr Baroud during the interview, but ultimately found that restricting the broadcaster’s or Dr Baroud’s right to freedom of expression would be unjustified....

The Authority has not upheld two complaints regarding an interview of American philosopher and gender theorist Judith Butler by Kim Hill. The interview discussed ‘the debate about who can be classified as a woman’ and used the term ‘TERF’, an acronym meaning trans exclusionary radical feminist, to describe those ‘who oppose transgender as a phenomenon and transgender rights more broadly’, particularly through excluding trans people from women-only spaces. The Authority found the broadcast was not discriminatory towards women and the term ‘TERF’ was used as part of a discussion of the debate and the expression of legitimately held opinion. Not Upheld: Discrimination and Denigration...

BEFORE THE BROADCASTING STANDARDS AUTHORITY Decision No: 1997-046 Dated the 21st day of April 1997 IN THE MATTER of the Broadcasting Act 1989 AND IN THE MATTER of a complaint by POWER FOR OUR FUTURE Broadcaster RADIO NEW ZEALAND LIMITED L M Loates R McLeod A Martin...

SummaryA news item broadcast by National Radio at 6. 00pm on 5 November 1998 concerned an appeal against life imprisonment by one of Britain’s "Moors" murderers, Myra Hindley. In his letter of complaint to the broadcaster, Radio New Zealand Ltd, Mr Butler wrote that the item appeared to have been selected for broadcast because of its prurient nature and, as the murders were committed 30 years ago in England, he contended that they were no longer of any interest to New Zealanders. He expressed particular concern about what he believed to be gratuitous detail about the murders at the conclusion of the item. The concluding statement, he reported, had included the words "they tortured some of their victims and recorded their screams". RNZ advised that it did not consider Mr Butler’s letter of complaint to be a formal one....

BEFORE THE BROADCASTING STANDARDS AUTHORITY Decision No: 1997-137 Dated the 16th day of October 1997 IN THE MATTER of the Broadcasting Act 1989 AND IN THE MATTER of a complaint by WILLIAM J WYBER of Christchurch Broadcaster RADIO NEW ZEALAND LIMITED S R Maling Chairperson L M Loates R McLeod J Withers...

Complaint under section 8(1B)(b)(i) of the Broadcasting Act 1989Checkpoint – items discussed results of a “clamp down” on drug-taking truck drivers in New Zealand and Australia – interviews with CEO of the Australia New Zealand Policing Advisory Agency and a representative of the union for road transport workers – allegedly unbalanced FindingsStandard 4 (controversial issues) – consideration of whether drug-taking by truck drivers is a widespread problem in New Zealand, and the implications for road safety, did not amount to a discussion of a controversial issue of public importance – at this stage it is not an issue that has been widely discussed or debated publicly – broadcaster nevertheless provided some balance in the items – not upheld This headnote does not form part of the decision....

The Authority has not upheld a complaint that an interview on Morning Report with the new leader of the National Party, Christopher Luxon MP breached the discrimination and denigration standard. During the interview, Luxon was asked questions around his Christian beliefs and the impact of these beliefs on his political views on abortion, euthanasia and same-sex marriage. The Authority was satisfied the interview did not contain anything that encouraged discrimination against, or denigration of, people of Christian faith. Not Upheld: Discrimination and Denigration...

BEFORE THE BROADCASTING STANDARDS AUTHORITY Decision No: 154 /95 Dated the 19th day of December 1995 IN THE MATTER of the Broadcasting Act 1989 AND IN THE MATTER of a complaint by D F HARVEY of Lower Hutt Broadcaster RADIO NEW ZEALAND LIMITED J M Potter Chairperson L M Loates R McLeod...

BEFORE THE BROADCASTING STANDARDS AUTHORITY Decision No: 1997-183 Decision No: 1997-184 Dated the 18th day of December 1997 IN THE MATTER of the Broadcasting Act 1989 AND IN THE MATTER of complaints by GREEN SOCIETY Broadcaster RADIO NEW ZEALAND LIMITED S R Maling Chairperson L M Loates R McLeod J Withers...