Sunrise (TV Program) - Controversies

Controversies

In 2003 an interview aired live with Sue Butler from the Macquarie Dictionary on the topic of swearing and what was acceptable.

Sue Butler: Today's taboos are all about labels that you use for people. So that the sentence, "you are a" is practically a no no. You cannot use...

David Koch: Even if you use boofhead.

Sue Butler: Even if you use boofhead because you're putting it in the same context as things which are clearly rude. You know: "You are a fuckwit." Well, obviously we know that's bad.

Doyle and Koch immediately ended the interview and apologised afterwards. This did not prevent angry viewers writing and emailing in complaints over the interview.

In 2006, a number of people including Sunrise presenters David Koch and Melissa Doyle, news presenter Natalie Barr, executive producer Adam Boland and Melbourne news presenter Jennifer Keyte and former Today Tonight host Naomi Robson faced court convictions over a story run in 2004 relating to a 14-year old boy who "divorced" his mother. Under the Victorian Children and Young Persons Act, it is prohibited to publish the identity of a child involved in Children's Court proceedings. While the Sunrise cast and crew were cleared of any wrongdoing, the Seven Network itself was ultimately held responsible.

Upon the rescue of trapped miners Brant Webb and Todd Russell in the aftermath of the Beaconsfield mine collapse, David Koch was invited into an ambulance. This led to rival Channel Nine and Today labelling him an "ambulance chaser".

On 4 December 2006, David Koch read the joke of the day, which received public outcry. The Sunrise website quoting:

Kochie's joke of the day is being rested today after a controversial one yesterday. He got in a little strife from his big bosses. We're currently deciding whether to keep Kochie's joke. What do you think?

The joke went along the lines of:

John Howard went skiing and his bodyguard saw 'John Howard is a Dork' peed into the snow...Johnny went off and told his guard to get a sample of it and find out who did it at all costs...The guard returned a day later and said we have good and bad news...Johnny asked what the good news was, and the guard retorted that it was Kim Beazley's urine...Johnny says right, he's stuffed now – throw the book at him...What's the bad news? The guard grins and says it was in Janette's handwriting.

In April 2007, reports surfaced that the show was lobbying Vietnamese authorities to hold an ANZAC Day dawn service early so it could be broadcast live on television in Australia. Koch denied on-air that any such lobbying had occurred. His claim was proven false upon the release of email communications from the office of then opposition leader Kevin Rudd. After considerable political fallout over the alleged request, opposition leader Kevin Rudd and Liberal minister Joe Hockey decided to end their regular weekly appearances on the program.

On the 18 March 2008 episode Koch and Doyle were ambushed by a group of protesters chanting and carrying placards that claimed "Channel 7 doesn't pay", a reference to controversy surrounding the reported non-payment of winnings to National Bingo Night audience members and home viewers. The group, posing as fans of guest Keith Urban, were driven away by security. Koch later blamed the incident on the Nine Network's A Current Affair, a theory that was lent credence when the same protesters appeared on that night's episode of the program. Both Koch and co-host Melissa Doyle promised to look into their allegations but later simply read a statement from the network.

In April 2010, a scheduled concert for Canadian teen singer Justin Bieber, at Circular Quay, Sydney was cancelled at 5:00 am by order of police after the crowd of more than 5,000 people (mainly teenage girls) had begun a crowd crush and were ignoring the orders of the crowd controllers. Eight people were taken to hospital for their injuries and others suffered from hyperventilation. The outdoor concert was then moved to the Sunrise studios at Martin Place. Sunrise had been promoting the concert for two weeks beforehand, creating a significant amount of excitement and anticipation. It was also alleged that Bieber swore at a floor manager but was re-assured by Bieber's regular sound technician that "he tells us that all the time". Bieber, however, has denied this, publicly denouncing the claims as "lies and rumors" spread by "adults". The concert for singer Usher, scheduled for 21 May, more than three weeks after the Bieber incident, required fans to register for a free ticket online in order to attend the concert, however the tickets quickly ran out as a result of scalpers. When more tickets were promised later in the week, the website crashed as soon as the ticket distribution began, causing many fans to miss out. When Bieber returned to perform on the show on 18 July 2012, a number of measures were put in place to avoid the issues that arose in these previous instances.