TALK RADIO 702 - Song Broadcast Allegedly Contained Racially Derogatory Lyrics

The Respondent, a talk-radio, broadcast a particularly racially derogatory song, recorded by a singer, known for his outrageous songs.Warnings of the offensive content were broadcast beforehand and just before the broadcast. The hosts who dealt with the matter accentuated that the intention of the broadcast was to elicit discussion about freedom of speech and its limits, if any.The Commission held that the broadcaster had exercised due care in only broadcasting less than 20 seconds of the abusive language and that it expressed itself clearly against the content of the language. Ultimately the broadcast amounted to a bona fide discussion programme, which was justified by the legal concept of public interest (to be distinguished from “interest of the public”, which could, at times, for some amount to nothing more than an interest in sensationalist material).Had the song simply been broadcast without comment and thorough bona fide discussion, the BCCSA would most definitely have found that the material amounted to hate speech and that it was likely to harm race relations in terms of the Broadcasting Code.The Commission expresses no opinion on the question whether the persons involved in the original production is guilty of a crime or liable to civil damages. That is a matter for the Courts to decide upon. The present hearing deals exclusively with the question whether the Respondent contravened the Broadcasting Code by broadcasting part of the song so as to elicit a bona fide discussion on the subject of freedom of speech.Complaints dismissed.