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F-Words Galore. To Swear or Not to Swear on Air?

It was certainly one of this year’s more memorable Australian radio moments. For all the wrong reasons.

A high profile NRL (Australia’s National Rugby League) player swore multiple times during a live interview with Triple M, immediately after his side blew a second half comeback to lose an important game.

“It’s all right mate, honestly, f**k, it was shit in the first bit, just a hard game … f**k, we showed what we were about … but I’m very happy, scored 100 tries so that’s something to celebrate tonight. Yeah, everyone doesn’t give a f**k, but anyways.”

“I don’t care if I’m swearing boys, honestly.”

Online sporting sites joined the pile on: “It’s disappointing when he knows kids are listening and he says he doesn’t care that he’s swearing.”

Others asked: How many small children would actually be listening to Triple M’s NRL coverage at 10 o’clock on a Thursday night?

2GB Afternoons host Michael McLaren raised an interesting topic this week when he questioned whether swearing has lost its potency. Have we become so desensitised to it, that we now just accept it as part of our everyday speech?

McLaren says there was once a time where you’d never swear within earshot of a stranger. But now it’s a bit of a free-for-all, if a recent trip to his local shopping centre was any indication.

“I couldn’t believe how many people were just openly swearing as they went about their business, either chatting on the escalator or using the phone – you name it.”

“F-this, F-that, F-off, F-me, for F’s sake, I’ll be effed! And they were the jovial ones!”

McLaren notes that swearing can be effective and funny in some instances. Take Billy Connolly’s brand of comedy, for example.

“Today, the F-word, the S-word – let alone the old C-bomb – seem to weave their way into every second sentence you’re going to hear.”

Use of the F-bomb is so common in the podcasting realm, most of us would barely even notice it.

But imagine applying it to some of history’s most famous quotes:

“God save the Queen, because nothing will save the f**king Governor General.”

“That’s one small step for man, one giant f**king leap for mankind.”

“Frankly, my dear, I don’t give a f**king damn.”

Swearing on radio is regulated by the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) and varies based on the context, time of broadcast, and the type of content in question.

A decade ago, a bunch of kids broke into a community radio station in Western Australia’s remote Kimberley region and managed to put themselves to air, for a live, impromptu, late-night show full of swearing.

The first that police knew of it was when a listener phoned them, concerned that swear words were being heard on the local airwaves.

Have standards declined? Does it matter if schoolkids swear like sailors? Are we just taking the lazy way out?

You be the judge.

First published by RadioToday. Read original here