Complaint against TVNZ over folic acid coverage

NZORD - the New Zealand Organisation for Rare Disorders

Press release, 19 August 2009.

NZORD has filed a complaint with Television New Zealand about their coverage of plans to fortify bread with folic acid.

The complaint is against several TVNZ programmes from 12th to 14th July 2009 and alleges a failure to meet standards in the Broadcasting Act, including standards relating to accuracy, impartiality and fair representation of significant points of view. NZORD alleges that TVNZ also breached the standard requiring responsible broadcasting that may avoid panic, alarm or distress to viewers.

“In NZORD’s view many media failed to give good coverage to the folic acid issue, and simply repeated claims made by industry sources in a clever public relations campaign. But TVNZ is specifically complained against because their breaches were at the worst end of the scale,” says NZORD executive director, John Forman.

“Almost every claim by the grocers and bakers industry group was highly selective data or blatant misrepresentation of fact,” says Forman. “TVNZ’s breaches included biased and inaccurate cover of the issues through unquestioning repetition of industry claims, and failure to give fair coverage of significant other viewpoints.”

NZORD maintains that the context of this issue - a food safety scare campaign run by the food industry itself in order to shift government policy - put a clear obligation on all media to report with caution and care for accuracy, about matters that might cause alarm or distress to viewers. “In our view TVNZ failed in that duty of care,” says Forman.

Read the detail of NZORD’s complaint at this link.

NZORD’s detailed submission to the NZ Food Safety Authority on the folic acid standard consultation, can be found at this link.

ENDS

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