Kia ora koutou
Next week is Privacy Week, and as part of this year’s theme of ‘Privacy on Purpose’ the BSA is again putting a focus on privacy and the media.
In association with the Office of the Privacy Commissioner, I’ll be presenting a Privacy Week webinar exploring how people’s right to privacy intersects with the right of media to gather, record and broadcast/publish material in the public interest.
We expect this will be of interest to a wide range of people, but would like to extend a special invitation to broadcasters and stakeholders. The webinar is scheduled for 10-11am on Wednesday 14 May, and you can register for it
hereopen_in_new.
In my presentation, I’ll focus on the privacy standard, which is one of eight standards overseen by the BSA to help achieve our vision of freedom in broadcasting without harm.
While privacy is the subject of relatively few complaints (6 complaints in 2023/24), compared with the likes of accuracy, balance and fairness (69, 62 and 45 complaints), privacy complaints are often highly sensitive for those whose privacy is alleged to have been breached. They can involve particularly challenging and complex weighing of freedom of expression versus potential harm.
open_in_newUnlike complaints under other standards in the Broadcasting Codebook, privacy complaints can be made directly to the BSA, without needing to go to the broadcaster first. This is because privacy is recognised in broadcasting standards as a special and important right.
As with other standards, broadcasters get things right in the overwhelming majority of cases. The BSA has upheld seven privacy complaints in the past five years. These can be seen
hereopen_in_new.
More information on the privacy standard and how it applies to TV and radio broadcasts can be seen in the
Broadcasting Standards Codebookopen_in_new. For a more high-level introduction to the eight broadcasting standards, see our quick-guide video
hereopen_in_new.
Media literacy resource This month also marks the return of Media Literacy Week (26 to 30 May) to schools across New Zealand.
In association with the organisers from the
National Association of Media Educators (NAME)open_in_new, and the New Zealand Media Council, we’ve created a new educational resource to help high-school students navigate the media landscape and identify sources of reliable information.
This discusses the role of media standards and how they apply to regulated media, and encourages students to think about how this can help them seek out information they can trust.
Our new resource is available in
Englishopen_in_new and
te reoopen_in_new on our website, and is being made available to students and teachers by NAME in the lead up to Media Literacy Week.
Ngā mihi mahana
Stacey Wood
Chief Executive