The Broadcasting Complaints Commission of South Africa (BCCSA) has found that 94.7 Highveld Stereo radio station contravened the Broadcasting Code by broadcasting references to explicit sexual acts during a popular entertainment programme in July.
In a statement on Wednesday, the BCCSA said a listener made the complaint after intimate sexual conduct was described during the programme while a large number of children were likely to have been listeners.
The listener said: ”I wish to draw your attention to the unacceptable conduct of Jeremy Mansfield on Thursday July 18, when he told a particularly vile and distasteful ‘traffic joke’ about anal sex, oral sex, sadomasochism, bestiality, and so-called golden showers (partners urinating on each other)…”
Mansfield is one of the radio station’s breakfast show team. The BCCSA held that for that time of the day, the references were too intimate and could be harmful to children.
The BCCSA said: ”The first question, which we addressed, was whether one could accept with certainty that a large number of children was not in the audience. The broadcaster’s representative argued that the school holidays were over at that time of July and that children were at school by 8.15am.
”We considered the matter and came to the conclusion that one could not simply accept that there was not a large number of children in the audience. The school holidays are particularly varied throughout South Africa and where children are involved, their interests must be afforded priority.”
The BCCSA decided that explicit references to intimate sexual activity, some of which (bestiality) was regarded as perverse by a large section of the community, should be limited to bona fide drama and documentary discussions after 9pm.
”We accordingly find that the Respondent has contravened the Broadcasting Code by broadcasting references to explicit sexual acts in a popular entertainment programme, during hours when there was likely to be a large number of children in the audience.
”The complaint is upheld. No sanction is justifiable since we have not, in the past, applied the watershed of 9pm to 5am for radio, the BCCSA said. – Sapa