Can anyone explain radio censoring laws?

[ainsane]

I was just wondering why Flow 93.5 censors the most rediculous things all the time in hip-hop, while Edge 102.1 allows "fuc|<" in some songs and hardly censors anything.

For example the most recent rediculous censoring I noticed was in Get Back by Ludacris. Here are the original lyrics:

See I caught him with a right hook, caught him with a jab, caught him with an upper cut, kicked him in his ass.

And from what I remember, here is what they muted (may not be exact).

See I caught him with a ***** ****, caught him with a ***, caught him with an ***** ***, kicked him in his ***.

Anyway, you get the picture. I can see muting swear words, and maybe even 'ass', but I think they go too far. Does anyone know why they go so far?

Thanks

[watson1987]

WBLK 93.7 which is a rap station from buffalo i listen to when i want some good rap used to sensor this one songs swearwords, with girls moaning

it was really funny, they did it good it almost sounded like the song, but i knew the song, but whats the point of sensoring something when you replace it with a female at her climax? :cheesygri

[jaigandhi5]

lol have u heard some of those condom ads??? :lol: where are the censor laws now? :lol:

now imagine being a 15yr old sitting in a car with ur parents...and the condom ad comes on... :o

[cliff]

because whoever is running the station can censor anything they want to. If the manager doesn't want the word "house" used they can censor it all they want.

Canadian laws are much more relaxed then american broadcast laws.

After 9-10 (can't remeber) you can play pretty much anything you want, listen to some late night campus/community radio to hear what I mean. Only exception is that the dj can not swear, although if the swear word is part of the song title/album/artist name then it is perfectly ok.

[Urist]

The CRTC doesn't tell anyone what they can or can't say on the air, they only listen for complaints from listeners and if you piss off a lot of listeners they get mad at you but as long as no one compains you can say as many four letter words as you want.

The Canadian Broadcast Standards council works much the same way except it's a self regulating organization of member broadcasters. Its supposed to stop stations from getting to deep in **** and getting the CRTC involved (which could mean losing a license and hefty fines). It's also volantary

One of the stations I work for plays nothing BUT album versions of songs because the demographic they are playing them for isn't about to get mad about hearing "****" on the radio. But thats a rock station, adult male demographic.

Now on a top 40 stations (not a far cry from urban truth be told, stations flip between those two formats all the time trying to find an audience) they have to deal with moms and dads, fundies, 13 year old girls, pretty much everyone and anyone. And letting a **** slip by in a song is sort of suicide because 30 christian fundie mommies with nothing better to do will phone the CBSC and the CRTC.

Honestly though, most of the complaints sent to the two organizations come from the competition. Its like a bunch of children ratting each other out when one of them takes to much candy. Most fundie mommies will phone the actual station or poor sap who happens to be in the control room and complain..

And like someone else said, it depends a lot on who owns it.

Most of the things i've seen stations get in trouble over is over "bits" that are full of sexual innuendo. Or say, making fun of asian drivers or something. Those generally don't go over too well.

[Kenneth]

I can't comment on the CRTC and or all Canadian radio stations but:

Flow 93.5 has had a long standing campaign (PSA) on "stop the violence" and preventing violence among urban youth. They even have skits about "putting down the gun".

So in that particular song lyric; promoting hitting some guy with an uppercut and then jabbing him wouldn't fall in line with the channels stop the violence message.

Being hypocritical to your listeners is far worse than denying freedom of expression to songwriters. It's similar in premise to the Christian television network airing Trojan commericials.

[gh05t]

In line with moralists theory it's all about "the greatest happiness for the greatest numbers" and in the litigous society we live in with something always falling in someones garden, the radio stations need to be politcally correct to in how they deliver their product to the public,

while you may be ok with the censored words, we know there will always be prudes and prissies who are not ok with it and waiting in the sahdow to make a mountain out of an antshill.

Many Hypocrits in society have no problem with their kids using the language or even themselves but must seemingly make their own selves seem moral and good in societies eyes in accordance with the mores and convnetions we are expected to live under in society and there is no greater opportunity to make a scene than when some public institution slips up on their censoring duties casting attention on them instead in order to make themselves seem more moral and righteous than others.

[ainsane]

Thanks for the replies guys... it makes complete sense to me now.

[Jabb]

lol have u heard some of those condom ads??? :lol: where are the censor laws now? :lol:

now imagine being a 15yr old sitting in a car with ur parents...and the condom ad comes on... :o
oh god that happens so much to me (I'm 16 now, but its still just as bad)