In May 2004, United States shock jocks Marconi and Tiny from Oregon were fired for playing an audio portion of the video of American citizen Nick Berg who was murdered in Iraq on their morning program.
The duo played it several times, accompanying it with music, jokes, and laughter over the scenes.
While the situation in South Africa has not reached such desperate proportions, with the deregulation and subsequent privatisation of the airwaves in 1996, radio stations came under pressure to devise strategies that would ensure they become broadcasters of choice for both listeners and advertisers.
For Highveld Stereo, says Primedia Broadcasting’s group general manager Ryan Till, theirs was to break the old mould.
Veteran radio personality and shock jock to some, Jeremy Mansfield, was their weapon. The former journalist joined the station in 1997 and his controversial on-air statements earned him and Highveld more than their fair share of controversy.
“I wouldn’t describe Jeremy as a shock jock really. In fact, we no longer use that term anymore because the intention is never to shock or create complaints,” says Till.
“Jeremy is intelligent about how he sees situations and we encourage our presenters to speak up on issues especially on our talk shows.”
Highveld station manager Ravi Naidoo admits though that initially having an outspoken figure like Mansfield was part of their strategy.
“With the privatisation of radio stations in 1996, considerable effort was made to set ourselves apart from the rest, and this was just one of the strategies we used.”
And it seems to have worked. Mansfield’s Rude Awakening Show has the third largest listenership in the country. It accounts for half of the 40 percent in revenue Primedia Broadcasting makes from Highveld.
Last year the station made R232,767,699 (AIS/Adex), slightly lower than Jacaranda’s breakfast show which is anchored by another controversial figure Kieno Kammies.
Jacaranda’s chief executive officer Mike Siluma told The Media earlier this year that Kammies’ show, Kieno and the Angels, has seen a 60 percent year-on-year increase amongst its LSM 8, 9 and 10 listeners and has a listenership of 310,000.
“I would like to reinforce that Jacaranda does not have or strive to have any ‘shock jocks’. The goal of Jacaranda personalities is to entertain our audience with intellectually stimulating content and to be the ‘family safe’ station where you don’t have to worry about being embarrassed in front of your kids because of something the personality said on the radio,” says Lloyd Madurai, station programme manager.
“Our personalities are given latitude as long as it is relatable to our target audience and is ‘family friendly’. We call this our ‘naughty and nice’ point of view.”
Kammies is no stranger to controversy. He made headlines last year when singer and Idols judge Mara Louw sued him for R1-million for defamation after he made fun of her, asking who would sleep with someone who looked like a grandmother.
He was responding to a newspaper report stating that Louw told an Idols contestant that with a body like hers, she would have to sleep with someone to get ahead.
In March this year, Kammies apologised to listeners after playing a clip from a comedy show on his programme which included words such as “fuck” and “shit” without any beeps.
Madurai says the show’s producer had mistakenly opened the unedited version of the clip.
Leading the pack however is 5FM’s breakfast show host Gareth Cliff, and his predecessor Mark Gillman who, according to the Broadcasting Complaints Commission of South Africa (BCCSA) records, had the most complaints filed against them in the past year.
Last year, the commission fined the SABC R10,000 after the commission upheld complaints over a riddle on Cliff’s afternoon drive show asking: “Who sucked Bill Clinton’s penis and is a senator?” The answer: Hilary Clinton. The BCCSA’s tribunal found the riddle irresponsible.
“This (having a higher number of complaints lodged against 5FM) is not a strategy, nor is it something we are proud or ashamed of,” explains Nick Grubb, 5FM programme manager.
“What’s more relevant is how many times a finding has gone against us. We win the vast majority of tribunal hearings, and countless other BCCSA complaints are dismissed before they get to tribunal stage.”
He, too, is adamant that Cliff is not a shock jock, reiterating that it’s not his station’s strategy to adopt this approach to their programming.
“When you target young adults, it is imperative that you talk about things that they relate to, in their own language. Hence as a drive show host, Gareth has frankly talked about the topics that interest his market – race, wealth, sex, relationships, politics, amongst others,” says Grubb.
Globally, there has been a trend toward music stations having more personality-based morning shows, particularly in formats targeting young adults as is the case with 5FM, adds Grubb.
“We generally find that the people who are ‘shocked’ by this realism in radio are often outside of the target market. Certainly there are times Gareth and other presenters will push the boundaries of good taste a little, but again, the intention is to become a medium that discusses issues of interest to its market in ways that they themselves would talk about them.”
BCCSA registrar Shoneez Martin says most of the complaints they receive seem to be governed by the listener’s dislike or perception of the show host. “What is strange is that in most cases even though that person might not like the presenter, they will continue tuning in to his show.”
The commission has no mandate to revoke broadcasters’ licences in cases where they constantly contravene clauses. The only step they can take is fine them, with R40,000 being the maximum fee.
But there is another danger.
“Broadcasters know that they can’t afford to have many judgements against them because these are taken into account when they apply to have their licences renewed.”
Highveld’s Naidoo says with the increased competition among stations to deliver better products, it is essential that programmes such as Mansfield’s Rude Awakening show continue to revamp itself.
The show has evolved since the introduction of co-presenter Darren “Whackhead” Simpson with Mansfield assuming a mentorship role. However its humour – satirical songs and prank calls – has not done much to keep the personalities out of trouble.
Naidoo says: “It’s impossible for one to remain a shock jock forever, regardless of how talented the presenter is.”
Indeed, he may have a point. Take former Yfm and Metro FM DJ Phat Joe – real name Majota Khambule.
Having blasted onto the radio and television scene in late 2000, Khambule soon became popular for his outspokenness. His on-air tactics, both on radio and television, resulted in him soon making enemies. Among these were former talk show host and businesswoman Felicia Mabuza-Suttle and Swazi King Mswati III.
In 2002, Mswati went as far as calling on his people to ‘deal’ with Khambule after he made fun of the way in which he picked his young brides. Phat Joe was also notorious for making fun of fellow radio presenters from other stations.
He disappeared from the scene about two years ago when ratings for his late night show, Phat Joe Live on SABC1 started dropping.
The question remains whether this is ultimately the path all shock jocks follow. Phat Joe is no longer with us and neither is Gillman. Who will be the next “naughty but nice” radio host to pack his bags? Watch this space.