“Audiences don’t necessarily know what’s good for them,” Amanda Keller told delegates in a conference session discussing codes and regulation, called the Sounds of Decency. She argued that presenters should be aware of how far they can go.

As a stand up comedian Merrick Watts said lots of comedians use the F word on stage, including himself, but he says it is not suitable for radio, because it can offend the audience, but more importantly because it leads to lazy radio. “Some people use it as a substitute making a bit more effort and creating clever comedy.”

Presenters can get away with being smutty with subtlety, but if you swear people start to notice and complain, especially if they are listening with kids in the car, said Keller.

In the same session Derryn Hinch told the audience he generally tries not to swear on air, but that, in a talk radio context, when it is necessary it is very powerful.

The topic of censorship of the pictures shown on digital radio screens was raised, but none of the panel had thought much about it, although they expected that the crunch would come one day when someone went too far and put on a picture that offended decency and taste.

The trio discussed a range of controversial current issues, including the internet, with Hinch warning, “always check your sources, there is a lot of garbage on the internet.”

Keller was worried about the invasion of privacy happening on air and on the internet these days, but Hinch disagreed, saying the media must “fight the creeping trend” of excessive privacy laws.

The last word in the session goes to Merrick, who gave the best advice on how not to get your station in trouble, “hire decent people and you’ll have a decent industry.”