Investigation Report No. 3048
File No. / ACMA2013/828Licensee / General Television Corporation Pty Ltd
Station / GTV (Nine), Melbourne
Type of Service / Commercial Television Service
Name of Program / 60 Minutes (program promotion)
Nine News (program promotion)
Date of Broadcast / 5 May 2013
Relevant Legislation/Code / Broadcasting Services Act 1992
- Section 149
- Clause 2.4 (Classification of Other Material)
- Clause 3.9 (Restrictions in PG Programs)
- Clause 3.13 (Promotions for News, Current Affairs, Sport and Certain Other Programs)
- Appendix 4 (Television Classification Guidelines – PG Classification)
- 3.1 Violence
- 3.3 Language
- 3.6 Themes
Decision Date / 14 June 2013
Investigation conclusion
- No breach of Clause 2.4 (Classification of Other Material)of the Commercial Television Industry Code of Practice 2010.
- No breach of Clause 3.9 (Restrictions in PG Programs in Certain Time Periods)of the Commercial Television Industry Code of Practice 2010.
The complaint
On 15 May 2013, the Australian Communications and Media Authority (the ACMA) received a written complaint about program promotions for 60 Minutes and Nine News. The promotions were broadcast by General Television Corporation Pty Ltd(GTV) on Sunday, 5 May 2013 between 6.30pm and 7.30pm.
The complainant alleged that the promotions wereinappropriate for broadcast in a PG time zone.
Not satisfied with the response provided by the licensee, the complainant forwarded the matter to the ACMA for investigation.
The program promotions
The Nine Network describes and promotes 60 Minutes[1] on its website in the following way:
Features current affairs stories from across Australia and the globe. Join the team of reporters, including Liz Hayes, Tara Brown, Liam Bartlett, Michael Usher and Charles Wooley, as they investigate, analyse and uncover the issues affecting all Australians. Each week, Peter Harvey brings your opinions to the table in his mailbag segment.
The Nine Network promotesNine News[2] on its website with the following description:
Join the Nine News team for all the latest in news, sport and weather.
The promotions identified by the complainant were broadcast on Sunday, 5 May 2013 between 6.30pm and 7.30pm during a PG classification time zone.
Assessment
The assessment is based on a copy of the relevant broadcasts provided to the ACMA by the licensee, as well as submissions from the complainant and the licensee.
Relevant provisions
The Commercial Television Industry Code of Practice 2010(the Code)contains the following provisions that are relevant in the matter raised by the complainant:
SECTION 2: classification
[…]
Classification of Other Material
2.4All other material for broadcast: Subject to Clauses 2.3 and 2.4.1, all other material for broadcast must be classified according to the Television Classification Guidelines (set out in Appendix 4) or, where applicable, the stricter requirements of Section 3: Program Promotions and Section 6: Classification and Placement of Commercials.
[…]
SECTION 3: PROGRAM PROMOTIONS
[…]
Restrictions in PG Programs in Certain Time Periods
3.9Special restrictions apply to the content of program promotions in PG programs broadcast between 7.00pm and 8.30pm on weekdays and between 10.00am and 8.30pm on weekends. All such promotions must comply with the PG classification requirements set out in paragraph 3 in Appendix 4 and in addition must include no material that involves any of the following:
3.9.1the use of guns, other weapons or dangerous objects against people or animals in the foreground;
3.9.2violence against people of animals which has more than a very mild impact;
3.9.3action sequences which include obvious loss of life;
[...]
3.9.8coarse language, other than of a very mild nature;
3.9.9 anything which has more than a mild sense of threat or menace
[…]
Promotions for News, Current Affairs, Sport and Certain Other Programs
3.13A promotion for a news, current affairs or sporting event, or for any program that deals in a reasonable way with important social or moral issues, must comply in every respect with the requirements for the viewing zone in which it is broadcast (and, as far as is practicable, with the additional restrictions set out in Clause 3.8 to 3.11).
[…]
APPENDIX 4: TELEVISION CLASSIFICATION GUIDELINES
[…]
The Parental Guidance Recommended (PG) Classification
3.Material classified PG may contain careful presentations of adult themes or concepts butmust be mild in impact and remain suitable for children to watch with supervision.
3.1 Violence: Visual depiction of violence must be inexplicit, restrained and justified by the story line or program context. More leeway is permitted when the depiction is stylised rather than realistic, but all violence shown must be mild in impact, taking into account also the language, sounds and special effects used.
[…]
3.3Language: Low-level coarse language may only be used infrequently, when justified by the story line or program context.
[…]
3.6 Themes: The treatment of social and domestic conflict and other themes that are directed to a more adult audience should be carefully handled and mild in impact.
Complainant’s submissions
In correspondence dated 5 May 2013, the complainant submitted to the licensee that:
[...]
First there was an advertisement for 60 minutes where the announcer suddenly exclaimed quite dramatically ‘146 children, drowned!’.
[...]
There was also a promotion for nine news where there was a montage of explosions from recent events around the world. In that clip that lasted maybe 10 seconds [...] a multitude of explosions including full vision of the Boston marathon explosion showing the bomb going off in the middle of a crowd of people.
[...]
I am aware it is important to educate our children about world events, however there is an appropriate time and place to do this, they should not be exposed in such a harsh, distressing manner.
On 15 May 2013, the complainant submitted to the ACMA that:
[…]
I do not believe such vision is appropriate for a PG timeslot as Channel 9 claim and furthermore I believe that Channel 9 was in clear breach of the following sections of the code:
3.9.1 the use of guns, other weapons or dangerous objects against people or animals in the foreground;
3.9.2 violence against people or animals which has more than a very mild impact;
3.9.3 action sequences which include obvious loss of life;
3.9.9 anything which has more than a mild sense of threat or menace.
In addition the code also states that all violence shown within the PG timeslot must be mild in impact, taking into account also the language, sounds and special effects used.
The violence shown, and the language used in channel nines program promotions during this PG timeslot were clearly not suitable for its young audience.
Licensee’s submissions
On 9 May 2013, the licensee submitted to the complainant that:
[…]
We note that these promos are considered to be news promo and therefore under the Code they must comply with the requirements for the viewing zone in which it is broadcast, which is “PG” timezone.
The 60 Minutes promo did state ‘146 children drowned’ as it highlighted the segment discussing people smuggling and [this] is permissible language to be broadcast in a PG timezone.
[...] As no coarse language was used and this statement was in context of the program’s segment, we believe this promo complied with the code.
[...]
As this news promo contained brief images of recent events which our News team covered, and no disturbing vision of actual violence was broadcast as the clips featured the Boston Bombings images and Grocon incident and therefore were ‘mild in impact.’
We believe our promos complied with the PG guidelines and therefore we complied with the Code.
Finding
The ACMA finds that General Television Corporation Pty Ltd’s broadcast of the program promotions for 60 Minutes and Nine News between 6.30 pm and 7.30 pm on 5 May 2013 did not breach Clause 2.4 or Clause 3.9 of the Commercial Television Industry Code of Practice 2010.
Reasons
The program promotionprovisions of the Code for news and current affairs programs are intended to ensure that the content featured complies in every respect with the classification criteria of the relevant viewing period.
The program promotions identified by the complainant were broadcastbetween 6.30pm and 7.30pm on 5 May 2013. As this is a PG time zone, the promotions need to comply with the PG requirements of the Code and the additional restrictions set out in Clause 3.9 of the Code.
Given the complainant’s concerns, there are two classifiable elements that are relevantin considering the 60 Minutes program promotion – language and themes. Given the reference to children drowning, the relevant theme is death. There are also two classifiable elements that are relevant in considering the Nine News program promotion – violence and themes. Given the inclusion of footage relating to world events, the relevant themes areterrorism and natural disasters.
60 Minutes
The 30-second promotion for 60 Minutes features two stories; the first is about an ‘alleged people smuggling king-pin our police let go’ and the second deals with conservation efforts for orangutans.
The promotion commences with a low angle underwater shot, which includes a brief glimpse of light coming through the surface of the water.
A voiceover is heard saying ‘146 innocent children, drowned at sea’. The accompanying visual features the word ‘DROWNED’ in white text with red highlighting on an all black background, in a stylised fashion across the screen. A male is then shown in close-up saying ‘she call me, dad, dad come help me, come help me’.
At approximately 00:08 minutes, the 60 Minutes logo appears on screen momentarily. The subsequent images feature interview and surveillance-like footage of an adult male as he is confronted by a reporter at what appears to be a garage.
The second story, which commences at approximately 00:21 minutes is said to be about ‘the jungle orphanage saving Indonesia’s orangutans’. At this point the footage depicts orangutans in a playful and naturalistic manner.
The program promotion includes a reference to ‘drowned’ children and the visual depiction of the word ‘drowned’ on a black background. This language is not considered to be coarse language under the Code. The use of the word is considered relevant and factual given the context of the story being promoted.
The Code states that the treatment of themes that are directed to an adult audience should be carefully handled and mild in impact. The complainant is concerned about the reference to children drowning. The reference is limited to one textual and one verbal reference only, and does not include any actual or realistically simulated footage of loss of life. In this respect, the theme has been carefully handled and is considered to be mild in impact. Given the lack of detail and the absence of any visual representation, the promotion does not present a sense of threat or menace that is more than mild.
For these reasons, the use of language and the depiction of a theme in the program promotion can be accommodated within the PG classification.
Nine News
The 30-second promotion for the news program Nine Newsincludes a montage of news footage, including current events such as the Boston marathon bombing that occurred on 15April 2013.
The promotion commences with footage of a reporter standing in front of a screen which includes the text ‘DEADLY BLASTS’. The images on the screen include an injured person in a wheel chair. The reporter, speaking to-camera, states ‘Terrorism has returned to American soil’. This is followed by footage of an explosion at the Boston marathon. The footage includes a puff of white smoke rising over a crowd of people.
At approximately 00:09 minutes, footage of an adult male being struck in the facewith an unidentified substance during a demonstration is shown.
At approximately 00:10 minutes, aerial footage of what appears to be flattened houses and debris is shown. A female reporter states ‘Five minutes of fury, 250 kilometres an hour’ while standing next to an uprooted tree.
At approximately 00:13 minutes, footage of a large explosion is shown. The impact of the explosion is such that the camera visibly shakes.
At approximately 00:15 minutes, a reporter states ‘Everywhere we look, we see damage’.
Other footage includes the text ‘EXPERIENCE’, ‘TRUSTED’ and ‘9 NEWS’ which are briefly and intermittently shown over highly pixelated and apparently randomly placed images.
The program promotion concludeswithfootage of a number of reporters,who appear briefly on screen, before the text ‘SEE IT FIRST – 9 NEWS’. The text appears before a city backdrop and includes a reporter standing to the left of the screen.
The depictions of violence are very brief, restrained and justified by context.
The promotion includes footage of a clash between demonstrators and police.Three helmeted police officers take prominence in the foreground of the scene.A male reacting to being sprayed in the face is seen behind the front row of police officers and, given the other action visible on the screen, is not given prominence.
The depictions of explosions are brief, lack context and no loss of life is evident. Therefore the depictions of violence have a very low impact. Similarly, the sense of threat of menace is considered to not exceed mild.
The treatment of themes including terrorism and natural disasters are brief and lack additional descriptive elements.
For these reasons, the depictions of violence and handling of themes in the program promotion can be accommodated within the PG classification. The depictions of the use of weapons against people, violence and sense of threat or menace meet the standard required in the Code.
ACMA Investigation Report – 60 Minutes (program promotion)/ Nine News (program promotion) broadcast by GTV on 5 May 2013 1
[1] 21 May 2013]
[2] 21 May 2013]