Under public pressure, CRTC requests review of CBSC’s Dire Straits decision

In a nod to public pressure, the CRTC on Friday asked the Canadian Broadcast Standards Council (CBSC) to review its Jan. 12 decision that said the word “faggot” in a Dire Straits song breaches the council’s code of ethics. The CRTC said it received 250 letters from across Canada about the council’s decision, almost all of which said the CBSC made an incorrect decision and urged the commission to “take corrective action.” The CRTC is now transferring those letters to the CBSC, and in a formal request, asked the council to appoint a national panel to reconsider its decision taking into account the public outcry. One industry source close the situation said it became too politicized, and that the CRTC is reacting to public pressure. The source said that the CBSC decision became widely misunderstood, with many people believing that the song was banned when in reality only the word “faggot” was censored. “A slightly heavy-handed decision was made. The press blew it out of proportion, and the public misinterpreted it,” the industry insider said. “As a result, there have been a lot of other organizations that have been inappropriately targeted by people who think something more sinister is going on here.” In a controversial decision on Jan. 12, the CBSC—a self-regulating broadcasting standards council comprised of private broadcasters—said its Atlantic regional panel had reviewed the Dire Straits song “Money for Nothing” and determined that it violates the human rights clauses of the council’s code of ethics. The commission noted in its letter to the CBSC that much of the correspondence it received “mistakenly … assumed that it was the Commission, and not the CBSC, that determined that the version of the Dire Straits song containing the contested derogatory word was inappropriate for radio airplay.” The CRTC acknowledged that the public has perceived an “overlap of responsibilities between the Commission and the CBSC,” which has “created uncertainty for the public and for radio stations requiring information on the continued appropriateness of playing that version of the song.” The CBSC said in a statement Friday that it will honour the request with the appointment of a national panel to deal with the “Money for Nothing” decision “in light of additional information about the song that has been, and will be, forwarded to the CBSC by members of the public from across Canada. It will complete the review as expeditiously as possible.” Ron Cohen, a spokesman for the council, said in an interview that although the Dire Straits decision arose from a “distinguished panel” in Atlantic Canada, it was not a national panel decision, and the commission’s request for a national review is reasonable given the national reaction. Although the CRTC does not have authority to order the CBSC to do anything, he said, the CRTC can forward complaints to the council and it would “not be appropriate for us not to respond in a positive way.” In its letter, the CRTC said it expects the council to seek public comments on the issue and that, in the review, the council should consider the context of the word used in the song; the age and origin of the song; the prominence of the “contested word and the use of that word over time”; and the length of time and frequency the song has played on the radio. The CBSC conducted the review of the Dire Straits song after a listener to CHOZ-FM in Newfoundland complained that the offensive word in the song was discriminatory to gays. CHOZ-FM argued that it edits offensive songs when necessary and that “Money for Nothing” is a popular song with significant airtime since its release in the 1980s and that it has won music industry awards. But the CBSC decision said the word “faggot” has “fallen into the category of unacceptable designations on the basis of race, national or ethnic origin, colour, religion, age, gender, sexual orientation, marital status or physical or mental disability.” It said radio stations could play the song without running afoul of the council’s code if the word was “edited” out. Some stations outright protested the decision. Last week, Edmonton classic rock station K-97 aired the song repeatedly for an hour in what it said was support for freedom of expression. "If you look at the context of the term, it's an artistic portrayal of a bigoted person looking at the successes and riches of the music industry," Patrick Cardinal, operations manager for the Edmonton Radio Group and Newcap Radio, told the QMI Agency last week. "In terms of our listeners, they absolutely support our right to play this song and the right to hear it in its entirety. If we get a CBSC complaint about this, we will vigilantly defend our right to play this song.” “Two cheers for Edmonton’s K-97,” the National Post’s Kevin Libin wrote last week, adding that the CBSC found the “Money for Nothing” song “unfit for airplay in Canada, 25 years after it topped the charts. The reason: because a listener to Newfoundland’s OZ-FM heard it, and complained.” David Bray, a radio broadcasting expert and principal at Bray & Partners Communications in Toronto, said in an interview that the CRTC move was “astute.” Bray said it’s not easy for radio stations to edit words out of songs. “It’s not the broadcaster’s place to do that. It’s easier said than done. You have to go back to the original track, and I’m sure the artist, Mark Knopfler, would just tell you to take a flying leap,” he said. “You’re going to ban ‘Money for Nothing’? What’s next? It’s a classic rock classic.” Bray said that although a national panel is likely to overturn the Atlantic panel’s decision, “anything is possible.” The CBSC is an independent, self-regulatory body that administers professional broadcasting codes created by Canada’s private broadcasters. It counts as its members about 760 radio stations, satellite radio services, television stations and specialty channels. When asked whether the Atlantic panel’s decision on the “Money for Nothing” song tested the council’s power, Cohen said, “Was it a new test? No. It fits into the normal environment of what we do.” It’s not the first instance that the CRTC has requested a CBSC review of an issue. In 2009, the commission referred to the council more than 200 complaints about Radio-Canada’s New Year’s Eve variety program Bye Bye 2008. Most of the complaints were about representation of blacks in comedy sketches on the show. sdoyle@thewirereport.ca

Under public pressure, CRTC requests review of CBSC’s Dire Straits decision

Broadcast | January 21, 2011

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