Three complaints about testimony from the Clayton Weatherston
murder trial broadcast on One News have been upheld by the
Broadcasting Standards Authority.
Graphic testimony of the brutal murder of Sophie Elliott was
given at the trial by the former Otago University tutor who
stabbed her to death in her Dunedin bedroom in January last
year.
The authority found One News footage of Weatherston's
testimony, where he vividly described his attack on Ms
Elliott, breached the standards of good taste and decency,
did not adequately consider the interests of child viewers
and did not exercise sufficient care and discretion when
dealing with violence.
Two complainants, Hastings woman Sharon Coates and
Invercargill woman Shona Thomson, focused on that particular
piece of testimony, which screened on One News on July 13.
Viewers would not have expected the level of explicit detail
provided in the testimony to be broadcast, the authority
ruled.
The authority found Mrs Coates' other complaint, that footage
screened of Crown prosecutor Robin Bates repeatedly saying
swear words he read from evidence, also breached broadcasting
standards.
TVNZ responded that a swear word used three times in the July
14 item should have been edited out, and pointed out it
broadcast an apology to viewers the following night.
Ms Coates said neither item was preceded by a warning and she
had turned her television off when her children became upset
by Weatherston's description of stabbing Ms Elliott.
TVNZ said it had an obligation to provide a fair and accurate
portrayal of what was said in court and its lengthy
introduction gave viewers adequate warning of the type of
material that was to be included in scenes of Weatherston
giving his evidence.
It was important New Zealanders understood the offensiveness
of his crime and "sanitising or censoring" the evidence would
have distorted the issue.
The authority considered viewers would have been unprepared
for the level of explicit detail in the item, "and its
introduction was insufficient to signpost the grisly and
unpleasant details relayed by Mr Weatherston", the authority
said.
But it said choosing footage to include in reports in such an
unusual trial would have been a difficult editorial decision.
It was also important for the public to see Weatherston
giving evidence, in order for the news item to reflect events
accurately.
A complaint from Blenheim man John Oswald that Weatherston's
description of how he met Miss Elliott breached privacy
standards was not upheld.
The authority ruled that details of the relationship were not
sufficiently explicit to require a warning and there was a
high degree of public interest.
The authority did not uphold a complaint from Auckland man
Bryan Halliwell that items aired on One News and Sunday after
the release of previously suppressed evidence from the David
Bain case breached balance, fairness and accuracy standards.
The complaint was that coverage of the release of Mr Bain's
111 call and evidence suggesting he had previously planned to
use his paper-round as cover for sexually assaulting a woman,
attacked the credibility of Mr Bain and his defence without
attacking the credibility of the police and the other
witnesses.
debbie.porteous@odt.co.nz
