14 February 2005

TVNZ Rejects “Gay” Lobby Group Complaint

TVNZ received a bizarre complaint from two homosexual political lobby groups - a so-called “media watchdog group” GayWatch and GayNZ.com - over coverage of what they claimed was: ‘a misleading phone poll that the network implied showed public opinion overwhelmingly against recognising gay relationships despite describing the poll as “transparently unscientific”.’

Not surprisingly, the broadcaster has not upheld this self-serving complaint and yet GayNZ.com reports that both complainants will be appealing the decision to the Broadcasting Standards Authority.
The programme complained about was “Close Up @ 7” which screened on December 2 last year in the lead-up to the final vote in Parliament on the Civil Union Bill. The complainants took umbrage at host Susan Wood’s comment that following her announcement of the results of a 0900 phone poll that asked the public “Should gay relationships be legally recognised?” The vast majority of the 17,463 callers (75%) who paid the 99 cents to vote registered “No”. GayNZ.com has gone into a state of apoplexy over what they claim was Wood’s “implied closing comment on the show that the poll was indicative of public feeling”. Wood’s only comment was: “Makes you wonder where the politicians get their claimed support for the Bill!" (See report on homepage: www.civil-unions.org).

GayNZ.com expressed concern that on the late edition of One News on the same evening the poll was held, Lindsay Perigo (who just happens to be a homosexual) had “ventured that the poll may affect MP’s voting patterns”. It then asserted: “The poll result created an echo chamber for other media, who following TVNZ’s lead trumpeted the poll results as definitive, which media group GayWatch saw as setting disturbing precedents for future debates on gay issues.”

The reality is that there is no setting of any precedent here, disturbing or otherwise, as the homosexual lobby groups claim. Precisely such media mismanagement of "poll results" has been a feature of the New Zealand media for well over twenty years. However, ironically, almost without exception, it has been to the advantage of the various leftist political lobbies, and has almost always favoured the interests of the homosexual lobby.

So this all begs a few questions, such as where were these strident homosexual lobbyists during all of the disgusting examples of media manipulation of public opinion in relation to the homosexual political cause over the years? They would not be in anything like the growing positions of influence (and for some, read "power") that they now enjoy but for the duping of the New Zealand public by such disgustingly unscrupulous and unethical media assistance, which led to the passing of the 1986 Homosexual Law Reform Bill and in the early 1990's amendments to the Human Rights Act.

And yet GayNZ.com and Gaywatch hypocritically jump up and down and cry "foul" at one, previously unheard of example of such media mismanagement of a poll news item which just happens to not be to their liking! They really do know how to be consistent – Yeah right!

The TVNZ complaints committee quite rightly rubbished the “gay” lobby’s claim that Wood’s comments were somehow a breach of the Free-to-air Broadcasting Standards Code. They were “obviously” an expression of opinion stated TVNZ in response and at no time implied that its “transparently unscientific” phone polls were an accurate reflection of public opinion.

GayNZ.com reports that Christopher Dempsey of GayWatch says the group is “disappointed” by TVNZ’s response.

“As a public broadcaster of note, TVNZ influences a wide range of media; this was clearly demonstrated by the use of the “poll” in subsequent media.
“TVNZ needs to lift its game by committing to clearer descriptions of polls it commissions. Serious polls that can be independently verified as being scientifically sound need to [sic] identified as such, nonsensical polls, such as the one carried out by Susan Wood, that are not scientifically sound need to clearly identified as such.”

What a load of bollocks! Phone polls have never been viewed as having scientific credibility in the sense of precisely assessing public opinion complete with errors of margin. Lindsay Perigo’s comment that politicians at the time may be swayed or influenced by this particular poll result, was nothing more than a bit of healthy tongue-in-cheek humour!

Gay lobbyists should stop taking themselves so seriously (Perigo is not a “gay” rights lobbyist). It is well known that politicians had access to a range of commissioned poll results informing them of public opinion on the bill as well as results of their own investigations into electorate opinion.

To suggest that the results of a single 0900 phone poll could influence politicians is laughable. The “gay” lobby’s cries of “foul” in this case is part of a feeble-minded “consciousness-raising exercise” by those who live in a state of denial over the reality of the strength of public opposition to “gay marriage” and the legal recognition of same-sex relationships by means of a Civil Union Law.

References:

TVNZ to investigate Close Up gay complaint http://www.gaynz.com/news/default.asp?dismode=article&artid=2124

TVNZ: Close Up poll “unscientific” http://www.gaynz.com/news/default.asp?dismode=article&artid=2194

ENDS

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