Broadcasting Standards Authority finds ZM’s Fletch, Vaughan and Hayley show irresponsibly promoted alcohol

A segment from a radio show with ZM's Fletch, Vaughan and Hayley has been found to have breached broadcasting standards. Photo / NZME

A segment on the ZM breakfast radio show Fletch, Vaughan & Hayley earlier this year has been found to have irresponsibly promoted alcohol, the Broadcasting Standards Authority (BSA) has ruled, with broadcaster NZME failing to take “adequate action” over the breach.

A complaint was filed by Communities Against Alcohol Harm (CAAH) in regards to an on-air discussion between the show’s hosts on March 15, the ruling said.

The hosts had been discussing a Reddit post titled, “Highest alcohol percentage for least amount of bucks, what’s the best from any liquor store?”, which the BSA agreed amounted to “socially irresponsible” alcohol promotion.

The complaint was referred to the BSA by CAAH on the basis it was dissatisfied with the action taken by the broadcaster.

In the segment, the hosts spoke about deliberately seeking out the cheapest alcohol with the highest percentage by volume, making comments such as “bang for buck” and “I’m not going to drink if it’s not going to get me drunk”.

NZME was correct to have upheld the complaint by CAAH, which said the segment breached the promotion of illegal or antisocial behaviour standard, the BSA said in its ruling.

NZME removed the relevant segment from the online Fletch, Vaughan & Hayley podcast and counselled the content directors and ZM hosts on their obligations around alcohol promotion. The BSA found these actions were “insufficient to remedy the harm caused by the broadcast”, noting there had not yet been any public acknowledgement of the breach.

The authority ordered NZME to broadcast a statement acknowledging the breach and summarising the upheld aspects of the decision.

The authority noted the hosts made some mitigating comments, including endorsing “drinking responsibly”, but these were “undermined by the remainder of the segment and therefore ineffective”. Overall, the segment did not adequately acknowledge the negative effects of alcohol consumption, the ruling said.

“We have found the overall impact of the broadcast – notwithstanding some mitigations by the hosts – was that alcohol promotion dominated the segment, at a time when children could be listening,” the BSA said.

“This places the breach at the higher end of the spectrum.”

An NZME spokesperson said the broadcaster upheld the complaint and accepted the segment may not have met the BSA’s guidelines.

“Following the complaint, NZME proactively removed the segment from our digital platform and counselled our hosts on the BSA’s social responsibility guidelines,” the spokesperson said.

“In addition, we will broadcast a statement in accordance with today’s BSA ruling.”