A bid to defend Palmerston North's reputation after a satirical television spot made fun of the city has failed to get traction from the Broadcasting Standards Authority.
The BSA has determined that TV One's Close Up programme did not breach standards of accuracy and fairness in an item last year called "Worst Town", in which a reporter mocked the city as "flat, boring, windy".
Manawatu Standard editor Michael Cummings complained to TVNZ that archive footage in the October 1 item deliberately misled viewers.
The report, which looked at Destination Manawatu's $300,000 campaign to drive visitors to the region, used archive footage of The Square and other landmarks that predated a $24 million CBD redevelopment in 2005.
Mr Cummings said the archive footage was used to reinforce the view that the city was "unattractive and boring" and was unfair to Palmerston North residents.
TVNZ responded that the item was "light-hearted and amusing" and the use of the archive footage had not been unfair.
It was common practice to use archive footage alongside contemporary shots, and the footage in question only took up 27 seconds of the four minutes 45 second item.
The reporter said she did not think Palmerston North was unattractive and boring, saying: "I actually had a good time there."
Mr Cummings took his complaint to the BSA, which last week determined the use of the footage was not inaccurate or misleading.
"We consider that the footage was too brief for viewers to draw any conclusions about Palmerston North's image, or its appeal as a visitor destination," authority chair Peter Radich said.
Mr Cummings said he did not agree with the decision but said it was "irrelevant" whether it was upheld.
"The point of the complaint was to send a message that the people of this city are no longer going to roll over every time someone flings mud at us."
NZPA