[cma-l] Offensive language on Radio

Wed Sep 21 18:31:43 BST 2011

Ian n' all

Sorry for pulling you up mate, but I don't think anyone has actually said
they don't want to suppress offensive language??    What they have pointed
out is that it isn't as straightforward as you think.

Regards

Nick

  _____  

From: cma-l-bounces at mailman.commedia.org.uk
[mailto:cma-l-bounces at mailman.commedia.org.uk] On Behalf Of Ian Hickling
Sent: 21 September 2011 16:14
To: julian at 10radio.org; cma-l
Subject: [cma-l] Offensive language on Radio

Julian
Can I take you up on your last paragraph:

So getting back to the original point, a regulatory system which relies upon
stations having fully resourced staff and management teams presents extra
challenges for volunteer run stations such as ours.   If, at the meeting in
October, Ofcom seem inclined to move towards increased regulation or
expectations, I would ask that the Jaqui and the CMA represent the
difficulties that this will pose for stations operating with minimal
resources.

The Regulatory System doesn't and can't specify or rely on the level of
staff resources that a station has available.
It simply states the rules and enforces them where there is a need.

You don't have to have enormous resources and dozens of trained staff to
keep to the basic rules.
You just have to engage, train, brief and supervise them properly.
Those are surely the very basic requirements of people management in any
business.
I totally reject the perpetual whinge that because people are volunteers you
can't impose a level of discipline.

You don't learn to drive, get a licence, buy a car and then complain about
having to stop at red lights.
You don't get a licence, run a radio station and then complain about having
to suppress offensive language.

Where on earth is the problem?
------------------------------------

Ian Hickling
Partner
transplan UJK

  _____  

From: julian at 10radio.org
To: cma-l at commedia.org.uk
Date: Wed, 21 Sep 2011 12:31:09 +0100
Subject: Re: [cma-l] Offensive language on radio - how to avoid the pitfalls

Interesting debate.

It does seem that there are two models of community radio. 

One is a radio station that happens to use community and voluntary
resources.  The operational style is probably very similar to commercial
radio.

The other is a community project that happens to produce radio.  

It's not to say one is better than the other, and I'm sure some stations
combine both.  But we very much fall into the second model.

Hardly anyone had previous radio experience before we setup six years ago,
but we had lots of community development experience.  We setup primarily to
do community development.  In that context, we're not going to be negligent
and we're not going to ignore what we have signed up to do.  But we are
going to be realistic about what volunteers can be expected to do, and what
they can achieve and deliver in the absence of full-time hands-on
management.  From the conversations I've had, people from the more
commercial and possibly top down model really struggle with this approach.
But it works for us, it works for our community, and from what Ofcom have
said having monitored our output, it works for them as well.

So getting back to the original point, a regulatory system which relies upon
stations having fully resourced staff and management teams presents extra
challenges for volunteer run stations such as ours.   If, at the meeting in
October, Ofcom seem inclined to move towards increased regulation or
expectations, I would ask that the Jaqui and the CMA represent the
difficulties that this will pose for stations operating with minimal
resources.

Julian

............................................................................
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