BSA dismisses complaint against Michael Laws over dementia comments

Broadcaster Michael Laws. Photo / Stuart Munro

A complaint against broadcaster Michael Laws over his comments about the treatment of dementia patients has not been upheld by the Broadcasting Standards Authority.

A caller said the RadioLive talkback host breached standards of accuracy, fairness and discrimination and denigration.

Laws was talking on-air to a woman whose husband had been diagnosed with dementia and said medical personnel were deliberately overmedicating dementia patients, causing them to die.

He referred to the caller's husband as being destined to become a 'zombie', the BSA said..

The complainant called in saying, "What you're advocating has been tried before, quite successfully in Germany in the late 1920s and 1930s". Laws then terminated the call.

The complainant argued it was unfair for the host to deny callers the opportunity to express opinions that differed from his, and specifically that it was unfair to terminate his call when he tried to challenge the assertion that medical personnel euthanised people with dementia, the authority said.

In declining to uphold the complaint, the BSA said it had consistently acknowledged talkback radio was a robust and opinionated environment in which hosts and callers often put forward strong views in a forceful or provocative manner.

"Talkback listeners and participants are also likely to be aware of the presentation style of particular hosts, including how they treat callers.

"Mr Laws is well known for his controversial and provocative presentation style."

The behaviour displayed by Laws in terminating the call was not unexpected, the authority found.

The BSA also acknowledged while Mr Laws' use of the term 'zombie' may have been considered harsh and offensive by some listeners, it was not expressed in a vitriolic or hateful tone and was clearly not intended as an attack against people with dementia.

Meanwhile, in another finding, the BSA ordered Cruise FM Waikato to broadcast an on-air apology for unfairly treating members of the South Waikato District Council and rival radio station Classic Hits and its staff.

It was also ordered to pay the Crown $2500 in costs.

In two broadcasts late last year, the host and owner Johnny Dryden and another councillor were critical of members of the council and Classic Hits.

The authority found while the broad issues discussed were of public interest in examining the actions of elected representatives, they went beyond what could be considered acceptable, and had the potential to be very damaging to the individuals' reputations.

The terms Mr Dryden used to refer to the individuals were rude, crude and insulting, the authority found.

Other complaints of good taste and decency, law and order, and discrimination and denigration were not upheld.

Cruise FM has been ordered to broadcast the statement one month.