Showing 1 - 20 of 66 results.
The Authority has upheld a complaint that an episode of 20/20 aired on free-to-air television on a Sunday at 9am, detailing serial killer Ted Bundy’s crimes, motivations, and background, breached the children’s interests and programme information standards. The Authority noted that the broadcast presented in detail some potentially distressing and disturbing content, and themes including sexual violence and perversion, murder, and abduction, without any audience advisory or warning for this content. Additionally, the Authority considered the content and themes were suited for broadcast during the M timeband (suitable for a mature audience), rather than during PG time (which indicated the content was not necessarily unsuitable for child viewers under adult supervision). Viewers were not given sufficient information or signposting about the programme’s likely content to enable them to make informed choices about whether they, or children in their care, should view the broadcast. The Authority therefore found that the potential harm arising from the broadcast, particularly in relation to child viewers, outweighed the broadcaster’s right to freedom of expression on this occasion.
Upheld: Children’s Interests, Programme Information.
Orders: Section 16(4) – $750 costs to the Crown
The Rock Morning Rumble included a stunt featuring the Prime Minister, in which he was invited to enter a cage installed in the studio and ‘pick up the soap’. Upon the Prime Minister doing so, the host quoted a recognised rape scene from the film Deliverance, saying, ‘You’ve got a pretty little mouth Prime Minister’. The Authority upheld a complaint that the stunt amounted to a deliberate reference to prison rape that had the effect of trivialising sexual violence and specifically prison rape. While the segment was allegedly intended to be humorous, which is an important aspect of the exercise of free speech, the stunt overstepped the boundaries of legitimate humour and was offensive. The Authority found that listeners and members of the public would likely have found the segment offensive and unacceptable, and that involving the Prime Minister had the potential to attract a wider audience. For the same reasons the Authority found the segment was not socially responsible. The Authority did not, however, uphold the complaint under the law and order standard.
Upheld: Good Taste and Decency, Responsible Programming
Not Upheld: Law and Order
Orders: Section 13(1)(a) broadcast statement; section 16(4) costs to the Crown $1,000
Storytime featured a series of readings from the Margaret Mahy novel The Catalogue of the Universe. The Authority upheld a complaint that the young adult novel featured content unsuitable for younger listeners and should not have been broadcast during Storytime. The story featured teenage drinking and sexual activity which were not appropriate for child listeners and would not have been within audience expectations of this timeslot, which has long been understood to feature stories aimed at younger children.
Upheld: Responsible Programming
No Order
A promo for the movie No Strings Attached screened during The X Factor NZ which was rated G. The Authority upheld the complaint that explicit sexual references contained in the promo went beyond the boundaries of the G classification and consequently the broadcaster did not adequately consider the interests of younger viewers who were likely to be watching.
Upheld: Responsible Programming, Children’s Interests
No Order
The E! channel featured an ‘Entertainment Special’ entitled The Real 50 Shades of Grey about couples who engage in BDSM (Bondage/ Discipline/ Dominance/ Submission/ Sadism/ Masochism). The Authority did not uphold a complaint that the programme encouraged sexual violence and normalised BDSM practice. The content was discussed only in fairly innocuous terms and no explicitly sexual or violent material was shown. However, the Authority upheld the complaint that the programme should have included warning labels for sexual and other potentially offensive content, as the subject matter had the potential to offend viewers.
Upheld: Content Classification, Warning and Filtering
Not Upheld: Good Taste and Decency, Violence
No Order
A promo for The Night Shift briefly showing a male and female passionately kissing screened during Shrek Forever After, which was classified G. The Authority upheld the complaint that the promo breached the responsible programming and children’s interests standards, as the promo contained sexual material more properly falling within the PGR classification. The Authority did not make any order.
Upheld: Responsible Programming, Children’s Interests
No Order
The song ‘Anaconda’ by Nicki Minaj was broadcast on Humm FM 106.2, a Hindi radio station, at 3.30pm on a weekday. The Authority upheld the complaint that the broadcast of the song, which contained swearing and sexually explicit language, at this time of day, on this station, would be unexpected and offensive to most listeners.
Upheld: Good Taste and Decency, Responsible Programming
No Order
An episode of Futurama, an animated cartoon series, contained sexual references and innuendo. The episode which was classified G (General) screened on FOUR at 6.30pm. The Authority considered that the sexual content was not suitable for unsupervised child viewers and that the episode was incorrectly classified G when it should have been classified PGR. The broadcaster did not adequately consider children’s interests when incorrectly classifying the episode and screening it in G time
Upheld: Responsible Programming, Children’s Interests
No Order
An episode of Home and Away, which was classified G, included a storyline about the date rape of a teenage girl. The Authority agreed with the complainant that the theme of rape was unsuitable for unsupervised child viewers and that the programme was incorrectly classified. The Authority made no order, noting that the programme was now screened on another television network.
Upheld: Responsible Programming
No Order
Ip Man, a well-regarded movie about a martial arts legend, based on historical events, was broadcast in various timeslots during children’s viewing times. The broadcaster accepted that the movie was incorrectly classified ‘M’ when it should have been AO, and that it should have been broadcast in the AO time-band, not during children’s viewing times, but it nevertheless declined to uphold the complaint. The Authority upheld the complaint that the inappropriate classification and timeslots meant that the broadcast breached standards relating to responsible programming, children’s interests and violence. The Authority did not, however, uphold the complaint that it breached the good taste and decency, controversial issues, and discrimination and denigration standards: viewers would not have been surprised or offended by the content in the context of a martial arts movie; the movie was not a news, current affairs or factual programme so the controversial issues standard did not apply; the discrimination and denigration standard was not intended to prevent the broadcast of legitimate drama, and the movie did not encourage the denigration of, or discrimination against, a section of the community. The Authority made no order.
Upheld: Responsible Programming, Children’s Interests, Violence
Not Upheld: Good Taste and Decency, Controversial Issues, Discrimination and Denigration
No Order
A 3 News item reporting on an overnight series of aftershocks in Christchurch was introduced with the statement: “it’s just what Christchurch does not want to hear, warnings that a big one, seven on the Richter scale, is probably coming”. The item included extracts from an interview with a geologist interspersed with voiceover comments from the reporter. The Authority upheld the complaint that the item breached the standards relating to accuracy and responsible programming. The introductory statement inaccurately summarised the geologist’s opinion and overstated the prediction of a magnitude seven earthquake, and the statement was unnecessarily alarmist and was likely to have caused undue distress for Christchurch residents. The Authority made no order.
Upheld: Accuracy, Responsible Programming
No Order
Criminal Minds. Storyline involved Alzheimer’s sufferer who was capturing, torturing and killing young women. Upheld (responsible programming, violence and good taste and decency). Not upheld (children’s interests). No order.
The storyline of an episode of Criminal Minds broadcast at 8.30pm involved a man with extensive burn injuries seeking revenge by burning his victims alive. The scenes showed the victims being splashed with petrol and set on fire. The Authority upheld the complaint that the episode breached standards relating to good taste and decency, responsible programming, and violence: the level of violence in an 8.30pm broadcast was unacceptable, despite the episode’s AO classification; the violence was explicit; and the programme was incorrectly classified, as the high degree of explicit violence and disturbing adult themes warranted an AO 9.30pm classification and later time of broadcast. The Authority made no order.
Upheld: Good Taste and Decency, Responsible Programming, Violence
No Order
In the first 10 minutes of an episode of Outrageous Fortune, broadcast at 8.30pm, the characters used frequent coarse and obscene language. The Authority upheld that this breached standards of good taste and decency, responsible programming, and children’s interests: the frequent coarse language before 8.40pm was unacceptable in context, despite the AO classification and the expectations of regular viewers; obscenities in the first 10 minutes of the programme constituted strong adult material broadcast too close to the 8.30pm watershed; and the material warranted an AO 9.30pm classification and later time of broadcast. The Authority held that the action taken by the broadcaster in relation to one aspect of the good taste and decency and children’s interests complaints was sufficient (upholding the complaints and apologising to the complainants). The Authority ordered the broadcast of a statement, plus $3,000 costs to the Crown.
Upheld: Good Taste and Decency, Responsible Programming, Children’s Interests
Not Upheld: Good Taste and Decency (Action Taken), Children’s Interests (Action Taken)
Orders: broadcast of statement, $3,000 costs to Crown
Home and Away. Scene in G time-band involving couple kissing and beginning to undress, then woman straddling man. Upheld (children’s interests, responsible programming, good taste and decency). No order.
The Edge. Song with offensive title and words. Upheld (good taste and decency, and responsible programming). No order.
Dexter promo. Contained themes of murder and torture. Responsible programming, children’s interests. Upheld. Good taste and decency. Subsumed. Law and order. Not upheld. No order.
Criminal Minds promo. Featured prostitute who had been killing clients. Programme classification and children’s interests, upheld. Good taste and decency, subsumed. Accuracy, not upheld. No order.
Shortland Street. Episode contained violent scenes. Programme classification, violence. Upheld. No order.
Shortland Street. Episode contained violent scenes. Programme classification, violence. Upheld. No order.