News Archive 2010
Parents must protect kids from porn - 29 December 2010
Illustration:
"Children and Porn"
by Alexander Hunter for The Washington Times
The average age of first exposure to Internet pornography is 11, often because of stumbling onto sites while doing homework. Children searching "White House" can easily end up typing "com" instead of "gov" and end up at a porn site. Type into Google's image search engine words such as "pretty," "beautiful," "cute" or virtually any girl's name, and if the safe-search filter is not properly activated, many of the images that come up are sexually explicit in the extreme.
Most parents would be shocked to learn the statistics about Internet porn. GOOD magazine provides some staggering information about the pornography industry. 12 percent of all Internet sites are pornographic, while 260 new porn sites go online every second every day. On top of this, nearly 30,000 Internet users are viewing porn and 35 percent of all Internet downloads are porn.
Police Pursuits - 6 December 2010
John Terris
Media Matters President, John Terris was heard on RadioNZ's Morning Report programme today.
He was commenting that the number of car chases featured on television, on the internet and in video games, undoubtedly led young men to believe that trying to outrun the police was exciting and gratifying, rather than down-right dangerous.
Lyn Miles of Christchurch, a clinical psychologist, responded to these Media Matters views today, also.
[ Read the full item and access an audio clip ... ]
Broadcasting Standards Authority seeks to punish complainants - 6 December 2010
By Media Matters President, John Terris
John Terris
Background: Donald McDonald, a long-time Media Matters member and a pensioner with about 100 complaints to his name, has had the BSA threaten to charge him for a recent complaint.
An alarming new trend has emerged in the most recent decision of the recently appointed Broadcasting Standards Authority - No 2010-074.
The Authority has for the first time in its history threatened punitive measures against a complainant by proposing to award costs against a citizen who is exercising his right to complain under the legislation.
Our Executive is of the view that the statutory role of the Authority is to uphold Standards, not to punish the people who complain ....
[ Read full article ... ]
[ BSA Decision No. 2010-074 ]
Ten tips for preventing, stopping cyber bullying - 30 November 2010
According to the United States National Crime Prevention Council, more than 40% of all teenagers with internet access have reported being bullied online.
Brad Miller, chief executive of web-monitoring software company Awareness Technologies, offers these tips to knock it out before it starts.
[UK] MP calls for pornography 'opt-in' to protect children - 23 November 2010
Claire Perry says web firms need to be brought in line with TV stations and newsagents
Internet providers should create an "opt-in" system to prevent children gaining access to pornography, a Conservative MP has said.
The mother-of-three, who has prompted a Commons debate on the issue, said internet firms should "share the responsibility" of protecting children.
A third of pupils aged ten view pornography on the internet - 23 November 2010
Concern: Parenting expert Tanya Byron provided data for the study
One in three children is accessing a 'tsunami' of explicit pornographic images on the internet by the age of ten, a study has revealed.
Four in five teenagers regularly look up unsuitable photographs or film on their computers or mobile phones, it also suggested.
Campaigners warned that exposure to these images inflicts 'serious mental harm' on children and prevents them forming healthy adult relationships in later life.
Related material:
Read... 'The Byron Review (2008) and the Byron Progress Review (2010)'
Read... 'Safer Children in a Digital World' [1.6Mb PDF]
'Standards = Principles + Spirit' - November 2010
By Media Matters member, Marris Weight
Marris Weight
In recent years reality shows have become the norm of television entertainment. One of the more popular shows in this genre of programming is New Zealand’s Next Top Model.
The target audience for this programme are young girls; – it is my niece’s, who is aged ten, favourite programme. A segment of this programme in a recent episode featured a parade of nude teenage girls being body painted and photographed. This was under the guise of a competition to determine which participant should progress to the next round.
Ironically that same week the media was also reporting the death of Robert Guccione. Robert Guccoine made his fortune as founder of Penthouse magazine ....
Internet Safety Agency Praises Telecom for Action - 4 November 2010
Telecom has announced it will join the Department of Internal Affairs’ Digital Child Exploitation Filtering System. The system filters the web content of participating Internet Service Providers (ISPs) to block access to known websites that contain child sexual abuse material.
"This is a very positive move by Telecom" says Alan Bell, Director of the sexual abuse prevention agency ECPAT Child Alert. "We applaud this move and trust that other ISP’s with a similar sense of corporate social responsibility will do likewise."
Bill would increase sex offence penalties [Canada] - 3 November 2010
Canadian Justice Minister
Rob Nicholson
The [Canadian] federal government will table legislation Thursday [4 Nov 2010] to boost penalties and close loopholes for sexual offences against children.
Justice Minister Rob Nicholson said Wednesday the bill would create two new offences aimed at better protecting children from sexual predators, including those who post graphic photos of their crimes on the Internet.
Letter to CEO, BSA re Handling of Complaints from our Members - 24 October 2010
By Media Matters President, John Terris
John Terris
Background: Donald McDonald, a long-time Media Matters member and a pensioner with about 100 complaints to his name, has had the BSA threaten to charge him for a recent complaint.
Dear Sir,
We are appalled that the Authority has threatened Donald McDonald with costs for making what are alleged to be frivolous and vexatious complaints.
Our Executive is of the view that the statutory role of the Authority is to uphold Standards, not to punish the people who complain. We have completely lost confidence in the ability of the Authority to contain continuing offenses against standards on NZ television ....
Violent films, video games and TV shows DO make boys aggressive, study finds - 19 October 2010
Watching violent video games, films and TV shows really can make children more aggressive, scientists believe.
And the more violent the scenes and the longer they last, the more normal the behaviour seems.
In the most comprehensive study to date looking at the link between on screen and real life violence, scientists got a group of boys aged 14 to 17 to watch a series of video clips while using scans to study their brain activity.
Air New Zealand unleashes controversial puppet - 15 October 2010
Air New Zealand is courting controversy with its latest ad which features a furry puppet with a penchant for sexual innuendo.
The airline has shaken up its public image in recent years with videos such as the "bare essentials of safety" briefing which starred airline staff wearing nothing but body paint.
'Paul Henry does it again -- and he will again' - 8 October 2010
By Media Matters President, John Terris
John Terris
Our editorials are full of invective against the state broadcaster TVNZ for initially justifying letting Paul Henry get away with insulting the Governor General.
They are right in their criticism but wrong in the target they have chosen.
The fault lies not with TVNZ ... [ Read full article ... ]
Morning Report - 7 October 2010
The controversy over broadcaster Paul Henry's comments doesn't seem to be going away.
Hear John Terris on RadioNZ's Morning Report:
Listen to Audio
(duration: 6′11″)
Dead Bodies Captured by Brazil’s Google Street View Debut - 1 October 2010
Google wants to make the whole world accessible to everyone on Earth. To do this, they’re providing almost every street in the world online for people to look at.
However, it seems that Google doesn’t seem to check the images before they’re uploaded.
Under 25 year-olds most at risk from social networking - 16 September 2010
Myspace, Facebook etc the list goes on, social networking is what connects people these days and of course there’s dangers associated with providing personal information/images on these sites.
But while the dangers of social networking is applicable to everyone who uses them, there’s a group out there more at risk.
TV influences a child’s psyche - 16 September 2010
The preliminary years of life are considered a critical time for brain development.
Television and other electronic media can get in the way of exploring, playing, and interacting with parents and others, which encourages learning and healthy physical and social development.
'Random Acts of Kindness' - 2 September 2010
By Media Matters President, John Terris
John Terris
This is the week we celebrated – on Wednesday to be exact - Random Acts of Kindness day. I do commend the organisers of this event for – well, their kindness, in reminding us that we owe it to others to show kindness to one another.
When to turn off the cameras - 2 September 2010
How graphic is too graphic?
We all need to see events unfold around us; we're in an age where we want instant updates the second they unfold.
However, it's all too often we see some of the most gruesome images along with our news and most of it can take place during dinner time when kids are watching TV with their parents.
So how do the news networks feel about it?
Police rescue children from internet sex abuse - 1 September 2010
Kids on the internet is sometimes not a good mix. Their curiosity can put them into very dangerous situations online.
However, help is at hand with the Online Child Exploitation Across New Zealand team. Already they’ve rescued 6 kids from online sex abuse.
Media 'not to blame for sexualising teenagers' - 20 August 2010
The media is not to blame for sexualising teenagers, according to study which shows young people are more influenced by factors inside the home.
'BSA disappoints - again' - 1 August 2010
By Media Matters President, John Terris
John Terris
In yet another flabby and weak-kneed decision, the Broadcasting Standards Authority decided not to call foul on TVNZ presenter Paul Henry for his discriminatory remarks against singing sensation Susan Boyle.
Mum Faces More Fights over TV Ads - 25 July 2010
ACC advert 2007
Some ads bore us, some actually entertain us while others tend to warn us about various dangers using very horrifying images.
But when is it an appropriate time to show the "You’ve been warned" advertisements?
A Waikato mother realised that a lot of these ads are shown when young children are still watching television, so she decided do something about it.
[U.K.] MP urges fines for credit card firms over child porn - 21 July 2010
UK MP Geraint Davies
Credit cards, we all want one to buy anything and everything we desire.
Unfortunately, some people use them for very sinister acts involving children.
However, an MP in the U.K. is seeking to make credit card companies more responsible for the use of their cards in purchasing child pornography. [ Read full article ... ]
Get the net out of kids' rooms - 19 July 2010
It used to be the TV that kids wanted in their room, but now it’s a computer with the internet.
With the ever increasing flow of "dangerous" content appearing on the internet, is it safer to keep the computer in the viewing eye of the parents or are kids safe enough to surf privately?
Do video games cause attention problems in kids? - 5 July 2010
Long hours in front of the television, whether channel surfing or gaming, could make it difficult for kids to concentrate in school, psychologists said Monday.
While researchers are still divided on the issue, the findings jibe with most earlier work on the effects of television watching in kids, they said.
"What we don't know at this point is why TV and video games really would cause attention problems," said Douglas A. Gentile, who worked on the study.
Gentile, who runs the Media Research Lab at Iowa State University in Ames, added that too much screen time had also been linked to increased aggression and, perhaps less surprisingly, expanding waistlines.
He said the new study, published in the journal Pediatrics, was the first to follow over time how video games may impact kids' concentration skills.
[ Read full article on Reuters' site ... ]
Viewers don't mind TV violence says BBC (after asking just 300 of them!) - 23 June 2010
Ahh the BBC, apparently the "fine dining" of television.
They have millions of viewers in the U.K. so they decided to ask the viewers if the programming the BBC broadcasts is acceptable to watch in terms of violence, sex and foul language.
300 people were asked, including kids and the BBC decided that the answers from the 300 people were more than enough to represent their entire viewing population!
Pornography is not a private issue - 21 June 2010
We tend to think that what we do in our own home should be of no concern to no one.
However what we do in the privacy of our own home can have a very strong impact on our public behavior.
Legalising R18+ Games will not protect children
A relentless push by gamers and the industry has resulted in the [Australian] Federal Government's call for
responses to the question:
"Should the Australian National Classification Scheme include an R18+ classification
category for computer games?"
[ Read full discussion on the ACCM site ... ]
[ Read the Editorial in their 'small screen' magazine [PDF], March 2010 ... ]
[ Read the ACCM submission to Canberra [PDF], February 2010 ... ]
Media complaints - Sunday Star Times letter - 30 May 2010
THE ARTICLE ridiculing those who make complaints to the Broadcasting Standards Authority (News, May 23) shows just how contemptuous of
any sort of standards those responsible for the increasing volume of gratuitous violence, sex and bad language
on television really are of the audience ...
[
Read full letter by John Terris ... ]
News, May 23 - Related article:
Mice cruelty aside, chill wind blows back on media accusers
Sunday Star Times, 23 May 2010, by Esther Harward
RECENT COMPLAINTS to media watchdogs – including that a runway fashion outfit was described with the wrong animal print, a flounder dish was criticised in a restaurant review, and a newspaper dropped an apostrophe in Hawke’s Bay – have got commentators ... [ Read full article ... ]
'Standards – A matter of Conventions' - 31 May 2010
By Media Matters member, Marris Weight
Marris Weight
The New Zealand Advertising Standards Authority has used the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child as the basis for their voluntary Code for Advertising to Children, to which all principle New Zealand Advertisers are signatories.
Article 17 of the Convention asks "the media of signatory countries to acknowledge each child's individuality, uniqueness, strength and capability, while affording children 'extra protection' from violence, unsafe practices, indecency, offensive language or bad taste."
Media Matters' newsletter - April 2010
'Top of the Flops' - 26 March 2010
By Media Matters President, John Terris
And now ladies and gentlemen – I give you
the Top of the Flops for the week,
awarded to the Worst Television Programme on our screens in the last seven days –
the GOLDEN RASPBERRY AWARD – THHHHHHHHHH
– goes to ...
[
Read full article ... ]
Man abused schoolgirls he met online - 15 March 2010
An online predator used social networking site Bebo to prey on schoolgirls, sexually abusing two he befriended through the internet.
Police said the pool of potential victims was growing by the day as more children turned to social networking sites and showed the ease with which predators could strike.
[ More ... Dominion Post: Man abused schoolgirls he met online - 15 March 2010 ]
Violent video games make kids more aggressive, care less - 3 March 2010
Researchers say they have proved this conclusively after analysing analysed [sic] 130 reports involving more than 130,000 gamers
Abusive mums may be tracked through life - 3 March 2010
Nia Glassie. Photo / Supplied
A panel of experts has recommended an alert system for all abusive mothers so officials know when they have more children.
[ More ... NZ Herald: Abusive mums may be tracked through life - 3 March 2010 ]
'A Tonic Mixture' - 24 February 2010
By Media Matters member, Marris Weight
Marris Weight
The deregulation of the media industry has seen successive governments advocating community responsibility and the strengthening of families as a means of maintaining community standards.
The previous coalition labour government created the families commission. The function of the families commission is to promote the role of the family in the setting of acceptable behavioural standards.
The current national government is taking a strong stance towards crime and responsibilities parents have towards their children.
If the government expects parents to play a greater role ...
[
Read full article ... ]
They said it!
Here is a short selection of some of the wonderful uses to which our newsmakers and advertisers put the English language:
- TSB bank advertisement - 13 Feb 2010
- Bernadine Oliver Kerby, One News - 21 Jan 2010
- Green Party MP Keith Locke, One News, 6pm - 22 Feb 2010
"At TSB bank we treat our customers like individjools."
"Is eyed gedding through tuh eerias of must need doyouthink?"
"I’m sorry, would you repeat the question?" (A baffled Gus Valcarcel, multi-lingual Associated Press Correspondent, live from quake ridden Haiti.)
"They've got these cameras on these Tasers, they should let us see the footage," says Locke.
Green Party MP Keith Locke, questioning "what the police have got to hide".
Locke thus demonstrates awesome mastery of what’s happening around him in the way of violence against the Police, after an earlier item in the same bulletin reveals:
"Assaulting a police officer could soon bring a harsher penalty with the minister looking to make changes after a series of brutal attacks on police.
One of those was in Oamaru where a policeman was attacked, while an officer's lip was bitten off in an incident near Whangarei and an off duty officer was attacked south of Auckland".
New report says televsion classifications confusing
- RadioNZ Morning Report - 19 February 2010
A report from the Broadcasting Standards Authority says many television viewers are confused by the way content
is classified.
Listen to Audio (duration: 3′30″)
Media Matters' latest newsletter - February 2010
Read our latest newsletter online [PDF file: 376Kb].
Topics:
- Broadcasting Standards Authority (BSA)
- Join Donald McDonald and use the BSA complaints system
- Stop brutalising our kids!
- Become a member; encourage others to become members
