August 12, 2021
Banks’s nod to racist rhetoric earns Magic slap
The Broadcasting Standards Authority has found a discussion of Māori culture that may have ended John Banks’ talkback career breached broadcasting standards.
The authority ordered MediaWorks to pay $3000 in costs and to broadcast a statement summarizing its decision on Magic Mornings with Peter Williams – the Magic Talk show the former Auckland mayor was filling in on.
The decision and order relate to an on-air discussion about former CEO Grainne Moss’s departure from Oranga Tamariki.
One talkback caller made discriminatory comments which were endorsed by Mr Banks.
The BSA says it wasn’t a simple slip up, because the way the talkback topic was framed by Mr Banks as part of his introduction created an environment in which such discriminatory comments were foreseeable and practically inevitable.
It says because of the way broadcasters can influence public views and normalize behaviours, the broadcast had the potential to cause significant harm within society, particularly among Māori communities.
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