Maori TV and flag coverage OK - BSA

TV3's coverage of Maori TV's Rugby World Cup bid was "legitimate satire", the Broadcasting Standards Authority (BSA) says.

Four people complained about the item on TV3's Nightline in October.

However, the BSA ruled that the item, by Ali Ikram, was legitimate satire and that, although it was introduced as a serious news piece, it would have been obvious to viewers that it was not meant to be taken seriously.

The BSA said the item did not mock Maori in general, "rather, it satirised Maori TV's proposed coverage and its view that Maori language and culture could be promoted through its coverage of the Rugby World Cup".

"Nothing in the item could be said to have 'blackened the reputation' of Maori, or to encourage the different treatment of Maori to their detriment."

The BSA also declined to uphold complaints about a TV One Breakfast interview which discussed the selection of a Maori flag to be flown on Auckland Harbour Bridge on Waitangi Day.

Host Paul Henry interviewed Paul Moon, from the Auckland University of Technology, in July. Both commented that the process was a waste of time and money.

Two people complained that the broadcast was discriminatory, denigrated Maori and was not balanced.

- NZPA