The Broadcasting Standards Authority has not upheld two complaints about broadcasts on RNZ.
The first concerned interviews on The Detail discussing a 'power imbalance' between retirement village operators and residents.
The Retirement Villages Association of New Zealand alleged the broadcast was unbalanced and unfair as it did not provide an alternative perspective from a retirement village operator or the industry, and the statement, 'operators are just sitting on the weekly fee', was inaccurate.
The Authority found the broadcast was signalled as coming from a particular point of view and viewers were unlikely to expect a countering perspective in the broadcast.
The Authority also found the alleged inaccurate statement was clearly distinguishable as analysis, comment or opinion and was not materially misleading. The fairness standard did not apply.
The second concerned a Midday Report segment on Charlie Kirk's death, which included a recording of Kirk's final interaction and the gunshot which killed him. Michael Gibbs considered it offensive and lacking in decency to broadcast Kirk's final moments.
In the context, including comments alerting listeners to the pending content, the Authority found it was unlikely to disproportionately offend or disturb the Midday Report audience.
Those who did not wish to listen were given a reasonable opportunity to turn the programme off. Noting the significant public interest in the segment, the Authority also found no harm justifying its intervention to limit the broadcaster's freedom of expression. The privacy standard did not apply.
Both full decisions can be found here: Decisions
