Media News

The media regulator Ofcom was criticised for its negligence after it failed to act against EMAP Performance TV for exposing children to racist, anti-African and sexually explicit material in its broadcasts in June 2007. Complaints were made to the regulator after Kiss TV broadcast a video including scenes of topless lap dancers, lyrics promoting the racist n word and use of derogatory, misogynistic language. There were also separate complaints about a music video which featured ‘skimpily dressed females writhing around in an erotic fashion in a wrestling ring’.

Emap Performance TV ‘apologised’ to all who had been offended by the material which breached Rules 1.4, 1.17 and 1.18 of the Ofcom Broadcasting Code. The rules in this section require that people under eighteen are protected from material that is unsuitable.

Ofcom said “in view of the explicit and erotic nature of the material and the inclusion of offensive language in these broadcasts before the watershed, we consider that both of these broadcasts are in serious breach of the Code”.

Despite this, Ofcom still ‘welcomed’ the broadcasters apology despite this being the second and third breaches of the Code it has recorded this year against music channels owned and operated by Emap Performance TV for broadcasting inappropriate material pre-watershed.

Ofcom are infamous for their lack of consistency in the enforcement of their Code. The media regulator recently fined the BBC £50,000 for deliberately deceiving children who participated in the naming of a cat on the Blue Peter programme. It emerged that the preferred name for the cat as voted in a viewer poll was disregarded by the Blue Peter team. Whilst the misnaming of a cat warranted financial penalty and ultimately resulted in the sacking of the Blue Peter editor, Ofcom continues to permit the broadcast of the racist anti-African n word, which denigrates African people and their Ancestors and misogynistic ideology attacking African women.

A spokesperson from the Ligali organisation, which has challenged Ofcom on its selective application of the Code for a number of years, added that this was not a surprising move from the regulator and was generally expected. “Ofcom continue to approach issues relating to anti-African content with a lackadaisical attitude. As they become increasingly consistent in their inconsistent application of their own Code, it is clear that this is less about Ofcom making naïve decisions and more a case of deliberately permitting the broadcast of offensive material directed at and about African people. This would lead any thinking person to conclude that the organisation is defiantly racist with no intention of changing”.