Broadcasting Standards Authority function

Thursday 28 September 2006

Good Evening. I am delighted to be here this evening to welcome the Broadcasting Standards Authority Board to Christchurch for the launch of the BSA Community Advisory Panel initiative. It’s great that you’ve chosen to come to Christchurch for the launch. It must be a relief to get away from Wellington and certain other people who have been descending into all sorts of below the belt standards over the last few months!

Councils deal with an enormous variety of community groups and I know that the BSA has already made extensive use of the Council website to contact many of the groups here today and I’m pleased to see so many of you here.

I am an avid listener to national radio and I know from my own experiences how much broadcasting standards are a vital component of community well being. The broadcast media is powerful and influential and it’s great to be able to put some faces to names of the people charged with keeping broadcasters on their toes. I know the BSA board wants to meet as many of you as possible, so please introduce yourselves.

Christchurch is blessed with the broadest range of local broadcast media in the country: the unflagging Canterbury TV, our local commercial radio hosts, the essential Plains FM reaching out to all our different communities, Tahu FM serving our iwi and rangatahi.

Our educators are also highly active in their broadcast interests – we have the NZ Broadcasting School, of course, and a fine range of secondary and tertiary teachers devoted to encouraging media literacy and a healthy, critical eye.

I must acknowledge the thriving production scene in Christchurch and the fine work of people like Janine Morrell and Jason Gunn at Whitebait, Bill de Friez and Veronica McCarthy at Raconteur, Kate Fraser and Graham Ritchie of Gogglebox. They’re all local heroes, keeping television production thriving in Christchurch, and making great stories featuring our local people.

I can’t forget Film South and Jacqui Wood and the great job they do in promoting Canterbury as a production location to international film makers.

I am told that it is notable, that very few Christchurch made programmes seem to be reported to the BSA! Maybe that means that our local programme makers obey all the rules. No, I don’t think so, good programme makers, are at the very least a bit off the wall and irreverent. What it does mean is that we have professionals working here of whom we’re very proud.

Please make sure you mix and mingle with our guests.

Welcome once more to the Broadcasting Standards Authority. Thanks so much for coming and I wish you every success with your Community Advisory Panel initiative.

Hand over to BSA chair Joanne Morris.