Sky Television NZ has been fined for “extensive” use of the video of the terrorist attack at a mosque in Christchurch on March 15.
The Broadcasting Standards Authority said the use of the excerpts “had the potential to cause significant distress to audiences in New Zealand, and particularly to the family and friends of victims, and the wider Muslim community”.
It added: “The clips as broadcast were highly disturbing and should not have been aired”.
The authority found that the level of public interest in the detailed depictions of violence shown in the clips from the livestream video was not proportionate to the high level of harm that could be caused to viewers.
A fine of $4000 payable to the Crown was imposed.
The BSA accepted that the Sky News NZ service is passed through to New Zealand from overseas but said more editorial control needed to be exercised.
While it upheld the complaint against Sky, the BSA did not uphold three complaints against 1 NEWS, which related to very brief excerpts from the video and footage of victims of the shootings as they were being taken to hospital.
The authority said it had taken into account the unprecedented circumstances and the high level of public interest in the coverage in making its decision.
“We recognise the significant impact this event has had on New Zealand,” authority chair Judge Bill Hastings said. “Given the harm that could be caused to audiences, it was important for broadcasters to exercise a high level of care and discretion in their broadcast coverage.”
The authority will now talk to broadcasters about whether the current guidelines work for coverage of incidents such as the Christchurch attacks.
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