Censoring Dire Straits on Canadian radio

[Devil Marlena Nylund]

This has been big news in Canada over the last few days. I guess earlier on (months ago), some woman reported to the CBSC (Canadian Broadcast Standards Council) about the use of the word "male who is into other males0t" in the song which resulted in CBSC having the song banned from radio if played in its original form.
The CBSC is where people go to when they have a complaint about what's going on on Canadian television and radio stations, such as this.

So now it has sparked a debate in Canada about censorship, the use of the word in music, the context of the word used in this particular song and how stations are choosing to act upon it.

I was surprised to learn that the n-word actually hasn't been banned from Canadian radio.
jam.canoe.ca/Music/2011/01/13/16877631.html
Not because we haven't gotten that far yet but because nobody's actually complained about hearing it on the radio. I think stations choose to censor it anyway but I don't think there's been a situation of a non-black artist using it in a record anyway that's gotten played on the air.
Of course some stations are taking a stand against the censorship by playing the song in its original form for a straight hour, which I think occurred last night.

My opinion? It shouldn't be banned. At least not in this particular case because it hinders more than helps. I'm typically not for most types of censorship but I just feel that this particular case uses the word more in a narrative way (a la Huckleberry Finn) and having it banned makes gay people look bad in the sense that someone complained about it. It's just one of those ridiculous things where you hear about it and say "really?". Besides, it had gotten radio airplay for 25 years before someone complained. Sure, society is changing but I don't think this is the right avenue for it to continue to change with.

jam.canoe.ca/Music/2011/01/14/16893416.html

[Deleted]

It's a really interesting debate. I'm not one who's particularly pro-censorship. I don't think swear words should be censored in books or newspapers, for example. I do, however, think the f-word and the n-word should be censored on the radio and that the "narrative" argument is stupid. Just because it's been getting airplay for 25 years doesn't mean it should continue to. Just because something's been going on a long time doesn't make it right.

I also think it's ridiculous that anyone's concerned with how the complaint makes gay people look. The fact that we live in a society that's so quick to victimise offenders is bizarre.

[Deleted]

I really can't get over the fact that the n-word isn't censored on Canadian radio and doesn't generate complaints. What a strange country.

[Devil Marlena Nylund]

It is censored on the radio. It's just not included in the list of words that rules it HAS to be censored. I think it hasn't been complained about because stations take it upon themselves to play the edited versions of the songs.

I think this might be similar to situations like classic songs removing references to race in older songs? I seem to remember stations having to play a new version of "play that funky music white boy" or something a few years back?

Anyway, what I meant about the complaining making gay people look bad is that sometimes I think the way someone goes about doing something needs to done in a way that doesn't cause needless conflict. Unfortunately, I think that's the world we live in and instead of fighting against people, things like this should be done in a way to compromise or otherwise simply not cause conflict. Personally, I hate that some gay organizations may be really quick to complain about certain things that aren't really worth the time.

I also think that sometimes there's too much focus on individual words and not on the surrounding context, such as in this example. That in itself I think doesn't give the listener much credit...

[Deleted]

Jan 15, 2011 14:26:33 GMT -5 Devil Marlena Nylund said:

I think this might be similar to situations like classic songs removing references to race in older songs? I seem to remember stations having to play a new version of "play that funky music white boy" or something a few years back?

That sounds an awful lot like one of those "political correctness gone mad!" myths that has been accepted as fact.

Jan 15, 2011 14:26:33 GMT -5 Devil Marlena Nylund said:

Anyway, what I meant about the complaining making gay people look bad is that sometimes I think the way someone goes about doing something needs to done in a way that doesn't cause needless conflict. Unfortunately, I think that's the world we live in and instead of fighting against people, things like this should be done in a way to compromise or otherwise simply not cause conflict. Personally, I hate that some gay organizations may be really quick to complain about certain things that aren't really worth the time.

If people don't want gay organisations causing problems for them they shouldn't use offensive words. End of story. Nobody wants to cause conflict, but people who are doing offensive things shouldn't get off lightly to avoid making a scene.

Jan 15, 2011 14:26:33 GMT -5 Devil Marlena Nylund said:

I also think that sometimes there's too much focus on individual words and not on the surrounding context, such as in this example. That in itself I think doesn't give the listener much credit...

Too much focus on the context is what's allowed the word gay to evolve into a schoolyard insult that just means bad that even gays use. Too much focus on context is why obnoxious white people think they have the right to use the n-word. The words are a problem in any context.

[Deleted]

This is weird. I thought this issue was dead 25 years ago. When people had an issue with the word in this song in the 80s when it came out, most of them didnt even understand the song and thought Dire Straits were a bunch of raging homophobes when the song is actually about ANOTHER person who holds ignorant views. I dont think the word should be played on the radio though and I guess in this case the majority of people who hear Money for Nothing dont understand that its from the point of view of an ignorant blue collar type character and might think the song is promoting homophobia and either get offended or actually agree with the characters views. The whole song should not be banned though. Thats ridiculous especially because the song EXPOSES ignorant views in a negative way so its pretty counterproductive to ban the whole song because an anti-gay slur is used.

[Deleted]

I am sure the band name in the thread title is spelled wrong on purpose

But anyway, banning classic material in any form because people today are paranoid is wrong

[KeepDeanWeird]

It's funny. Dire Striats actually censored themselves or, at least Warner, when they issued their first GHs. It included the 4:09 single version of MFN, which omits that part of the song.

[1shot]

Jan 15, 2011 13:48:46 GMT -5 @backintime said:

I really can't get over the fact that the n-word isn't censored on Canadian radio and doesn't generate complaints. What a strange country.

I have NEVER heard the N word on the radio. Are you even from Canada?

[Libra]

First...please fix the title.

Second...I agree with those that have said it shouldn't be censored. My reasoning has pretty much already been said, so I won't repeat it.

These days, I feel like the only time I ever hear it uncensored is on classic rock stations, and even then it's inconsistent (i.e. sometimes it's single-version length even there). Anywhere else, it's censored...the last time I heard it uncensored outside of classic radio was on my area's "Joe"-FM - and that was 5 years ago. It kind of makes me wish that a replacement edit that just censors the word and doesn't cut the whole verse would be more widely used for cases like these, but then again, if the original song wasn't 8 minutes long, that wouldn't be hard to do.

For those who haven't followed the thread over in the AC forum, I'm also a frequent listener of AT40: The 80s. I've only ever heard "Money For Nothing" at single-version length during those shows, though I'm inclined to think it's for that reason...length.

Incidentally...I have to think that the complainant in this case couldn't have heard this song before. It also wouldn't surprise me if it was a younger listener (then again, the song was #1 in the States on the day I was born and I've known about it for years now ).

[Deleted]

Jan 15, 2011 18:18:04 GMT -5 Libra said:

First...please fix the title.

Maybe its spelled that way for a reason. get it? ;)

[Deleted]

Jan 15, 2011 17:57:36 GMT -5 1shot said:

I have NEVER heard the N word on the radio. Are you even from Canada?

I was obviously referring to the first post which says "I was surprised to learn that the n-word actually hasn't been banned from Canadian radio."

[Devil Marlena Nylund]

It isn't among the list of words that are banned from radio. As I said, likely because stations have taken it upon themselves to censor it in the first place so it has never gotten to that point. The only reason why the equivalent f-word is on the list was because it made it to radio.

[Deleted]

The thread title implies this is a straight vs gay thing when it is really just about censorship

I did listen to the song today to remind myself that the word is actually in there. It is not a key element to the lyrics. There are certainly worse songs today to target than going after classic rock.

[Devil Marlena Nylund]

Apologies about the spelling of the title. I had just woken up when I started the topic and I've no idea why I spelled it that way.

[BlueSwan]

No words are censored in songs on danish radio. Not the f-word, not the n-word, not the danish version of words like that, nothing. Amazingly we haven't become morally currupt through exposure to those words yet. Perhaps we've got it right, then.

Oh, and nudity isn't censored on danish TV either.

[Devil Marlena Nylund]

I'm not completely sure about what's going on now. People are trying to get this rescinded. I'll try to keep up.

Words I've heard on Canadian radio include "sh1t" and of course "ass" and other lightweight words. Not sure about the f-word but I know I've heard it on tv. I think for the most part, radio stations edit upon their own discretion.

[Fresh]

www.billboard.biz/bbbiz/industry/record-labels/canadian-censor-to-revisit-ban-on-dire-strait-1004139899.story

Canadian Censor to Revisit Ban on Dire Strait's 'Money For Nothing'

Canada's TV regulator has ordered the country's radio censor to reconsider its ban on the Dire Straits song "Money For Nothing" on local airwaves.

The CRTC did not parse its decision Friday, unlike the Canadian Broadcast Standards Council, which listened to the 1980s Dire Straits hit song and concluded the use of the anti-gay slur male who is into other malesgot three times in its lyrics breached industry codes on human rights.

The TV and radio censor decided that "Money For Nothing" should not air on the Canadian airwaves uncut.

The ruling stemmed from a radio listener complaint about the Dire Straits song in Atlantic Canada.

"The CBSC's decision has elicited a strong public reaction and created uncertainty for private radio stations across the country," the CRTC said in its decision.

The regulator said it has received around 250 letters from Canadians since the CBSC decision, most of which opposed the ruling and have been passed on to the broadcast censor.

The CBSC, which referees the Canadian airwaves on behalf of broadcasters, faced little blowback when it tackled Howard Stern and The Mighty Morphin Power Rangers for breaching industry codes.

But ruling a British pop song which hasn't aired widely on the radio for a quarter-century, and which questioned MTV's star-making machinery with apparent irony, has struck a chord among Canadians quick to criticize political correctness and the Nanny State.

The CRTC was also apparently forced to respond to the censorship debate after a host of radio stations in the last week defied the CBSC decision and aired the original version of "Money For Nothing" unedited.

[KeepDeanWeird]

On Monday, I was watching the Wild at Edmonton Oilers game and the arena played MFN in the first period. It can't be coincidence. LOL.

[KelownaGuy20]

Jan 22, 2011 12:14:06 GMT -5 KeepDeanWeird said:

On Monday, I was watching the Wild at Edmonton Oilers game and the arena played MFN in the first period. It can't be coincidence. LOL.

That was probably to distract you from the Oilers.