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Complaint under section 8(1)(a) of the Broadcasting Act 1989Radio Live – reference to the Arabian Gulf in a news report – allegedly inaccurateFindings Principle 6 (accuracy) – use of the term Arabian Gulf inaccurate – upheldNo OrderThis headnote does not form part of the decision. Broadcast[1] During a news item broadcast on Radio Live on 9 April 2007, a reporter used the term “Arabian Gulf” when reporting that a British service woman had been freed after being held hostage for 13 days in Iran. Complaint[2] Babak Mahdavi complained to CanWest RadioWorks Ltd, the broadcaster, that the body of water which separates the Iranian Plateau from the Arabian Peninsula was officially named the “Persian Gulf”, and therefore it was inaccurate to refer to it as the Arabian Gulf....

Complaint under section 8(1)(c) of the Broadcasting Act 1989 The Edge – anonymous caller revealed that named person had visited a medical clinic – disclosed confidential medical details – allegedly in breach of privacyFindings Principle 3 (privacy) – highly offensive disclosure of private facts – upheldOrder Section 13(1)(d) – payment to the complainant for breach of privacy $5,000 Section 16(1) – payment of costs to the complainant $2,067 Section 16(4) – payment of costs to the Crown $5,000This headnote does not form part of the decision. Broadcast[1] On the afternoon of Monday 9 October 2006, the hosts on The Edge radio station stated that they had “a bit of inside goss” from an anonymous caller who had previously worked at a medical centre for two weeks. The hosts asked “are you breaking patient confidentiality here or something? ” to which the caller laughed....

Summary An exchange on The Rock included a conversation between the announcer and an actor portraying a fictitious Australian character called Darryl Brock, during which Darryl Brock asked the announcer whether a woman announcer had "big tits" and if "she bang[ed] like a shithouse door in the wind". The exchange was broadcast at around 9. 00am on 25 November 1999. K E Broad complained to The RadioWorks Ltd, the broadcaster, that the language used was offensive and totally unacceptable, and that children could have heard it because of the time of the broadcast. The RadioWorks responded that the reference to the woman having "big tits" was "perhaps a little raunchy", but was a slang expression and did not contravene broadcasting standards. As to the second remark, the RadioWorks said that the word "shithouse" was also slang and that this remark did not contravene broadcasting standards either....

Complaints under section 8(1C) of the Broadcasting Act 1989Talkback with Michael Laws – host compared the All Whites to disabled athletes and their win of supreme Halberg trophy to awarding disabled sports award – allegedly in breach of discrimination and denigration standard FindingsStandard 7 (discrimination and denigration) – talkback radio a robust environment – host’s comments amounted to opinion – discussed legitimate issue – did not encourage discrimination against or denigration of disabled athletes or people with disabilities – not upheld This headnote does not form part of the decision....

Complaint under section 8(1)(a) of the Broadcasting Act 1989Radio Pacific – host stated that the BSA had not upheld a complaint from Māori Television about his comments criticising the channel – stated that Māori Television was “apartheid” and “racist” – allegedly inaccurate and denigratoryFindingsPrinciple 6 (accuracy) – inaccurate to state that BSA had not upheld the complaint when it had not yet considered the complaint – inaccurate to refer to Māori Television as Te Karere – upheldPrinciple 7 (social responsibility) and guideline 7a (denigration) – Māori Television not “section of the community” to which denigration standard applies – comments not denigratory of Māori generally – not upheldNo Order This headnote does not form part of the decision. Broadcast[1] On 25 July 2006 at approximately 7....

ComplaintRadio Pacific – talkback host described Minister of Health as a chicken and derelict in her duty – offensive and denigrating FindingsPrinciple 1a – contextual matters – no uphold Principle 7a – comments acceptable on talkback – no uphold This headnote does not form part of the decision. Summary [1] The Minister of Health was criticised for not going to Christchurch to try to settle a threatened nurses strike there. The comments were made by the host (Bill Ralston) on the talkback station, Radio Pacific, between 11. 00am–2. 00pm on 30 November 2001. [2] David Stott complained to The RadioWorks Ltd, the broadcaster, that the comments, which included a description of the Minister as a "woof" and "chicken", were insulting, denigrating and in poor taste. [3] As Mr Stott did not receive a response to his complaint, he referred it to the Broadcasting Standards Authority under s....

Summary The words "stick my hard dick up your butt" were reported by the complainant to have been used by an announcer on The Rock at around 10. 20pm on 20 July 1999. The complainant reported that the same announcer used the words "in between the legs" in the course of a discussion about an eclipse of the moon, during the evening of 28 July 1999. The Rape Prevention Group Inc. complained to The RadioWorks Ltd, the broadcaster, that it had breached Principles 1 and 7 of the Radio Code of Broadcasting Practice. The Rape Prevention Group maintained that the two comments were offensive and harmful to women. It said that being referred to as sex objects and "mere bodies" degraded women. The broadcaster responded that The Rock was targeted at a male audience aged between 18-39 years and that its style appealed to large numbers of that group....

ComplaintChannel Z – News item – arrest of man for the kidnapping of Kahurautete Durie – reported that the accused expected to have a hard time in jail – announcer expressed pleasure at that prospect – offensive, unfair and unbalanced – broadcaster upheld aspect that item failed to distinguish between fact and opinionFindingsPrinciple 1 – not offensive – no upholdPrinciple 2 – did not encourage breach of law – no upholdPrinciple 3 – accused not named – no breach of privacy – no upholdPrinciple 4 – not unbalanced – no upholdPrinciple 6 – facts sourced and distinguished from opinion – no upholdPrinciple 7 – gang spokesmen cited – no upholdThis headnote does not form part of the decision. Summary[1] The arrest of a 54 year-old man accused of kidnapping Kahurautete Durie was reported in a news item on Channel Z broadcast at 8. 00am on 22 April 2002....

Complaint under section 8(1B)(b)(i) of the Broadcasting Act 1989Michael Laws talkback – discussed the release of a report by the Children’s Commissioner and Barnados which stated a quarter of a million children in New Zealand were living below the poverty line – host made critical comments about the Children’s Commissioner and the report – allegedly unfair and failed to present significant viewpoints Findings Standard 4 (controversial issues) – listeners would not expect a range of balanced views from Michael Laws’ talkback – no discussion of a controversial issue of public importance – not upheld Standard 6 (fairness) – host’s criticisms not unfair in robust talkback environment – important principle of freedom of speech that public officials are open to criticism – not unfair to deny complainant’s request to appear on air during unrelated programme – not upheld This headnote does not form part of the decision....

ComplaintTalkback – Radio Pacific – host rude to callers FindingsPrinciple 1 – no tape – reported remarks not exceptional in talkback context – decline to determine This headnote does not form part of the decision. Summary Talkback discussion about equestrian Mark Todd’s alleged cocaine use was broadcast on Radio Pacific on 6 July 2000 between 7. 00–8. 00am. The host supported Mr Todd. Alex Watson complained to The RadioWorks Ltd, the broadcaster, that the host’s conduct had been objectionable. He cited some examples of callers being subjected to what he termed abusive treatment after expressing their views, and noted that although some callers had tried to remonstrate with the host, they had been cut off before they could speak. In his view, this was not part of free speech talkback, and did nothing for the reputation of the station....

Complaint under section 8(1A) of the Broadcasting Act 1989Jay-Jay, Mike and Dom Show – hosts discussed court appearance of radio broadcaster Iain Stables on violence charges – made comments that he was guilty and about his bipolar condition – allegedly in breach of privacy FindingsStandard 3 (privacy) – Iain Stables was identifiable – programme did not reveal any private facts about him because information about the charges he faced, his previous altercations, and that he had bipolar disorder was already in the public domain – as the broadcast did not disclose any private facts, Iain Stables’ privacy was not breached – not upheld This headnote does not form part of the decision. Introduction [1] During the Jay-Jay, Mike and Dom Show on The Edge, the hosts discussed charges being faced by radio broadcaster Iain Stables, following an altercation with his ex-girlfriend’s parents....