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Bulletin Number 97
Message from the Chief Executive
Tēnā koutou and happy new year.
This is our first Pānui for 2020 and it is packed with guidance from the Authority with thirteen decisions being released since the December edition. A number of complaints have raised complex and challenging issues, particularly on issues of balance, accuracy and fairness. I encourage all broadcasters to read these decisions. The Authority and staff team hit the ground running after the summer break as we gear up for changes to some of our broadcasting Codes and election year. As we have noted in previous decisions about election content, broadcasters play an important role in reporting on election issues and broadcasting election programmes which encourage discourse and discussion that is essential to a healthy democracy. The broadcasting standards system recognises that this role also carries responsibilities and the broadcasting codes, and particularly our election programmes code, provides guidance to broadcasters as to how to fulfil those responsibilities in an election year. We look forward to supporting broadcasters to meet their obligations. We have completed consultation on the refreshed Election Programmes Code and this will be available on our website in February and will be gazetted to take effect from 1 March 2020. In addition, in the coming weeks we will announce the outcome of our review of timebands and classifications on free-to-air television and we will commence consultation on amendments to the Broadcasting Standards in New Zealand Codebook, particularly the free-to-air television code, to reflect the changes to be made. Please keep an eye out for information about both of these code reviews on the consultation section of our websiteopen_in_new. We look forward to working with broadcasters, and all of our stakeholders, and serving the community in the year ahead. Ngā mihi Belinda |