UK TV and Radio News

The Music Marathon
Gold, 27 May 2019, 12:45

The Music Marathon is a music programme on Gold which is broadcast on AM radio in Manchester, London, Derby and Nottingham and nationally on DAB. The licences for these services are held by Global Radio Limited.

Ofcom received a complaint about offensive language (“yellow Chinkies”) in the music track Melting Pot, a song from 1969 by Blue Mink . No introduction to the track was broadcast, or any other content discussing it. The track included the following lyrics:

“Take a pinch of white man,
Wrap him up in black skin,
Add a touch of blue blood,
And a little bitty bit of Red Indian boy.
Oh, Curly Latin kinkies,
Mixed with yellow Chinkies,
If you lump it all together
And you got a recipe for a get along scene;
Oh what a beautiful dream
If it could only come true, you know, you know.

What we need is a great big melting pot,
Big enough to take the world and all it’s got
And keep it stirring for a hundred years or more
And turn out coffee-coloured people by the score”.

We considered that references in the lyrics (including “yellow Chinkies”, “Red Indian boy”, “curly Latin kinkies” and “coffee-coloured people”) raised potential issues under Rule 2.3 of the Code:

Rule 2.3: “In applying generally accepted standards broadcasters must ensure that material which may cause offence is justified by the context...Such material may include, but is not limited to, offensive language…discriminatory treatment or language (for example on the grounds of…race…) Appropriate information should also be broadcast where it would assist in avoiding or minimising offence”.

Global Radio said that it understood some of the lyrics in this song had the potential to cause offence but said that the other lyrics and the context of the time it was written and released mitigated the potential for offence. It said that the offensive language was not intended to be used in a derogatory fashion in the song. It said that the term yellow Chinkies was not used as an insulting term directed at a person of Chinese origin. The Licensee said that it is clear from the lyrics of the song that the message of the song is racial harmony, inclusivity and equality

The Licensee said that following the complaint notification from Ofcom, it had permanently removed the track from Gold's playlist.

Ofcom decision: Resolved

We considered that the use of the term yellow was a derogatory reference to the skin colour of Chinese people. We therefore considered that the phrase yellow Chinkies had the potential to be highly offensive.

Ofcom's research does not provide direct evidence for the offensiveness of the terms Red Indian boy , curly Latin kinkies and coffee-coloured people . However, Ofcom considered that Red Indian is generally understood to be a pejorative term in modern speech and is frequently replaced with Native American . Although the terms curly Latin kinkies and coffee-coloured people are not widely understood to be racial slurs in modern society, unlike the terms Chinky and Red Indian , we considered that they had the potential to cause offence because they could also be considered derogatory references to particular ethnic groups.

In our view, the potential offence caused by these lyrics may have been heightened by the cumulative effect of the repeated use of this language during the verse and chorus

In considering the context of the broadcast, Ofcom took into account that Melting Pot was released in 1969 by Blue Mink, and reached number three in the UK Singles chart and number 11 in Ireland in 1970. We considered that, although this song was popular at the time, the passage of time (nearly 40 years) may have not made it sufficiently well-known today to mitigate the potential for offence.

Ofcom also considered Global's argument that any offence was mitigated in this case by the positive intention of the song, which was a message of racial harmony.

We did not agree that this provided sufficient context to mitigate the potential for offence. The title Melting Pot, which may have provided an indication of the track's overall message, was not broadcast, nor was the song introduced with any contextual information that would have highlighted its overall message to listeners. There was also no other context provided to justify the broadcast of the offensive language.

For all of the reasons above, Ofcom's Decision is that this potentially offensive material was not justified by the context.

However, we took into account the steps taken by the Licensee following notification of the complaint from Ofcom. We acknowledged that it said it had removed the track permanently from Gold's playlist.

Our Decision therefore, is that this case is resolved.

Content from previous decades can be broadcast under the Code. However generally accepted standards clearly change significantly over time, and audience expectations of older content may not be sufficient to justify its broadcast. Where older material contains content, such as language, which has the potential to cause offence to today's audiences, broadcasters should consider carefully how to provide sufficient context to comply with Rule 2.3 of the Code.

Update: Please leave it alone. I just think it's ridiculous

13th September 2019. See article from dailystar.co.uk

Sixties band Blue Mink has blasted a radio station's decision to drop their racial harmony promoting song Melting Pot from its playlist.

TV censor Ofcom made a politically correct decision to ban the song after one listener complained about the lyrics when the song was played on Gold.

African-American lead singer Madeline Bell said:

It took years to suddenly decide in this politically correct time that we live in that it was an offensive and racist record. We're worrying about the lyrics of a protest song about making coffee-coloured people.  The song is 50 years old. Please leave it alone. I just think it's ridiculous.

Bell, ho performs Blue Mink songs as part of her solo routine, has vowed to continue performing Melting Pot.

High Society: Cannabis Cafe is a Channel 4 TV documentary .

Two-part documentary about Brits trying cannabis in a Dutch cafe, from curious rookies to a pair of ex-drug squad colleagues with opposing views on cannabis legalisation

Its good to hear that the programme has inspired the TV whinger Ann Widdecombe to return to moralising about TV. The Brexit Party MEP hit out at the show, saying:

For one of our channels to be filming it and showing it on our television amounts to showing an unlawful act.

The argument against legalising cannabis is not being heard enough but it's very straightforward. If you legalise cannabis, it is a gate-way drug. A study from the University of Amsterdam when I was shadow home secretary showed that as soft drug use increases, so does hard drug use. About 10 per cent of users go through the gateway.

The BBC has been investigating Jo Brand's controversial gag about throwing battery acid over Nigel Farage.

Appearing on Radio 4's Heresy show last June, comedian Jo Brand joked:

Certain unpleasant characters are being thrown to the fore, and they're very, very easy to hate.

And I'm kind of thinking, why bother with a milkshake when you could get some battery acid?

That's just me, sorry, I'm not gonna do it, it's purely a fantasy. But I think milkshakes are pathetic, I honestly do. Sorry.

Presumably she was referring to Nigel Farage being hit with a milkshake whist campaigning before the European elections.

Now the BBC's Editorial Complaints Unit [ECU] has judged that the joke went beyond what was appropriate for a Radio 4 comedy show, but it dismissed complaints that her remark amounted to incitement. A summary of the findings reads:

Whilst the ECU recognised that the wider message from this episode is an argument for more civility in political discourse, not less, and Ms Brand's contribution is not intended to be taken as face value, the ECU felt that it went beyond what was appropriate for the show.

The ECU also noted that in the right context and with the right treatment, there is no subject matter which should be beyond the scope of comedy.

The Nazi Pug: Joke or Hate? is a BBC 3 documentary.

Markus Meechan (known on YouTube as Count Dankula) is the victim of a travesty of justice as he was found guilty of posting a YouTube video judged grossly offensive and containing menacing, anti-Semitic and racist material. The video was a joke. but what does the prosecution of a YouTube comedian mean for freedom of expression. The BBC asks: is a censorious state overstepping the mark? Or are there some things you just shouldn't joke about?

BAFTA-nominated filmmaker Dan Murdoch (Britain's Forgotten Men; KKK: The Fight for White Supremacy) returns with this documentary following Markus as he explores London's comedy scene, to see what stand-ups can get away with, and why there's a backlash against edgy humour.

Matthew Berlow, of Glasgow Friends of Israel, said of the BBC documentary:

Are we really at the stage when we can now laugh at the painful deaths of six million human beings and call it edgy comedy?

Berlow has also called on YouTube to remove the original Count Dankula joke video that has know been viewed 4.3 million times. He claimed that YouTube is perpetuating the crime that Meechan was convicted of.

Ofcom has fined the news channel RT £200,000 for serious failures to comply with our broadcasting rules -- and required the channel to broadcast a summary of our findings to its viewers.

Ofcom has rules in place requiring broadcast news to be presented with due impartiality.

Our investigation found that RT failed to preserve due impartiality in seven news and current affairs programmes between 17 March and 26 April 2018.

Taken together, these breaches represented serious and repeated failures of compliance with our rules. We were particularly concerned by the frequency of RT's rule-breaking over a relatively short period of time.

The programmes were mostly in relation to major matters of political controversy and current public policy -- namely the UK Government's response to the events in Salisbury, and the Syrian conflict.

Ofcom decided to impose a financial penalty of £200,000; and direct RT to broadcast a summary of Ofcom's findings, in a form and on dates to be determined by Ofcom. We consider this sanction to be appropriate and proportionate. It takes into account the additional steps that RT has taken to ensure its compliance since we launched our investigations; and that we have not recorded any further breaches of our due impartiality rules against RT to date.

Ofcom will await the conclusion of RT's application for judicial review of our breach decisions before enforcing the sanction.

Ofcom has directed Trace UK World Ltd to broadcast a statement of findings in relation to antisemitic content broadcast by CSC Media Group (CSC), a subsidiary of Colombia Pictures.

The service Starz -- a UK satellite television channel which broadcasts music videos alongside texts and photographs submitted by viewers -- broadcast a viewer-submitted antisemitic caricature.

In this case, an image submitted by a viewer was shown, which depicted a cartoon caricature of a man wearing what appeared to be a prayer shawl (or tallit) which was decorated with a blue Star of David and blue and white stripes. The man was caricatured as having a large hooked nose and drooping eyelids. Set against a backdrop of gold coins, he was smiling widely and had his hands flat against his cheeks framing his open mouth.

Viewers pay for the broadcast of submissions and Ofcom therefore treats them as advertisements. Under the UK Code of Broadcast Advertising (BCAP Code), advertisements must be prepared with a sense of responsibility to the audience and to society. Advertisements must also not cause serious or widespread offence against generally accepted moral, social or cultural standards. Nor must they condone or encourage harmful discriminatory behaviour or treatment. Advertisements must not prejudice respect for human dignity.

After an investigation, Ofcom concluded that the serious nature of the breaches warranted the imposition of a statutory sanction. As a sanction, Ofcom directed that a statement of Ofcom's findings should be broadcast on a date and in a form to be determined by Ofcom.

Channel 4's preposterous Victorian-era comedy Year Of The Rabbit has raised a few eyebrows with its Neil Fromage character, cleared based on Nigel Farage.

Nigel Farage is now calling for Channel 4 to censor a scene which shows a right-wing politician been assassinated. Farage branded the scene as totally sick and frankly irresponsible.

In the period crime comedy a sniper is on the loose in London -- and one of his victims is a character called Neil Fromage, shot in the head while making a speech about the dangers of immigration.

Speaking to the Daily Star Sunday Farage criticised the show:

I think with Channel 4 we have reached a point where they are so partisan politically in everything they do that they now consistently go beyond what's acceptable.

A Channel 4 spokesman responded by pointing out it is a purposefully outrageous and heightened comedy featuring exaggerated and ridiculous fictional characters.