BSA in a bind
Thursday, April 3rd, 2008I think the BSA has broken the law. I think they’ve done it in order to avoid breaking the law. Confused? Let me explain. They’ve issued a decision upholding (by majority) a complaint against TVNZ’s Sunday programme on grounds of inaccuracy and unfairness. But the decision contains no reasoning. It seems this is because the reasoning […]
BSA round-up
Wednesday, April 2nd, 2008When showing graphic footage (such as autopsy photos) on the news, the broadcaster should use a warning, and put the graphic footage far enough into the news item to give parents a chance to turn off the TV. When running a story about a campaign against child abuse, showing some photos of the beaten body […]
UK political broadcast ad ban upheld
Monday, March 31st, 2008In NZ, we ban the broadcast of election ads, except for those paid for out of the broadcasting allocation. That means a pot of about $3 million of public money gets divvied up between the parties (along with a bit of free air time that some publicly minded stations throw in) – and that’s the […]
Headline: Police do good job
Wednesday, March 26th, 2008You don’t see that headline too often. This is a bit off-topic, but I had an experience of an emergency 111 call-out over Easter. It turned out to be a false alarm, but police were there within five minutes (a second car arrived a couple of minutes later). They were thoroughly professional. Well done, them. […]
Helpful access-to-court-records case
Tuesday, March 25th, 2008This judgment from Harrison J is a useful addition to journalists’ armoury in their ongoing battle for access to court files. The Sunday News wanted to see the file on Matthew Ridge’s leaky home litigation. The Registrar refused, saying that the paper needed to show “an interest [in the case] greater than that of the public at […]
Just click the link
Thursday, March 20th, 2008Do it now. It takes a minute or so. The lesson might last a lifetime. And I think it has something to say about the media, too.
HC overturns BSA privacy decision
Sunday, March 16th, 2008Last August, the BSA upheld a complaint from Dr Stephanie du Fresne, the medical director of a mental health clinic, about an interview with one of her committed patients conducted without the clinic’s knowledge. TV3 News interviewed the woman about her electric shock treatment, which she didn’t want. The story revealed that she was bipolar […]
Highlights from Press Council forum
Sunday, March 16th, 2008Top 10 most interesting points from Thursday’s public forum, “The Press and the Right to Know Under Siege”, where the speakers were Law Commissioner John Burrows QC and the chairs of the Australian and NZ Press Councils, Professor Ken McKinnon and Barry Paterson QC: Barry Paterson, a retired High Court judge, “hated TV in the […]
Another backward step for the Bill of Rights
Saturday, March 15th, 2008The best measure of a country’s commitment to free speech is its willingness to protect speech it doesn’t like. At the very least, a respect for free speech involves ensuring that any restrictions are clearly justifiable. That’s how our Bill of Rights works. The Supreme Court passed this test in R v Brooker, using the […]
Press Council bouquet
Wednesday, March 12th, 2008I’ve been hard on the Press Council lately. I tend to blog about the stuff I disagree with. But usually, I think the members of the Press Council get it right. In the latest bunch of decisions, they ping the Northern Outlook for misreporting local council committee hearings. One mistake was put right in a later story, without reference to […]
« Previous Entries Next Entries »