Radio host ‘spoken to’ over Covid joke
The loss of audio recordings has saved controversial radio host Thane Kirby from any punishment after he suggested, on-air, that Covid-19 contact tracing information could be used to contact ‘‘extremely attractive women’’.
A formal complaint was lodged against the Hauraki Drive host on May 18.
The complainant said though Kirby ‘‘might be joking’’, the comment risked undermining the entire contact tracing system.
‘‘Given that Hauraki listeners are predominantly male, it may give people ideas. Even the thought of using personal information to contact people is disgusting,’’ the complaint alleged.
On June 26, the broadcaster, NZME, advised the complainant it had listened to the audio but was unable to locate the content.
It was then referred to the Broadcasting Standards Authority (BSA), which requested a copy of the audio from the show.
NZME said it was no longer able to access it because of the time that had lapsed. All broadcasters are expected to retain recordings for 35 days.
A recently-released BSA decision showed NZME said it was aware of its obligations and had ‘‘unreservedly apologised’’ for the ‘‘mistaken omission’’.
The lost recording ultimately left the BSA in the ‘‘very unsatisfactory position’’ of being unable to make any definitive findings.
However, NZME decided to uphold the complaint, and said the host would be ‘‘spoken to’’.
The BSA urged NZME to be mindful of Kirby’s history with the authority, adding there was a ‘‘potential pattern of behaviour and disregard for the standards’’.
In 2015, Kirby and a George FM co-host, Kara Rickard, were suspended and fined $8000 after they ‘‘named and shamed’’ two women, calling them ‘‘rank’’ and ‘‘hoes’’.