Contains language

I bet you they won’t play this song on the radio
I bet you they won’t play this new (bleep) song
It’s not that it’s (buzzer) or (horn) controversial
Just that the (bell)-ing words are awfully strong

— Monty Python, I Bet You They Won’t Play This Song on the Radio

Last year, I missed mentioning one of the minor jewels of the NZ regulatory landscape: the report ‘Language That May Offend in Broadcasting’ from the Broadcasting Standards Authority.

There’s pretty wide agreement around the world that some words should be avoided in radio and TV, and that what language is appropriate would vary according to the setting.  A gritty crime drama would be allowed more license that the main news bulletin, and someone using “Jesus” to refer to the Christian messiah would be different from someone using the word just as an expletive. There’s often reference to “community standards”.  In a lot of places, though, “community standards” are just pulled out of the air or handed down in precedent.

The Broadcasting Standards Authority does a survey of New Zealand every few years, where they actually ask a representative sample of the population how they feel about various words in various contexts (and asks them to suggest other offensive words that weren’t listed).

This time, the BSA added some words or phrases from Samoan and Te Reo Māori. They also added a few English words that are pejorative references to particular groups — in contrast to religious references and content-free profanity, this sort of word has remained unacceptable or perhaps become more unacceptable.