Big year for broadcasting complaints

BY MICHAEL FOX

Televised breast surgery, "sustained personal abuse" of Fire Service representatives and fake interviews with war medal thieves all contributed to the growing number of broadcasting complaints laid last year.

The figures were revealed this morning when the Broadcasting Standards Authority released its latest annual report, showing it had received a growing number of complaints last year.

The BSA received 167 complaints on issues ranging from diabetes, global warming and euthanasia to child trafficking, gift baskets, beer brewing, cannibalism, grass fertiliser and weight loss.    

Complaints were up compared to 148 the previous year, with 151 decisions compared to 139 last year, continuing the rise from 2008 (131, 125).

However, the number of fully or partially upheld complaints - 25, or 17 percent - was down on the year before, in which 40 were successful, or 29 percent.

However the number of complaints weren't as high as in 2004/2005 which had a total of 184, with 40 upheld.

TVNZ's One News received the highest number of complaints (24 with two upheld), followed by 3 News (13 with 1 upheld), Close Up (12 with 2 upheld) and Breakfast (11 and 1). 

Talkback continued to dominate among radio complaints - 14 of the 26 radio complaints related to this genre.

As well as news and current affairs programmes, all four complaints against popular soap Shortland Street were upheld.

Weight loss show Downsize Me received five complaints, none of which were upheld, while Campbell Live received three with two upheld.

A total of six complaints were upheld where the broadcasters were punished for their breach.

TVNZ were ordered to broadcast an acknowledgement of its breach, pay $5000 in privacy compensation, $10,000 in legal costs and $5000 in costs to the Crown following  a privacy complaint about an episode of Skin Doctors which showed a woman having a breast augmentation.

TVWorks was forced to broadcast a statement, pay $2182.50 in legal costs and $2000 to the Crown when the Commerce Commission complained a piece about it's prosecution of a company marketing a fertiliser system was unbalanced and unfair.

It was also ordered to broadcast a statement over the Campbell Live interview with a war medal thief after it failed to disclose it was a reconstruction.

TVNZ was also fined after an advertisement for the programme Fanny Hill contained sexual references and images, RadioWorks NZ was fined after The Edge broadcast a woman's phone number on air and was forced to broadcast a statement after talkback host Michael Laws launched a tirade of "sustained personal abuse" of two firemen on RadioLive.

Laws accused the Fire Service of using "little dead Polynesian kiddies as a marketing tool" after Manukau chief fire officer Larry Cocker and National Commander Mike Hall said a fire that killed four children might have been avoided had chips not been left unattended in a frying pan and smoke alarms been installed.

Of the 151 decisions issued:

- 83 percent (125 decisions) concerned television programmes (compared with 82 percent or 114 in 2008).

- 17 percent (26) concerned radio broadcasts (18 percent or 25 in 2008).

- 17 percent of complaints (25) were upheld in full or in part (29 percent or 40 in 2008).

- 22 of the 25 upheld decisions concerned television broadcasts; 3 concerned radio (32 of - 40 for television and 8 for radio in 2008).

- 66 percent of decisions concerned news, current affairs and talk radio (70 percent in 2008).

- © Fairfax NZ News