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ACMA investigates Sunday Night complaint

ACMA investigates complaint against Sunday Night that it breached the Code of Practice, in a story about a Brazilian tribe.

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The Australian Communications and Media Authority is investigating a complaint against Sunday Night that it breached the Commercial Television Code of Practice, in a story about a Brazilian tribe.

The story, broadcast in September, by Tim Noonan depicted a Brazilian tribe of Suruwaha Indians as a suicide cult that encouraged the murder of disabled babies.

But a spokeswoman for Survival International told The Australian, members of the Suruwaha Indians were very angry at their portrayal and described how the Seven crew had instructed them to remove their Western clothing before filming.

“The report makes the Suruwaha out to be ‘backwards savages’, a ‘true suicide cult’ — these accusations are simply not true and imply that the Suruwaha are not deserving of any rights,” she said.

An excerpt from the story, including with adventurer Paul Raffaele, indicates:

TIM NOONAN: Aguniu confesses that he plans to commit suicide before he reaches thirty.

AGUNIU: I don’t want to be here for a long time. I will never be an adult, I will take the poison before that and I will die.

TIM NOONAN: He’ll kill himself by taking a deadly poison made from a ground up root called, timbo.

PAUL RAFFAELE: This is a true suicide cult and I wondered what is the reason for this?

TIM NOONAN: Why do so many people take the poison?

WAHIDIANI: A lot of Suruwaha take the poison because they miss each other.

TIM NOONAN: Wahidiani explains why they kill themselves … To be reunited with their relatives in the afterlife. His brother and sister have already taken the poison.

WAHIDIANI: And this one, then this one take the poison and it goes on forever.

Sunday Night executive producer, Mark Llewellyn, said he would vigorously defend the complaint.

13 Responses

  1. Hey David, don’t feel that you have to justify yourself to josh – your loyal readers would have detected any real bias and taken you to task over it long ago.
    Over the years there have been several commenters who have made a point of bickering with you in defence of Channel 9 – I’m sure its the same troll. I’m also sure that all the commercial channels have stooges who are tasked with commenting provocatively on this site.
    Now get out of the office, you’re supposed to be on hiatus 😉

  2. @ josh ken….Well, you have had your 15 minutes of fame…again I say….if you only wish to pick apart what DK does ‘on his own blog’ and you do not like what goes on in here….why bother even coming in if you are not happy?!?

  3. should this be a headline news?
    did david make headline news when other network change their setting?

    Nine News Perth adds new set
    By David Knox on March 14, 2012 / Filed Under News 2

    Good to see Nine News Perth launching a new set last night, one that matches Nine News on the East Coast.

  4. @josh ken – The article is in the Australian under the headline “Sunday Night probed over tribe’s infanticide portrayal”. I guess the Australian is biased for reporting the item in the first place. (LOL). Clearly you only read what you want to read.

  5. People! People! People! How do you think the poor guys at Ch 10 feel like when they read the comments after rating results each week on this site !!!! nine and seven have got it so easy

  6. @Josh Ken David is not beloved to any network if you had a look around this site then you would realize that

    You do a great job on this site David I am sure I speak for everyone when I say how much we appreciate what you do

  7. @ josh ken….if you have such a strong opinion about the so called bias of the person who runs this site….I just have one question….
    Why do you keep coming back!
    I do not always agree with the opinions expressed in here…both by David Knox and other folk posting…but those are my issues…not the people writing them….their opinions are not necessaraly mine and neither are my opinions their problem.
    I make the choice to both read and post.

  8. if you are reporting on the facts how can you be doing the wrong thing? why do we always have to worry about affending people with telling the truth?? if you are going to complain about public affairs and news programs dont watch them. Simple!

    ps, Josh, David runs an amazing website with all the news and gos from all the major networks and there multichannels. i guess the Sunday Night viewers love to complain about there show and yet complain when something negative is said about it.

  9. Pull your head in, josh. I just don’t see this supposed anti-Seven bias that you claim is in David’s writing altho’ I do see quite a few anti-Nine comments which, presumably you think David allows to give the appearance of balance or something.

    This site has been going from strength to strength over the 3 years or so that I’ve been lurking and commenting and I’m willing to bet that twelve months from now it’ll be doing just fine.

  10. wow. david managed to put a major headline against sunday night after its 100th episode.

    (i tried searching at acma site and could not even find the complain.)

    keep on putting down the network that is trashing your beloved network (nine) and this site will go nowhere.

    1. Josh: u won’t find evidence on ACMA site unless there is a breach, but click on The Australian link for more info. That’s why it’s there. Also check Sunday Night headline in Programming on Saturday and u will find no trashing of the show. While you are at it read the clean sweep ratings headline yesterday and read what you wrote again? Thanks.

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