MEDIA RELEASE
28 February 2011
BSA Protects Drug Offender But Not Families

Family First NZ says that the Broadcasting Standards Authority (BSA) is completely dysfunctional and a menace to families after it upheld and awarded costs to a dope smoker who claimed his rights were infringed, but rejected three complaints of explicit sexual material including oral sex, public displays of sex, and a promo about penis size during supposed family viewing times.

"We always suspected that families were at risk from decisions made by the BSA but these decisions have removed any doubt we had," says Bob McCoskrie, National Director of Family First.

"When the BSA is willing to take strong action against a broadcaster who simply highlights a person caught breaking the law, but then at the same time makes pathetic excuses to protect broadcasters who are broadcasting scenes of oral sex, public sex and a promo for 'Penis Envy' before or just after the watershed 8.30pm, it's time we sacked the lot of them."

"Broadcasting standards are an oxymoron, and the BSA is simply a joke. Broadcasters must be loving the unaccountable freedom they have to promote explicit sexual and violent material and offensive language disguised as mild entertainment," says Mr McCoskrie.

As a result of the decisions released today, Family First will be writing to the Minister of Broadcasting to call for a clean-out of the BSA membership.

Last year, a poll of 1,000 NZ'ers found that 2/3’rds of respondents were concerned about the level of offensive and sexual material being broadcast during family viewing hours.
ENDS

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