Wankers at 2REM

Community station 2REM Albury has breached the offensive language Code of Practice by broadcasting the song I’m a Wanker in August 2013.
 
The ACMA found that the station breached the code after grandparents complained about the wording of the song and the way their complaint was handled.
 
The complainant advised the ACMA that:

  • on Sunday 11 August 2013 at approximately 4:20pm, 2REM broadcast a song, titled, I’m a Wanker, that contained crude and offensive lyrics and was not appropriate for broadcast at that time of day;
  • the announcers comments following the song were inept; and
  • the station failed to constructively respond to the complaint.

In making the complaint to 2REM, the complainant made the following statements:

  • I wish to register my complaint in the strongest possible terms about the broadcasting of a so called song by an announcer on your station;
  • upon completion of the offensive song the announcer made the comment along the lines ‘and I don’t want to hear any complaints; we are all grown up’; and
  • three of my four local grandchildren were with us visiting… The eldest aged eight came and asked what a ‘wanker’ was and also asked how do you play ‘pud’, can we have a game.

 
The licensee stated that:

  • an oversight by one of our volunteers resulted in the original letter to the complainant not being posted, but inadvertently filed;
  • 2REM has now sent the original letter and further correspondence to the complainant, offering a sincere apology for the offence caused by the original broadcast and for the subsequent oversight;
  • 2REM does not condone this type of behaviour from its presenters;
  • the presenter has been suspended for one month and given a severe warning by the 2REM board of directors; and
  • the song has been removed from the 2REM computer system.

The ACMA describes the song, I’m a Wanker, as “a satirical piece about masturbation.” At the end of the song, the announcer stated, ‘No complaints please. We’re all grownups, aren’t we?”
 
The Community Radio Broadcasting Code of Practice section 3 says

3.2       We will attempt to avoid censorship where possible. However, in our programming decisions we 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.
 

The ACMA found that the licensee breached Code 3.2 and also the complaint handling guidelines in Code 7. Read the full report here.

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