Listening to music on my local community radio station the other evening I was surprised to hear the presenter announce that if listeners were offended by bad language then it would be best to tune into something else “…there are lots of stations to listen to”.
The guy behind the microphone then played a commercial / sponsor message – which I would not have heard had I taken his advice.
“We speak the language of our generation,” said the presenter as it approached 9pm. “We have free speech.” Is that right?
What followed was repeated use of the ‘F’ word along with some shouting and yelling. Eventually, a song was played, and that too featured offensive words and phrases. At which point I took his advice and tuned to another station (London Soul Radio).
Yes we do enjoy freedom of expression in Australia. But this freedom comes with responsibilities. Yes, the guy behind the microphone is free to say what he likes on air. But free speech is not absolute. There are social norms to take into account. From a business point of view, is there anything to be gained by turning listeners away?
Sometimes there are consequences. These can include station supporters walking away, advertisers pulling their business, and listeners – having been encouraged to find another station – never returning.
Australian common law [PDF] recognises the limits to free speech in relation to the criminal law of incitement and conspiracy, and in obscenity and sedition. But is there a specific law preventing people from swearing on the radio? I don’t think there is.
However, swearing in public is an offence. Lyons Law Group states that in Victoria it is illegal to use offensive language in public. Although I doubt few people are ever arrested for swearing in the street.
And I’m not sure free speech campaigners dedicate themselves to the cause to give people an excuse to use foul language in a radio broadcast that’s heard across the district and around the world online.
Turning to page 327 of the excellent Essential Radio Skills, I’m reminded that radio is more personal than TV, and that listeners treat radio as a friend – “so swearing is much more intrusive”.
Strangely, the book’s brief section on offensive language only refers to guests and phone callers. It never occurred to award-winning broadcaster and author Peter Stewart to advise radio show presenters not to swear on air.
However, it seems community radio station managers have a free hand when it comes to sanctioning explicit language on air.
The CBAA’s current codes of practice (code 3.2) states that stations will “consider our community interest, context, degree of explicitness, the possibility of alarming the listener, the potential for distress or shock, prevailing Indigenous laws or community standards and the social importance of the broadcast”.
In June 2025, these codes will be replaced, and the advice then will be that “programming decisions will align with contemporary community standards“. Whatever they are.
Most professional broadcasters have a ‘dump’ button to prevent anything offensive going to air. But when it’s the presenters being offensive – and repeatedly so – the dump button is in the hands of listeners and supporters.