Alf sighed with exasperation on learning that an outfit called the Broadcasting Standards Authority has been nudged into activity.
He supposes this gives the buggers on the authority something to do and keeps them off the streets.
At the same time he wonders why they can’t find something better to do. And if they can’t, then perhaps they would be more socially useful doing nothing on the streets.
If they must do their thing for the BSA, at least they could do it in a timely way.
But no. Several weeks after the event, the Herald tells us, the authority is investigating Breakfast host Paul Henry over comments he made about singer Susan Boyle.
The authority has received five complaints following TVNZ’s finding against Mr Henry, last month.
The Breakfast presenter referred to Ms Boyle as “retarded” in November last year, sparking complaints.
“Here’s the really interesting revelation: she is in fact retarded … and if you look at her carefully, you can make it out,” Mr Henry said on his Breakfast show.
The Herald goes on to point out that Ms Boyle was born with minor brain damage and has learning difficulties.
Yep, she sings well enough. But it happens to be true that she is backward.
You could say retarded, if you were uncharitable.
So what’s going on here?
TVNZ upheld the complaints on the grounds of “good taste and decency” and Mr Henry issued a written apology.
But five complainants were not satisfied with the apology and have appealed to the BSA.
BSA head Dominic Sheehan said some of the complainants have also appealed on the grounds that Mr Henry’s comments were discriminatory.
“We’ll be looking to see if [the apology] was sufficient in this case and if it wasn’t, of course we might order something within our powers to occur. The discrimination complaint is a brand new thing and we’ll be looking to see if [TVNZ] should have upheld that,” Mr Sheehan said.
This is bloody preposterous.
How can broadcasters not discriminate?
They do so every time they broadcast this bit of news and throw some other bits of news into the waste-paper basket.
They do it every time they go to John Key or Phil Goff for a quote about this, that or the other, but don’t ask Alf what he thinks.
And so on.
Anyway, Alf is a strong believer in the right to be discriminating.
But here’s the thing.
The bloody BSA can be punitive on this stuff and fine TVNZ up to $5000 or take advertising off the broadcaster if they find in favour of the complainants.
The Herald goes on to tell us today –
The TVNZ complaints committee found that although Mr Henry meant his comments to be “humorous”, they found that the language and manner of Mr Henry would have offended a “significant number of viewers”.
Well, boo-hoo.
Mr Henry has previously been taken to the Broadcasting Standards Authority when he made comments about a Greenpeace spokeswoman having facial hair.
She did have facial hair.
The complaint was not upheld by the BSA who found that TVNZ had already taken sufficient action.
Quite right.
And anyone who finds Paul Henry bothersome, tasteless, boorish or whatever can exercise their right to disciminate by turning the bloody TV set off or switching to another channel.