CANADA – The Canadian Broadcast Standards Council (CBSC) has amended an earlier ruling which said that radio stations must censor the song “Money for Nothing” by Dire Straits which includes the homophobic slur “faggot.”
The original decision was rendered Jan. 12, 2011. In it, the CBSC concluded that the broadcast of the original version of the song, which included the word “faggot” three times, breached the Human Rights and other clauses of the CAB Code of Ethics and the CAB Equitable Portrayal Code. There was considerable public reaction to the decision from across the country, expressed both in e-mails as well as in the print and electronic media.
After reviewing the decision, the body now says that the word, although offensive, must be taken in context and radio stations have the right to play what their listeners want to hear. The CBSC said in a press release, “The National Panel wishes to make perfectly clear to those persons who have commended the CBSC for its “brave” position regarding the disapproval of the hateful and painful term that it is not abandoning that position or the CBSC’s sensitivity to their concern. It is only saying that there may be circumstances in which even words designating unacceptably negative portrayal may be acceptable because of their contextual usage. The ad hoc National Panel finds this one such occasion.”
