Legends and experts label FM radio segments, chats ‘filth’, say it is dumbing down our society
THE fight for ratings among Sydney’s FM breakfast radio teams has become a race to the bottom, with industry legends labelling it “filth” and experts worrying it is adding to the dumbing of society.
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ASKING women to reveal what they have “smuggled in your vaginas”, joking about getting an Aboriginal into the station to “teach you a lesson, maybe a spear in the leg”, 12 minutes discussing “w … ing at work” and a rule of “one homo song a day”.
The fight for ratings among Sydney’s FM breakfast radio teams has become a race to the bottom, with industry legends labelling it “filth” and experts worrying it is adding to the dumbing down of society.
A close look at what listeners heard during one week last month, starting on Tuesday, June 20 reveals a lot about the city’s most popular breakfast hosts — The Kyle and Jackie O Show on KIIS, Triple M’s Grill Team, Fitzy & Wippa on Nova, WSFM Pure Gold’s Amanda Keller and Brendan Jones, and 2 Day FM’s The Em Rusciano Radio Show with Harley Breen.
It comes as new ratings show more people are tuning into the more family friendly and music-driven SmoothFM, whose duo of Bogart Torelli and Glenn Daniel are snapping at the heels of long-time brekkie juggernauts Kyle Sandilands and Jackie O.
They have picked up more than 13,000 more listeners daily in the most recent radio survey, giving them just 8000 fewer than top dogs Kyle and Jackie O.
Over more than 75 hours, the worst offenders at turning the airwaves blue were the KIIS couple.
RELATED: KYLE SANDILANDS REVEALS HOW MUCH HE MAKES ON KIIS FM
At one point, self-proclaimed king of radio Sandilands said he’d “always wanted the body of a black man — and the penis as well”.
He went on to say “men should never take selfies unless you’ve got your old fella out and you’re holding it down near your knee”. Sandilands also asked callers to ring in and reveal, “What have you smuggled in your vaginas, ladies?”
At one point, when talking about National Aborigines and Islanders Day Observance Committee week, Sandilands told “intern” Pete Deppeler: “I think all the Aborigine should come here and teach you a lesson, maybe a spear in the leg.”
Bolstered this year, the Commercial Radio Codes of Practice ban material that “is likely to incite … severe ridicule of any person or groups of person because of age, ethnicity, nationality, race, gender, sexual preferences”. It also says “program content must not offend generally accepted standards of decency”.
Newcomers Rusciano and Breen count among their regular segments “Poo Chat”.
On the Thursday listeners heard the pair spend 12 minutes discussing “w … ing at work”
And the next day in reference to giving away a SodaStream as a prize, Rusciano joked: “A sparkling bath on your scrotum. What if you dipped your bits into a bucket of mineral water?”
Meanwhile, controversial comments also found a home on Pure Gold’s Amanda and Jonesy, with Jones telling listeners they should have a new thing: “One homo song a day.” He made the remarks after playing a Cher track.
Industry veteran John Laws — who admits he only listens to ABC Classic FM these days — slammed the current crop of stars as “just plain filth”.”
They’re all seeking attention,” Laws told The Daily Telegraph. “The standard has certainly been lowered and it’s unfortunate.”
And Laws questioned why Sandilands thought he had to resort to the lowest common denominator.
“He’s got enough talent to not behave like that; he shouldn’t have to resort to that kind of rubbish,” Laws said.
On Nova’s Fitzy & Wippa, the popular duo spent a large segment on the complexities of “s … ing the bed”.
While discussing rugby league, Triple M’s Grill Team ventured into the issues of anal beads and dildos.
Social researcher Mark McCrindle said FM radio had helped “dumb down” culture. “As a society we’re experts in popular culture and celebrity and yet do not know some of the basics, that can be a problem,” he said. “That can create a ‘dumbed down’ culture.”
ARN, which owns both KIIS and Pure Gold, defended its star DJs.
“It’s important for shows to have a point of difference in order to stand out and connect with audiences,” ARN national content director Duncan Campbell said.
“In the case of Jonesy & Amanda and Kyle & Jackie O, the shows are driven by content.”
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