Laws interview 'abusively personal'

Michael Laws
Michael Laws
Broadcaster Michael Laws will read a statement summarising a Broadcasting Standards Authority decision upholding a complaint over a radio interview in which he asked a woman to "wear a muzzle".

RadioLive was ordered to apologise over the heated interview between Laws and the spokeswoman for the American Pit Bull Terrier Association in March.

MediaWorks publicity manager Rachel Lorimer said MediaWorks and RadioLive would be "abiding by the decision and Michael Laws will make the statement within the next month, once details have been agreed with the BSA  (Broadcasting Standards Authority)."

Laws was not available for comment.

The authority found the comment amounted to unacceptable personal abuse and Laws' over-aggressive approach breached the standard of fairness.

In the interview Laws asked Karen Batchelor about dog bites and accused her of misquoting statistics and making untrue statements, prompting her to complain to MediaWorks.

The company accepted Ms Batchelor referred to ACC statistics correctly and Laws' comment "can you wear a muzzle" amounted to personal abuse.

However, not enough action was taken, and it upheld Ms Batchelor's complaint that the broadcaster had breached the standard of fairness.

The criticism directed at Ms Batchelor overstepped the boundaries of fairness by straying into "abusively personal" territory, the BSA said.

"In our view, the cumulative effect of Mr Laws' comments, and in particular his repeated comparison of Ms Batchelor with her dogs, amounted to a sustained and personal attack on the complainant in a manner that was unfair."

The authority ordered the station to broadcast a statement summarising its decision, acknowledging Ms Batchelor was correct in quoting ACC statistics and saying it was unfair for Laws to call her a liar.

The statement should also include an apology to Ms Batchelor for the way she was treated, it said.

A further complaint alleging a breach of accuracy was not upheld by the BSA.

According to guidelines, talkback radio will not usually be subject to the accuracy standard, except when the presenter makes an unqualified statement of fact.

"While he [Laws] said that it was 'seriously untrue' that there had been no deaths in New Zealand from a pitbull attack, he readily admitted that he had not done the research," said the finding.

It is not the first time Laws has breached broadcasting standards.

In July he was found to have breached good taste and decency standards over comments directed to the media, specifically the Herald on Sunday, about the Teapot Tape saga in which he said "If I had a gun I'd shoot them [reporters], put them out of their misery".

The BSA supported Laws' right to publicly criticise the media but did not endorse violent language directed at identifiable people, which "may normalise violent behaviour".

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