Kyle and Jackie-O slapped with breach of radio decency standards

Following listener complaints against shock jock hosts Kyle and Jackie-O, the Australian Communications and Media Authority have dealt the pair a major blow.

Controversial radio hosts Kyle Sandilands and Jackie “O” Henderson have been slapped with a breach of standards after segments containing explicit sexual content and vulgar descriptions were reported to the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA).

A listener complained about the radio station on June 7 2024, with ACMA launching investigations into KIISFM radio stations in Melbourne and Sydney and finding they had violated commercial radio code of practice.

The investigation found the pair’s content included sustained vulgar graphic sexualised descriptions. Picture: The Kyle and Jackie O Show

The investigations found two segments that included explicit sexual content and content that included sustained and vulgar graphic sexualised descriptions.

“This content went beyond the bounds of decency expected by the community and was done so deliberately and provocatively,” ACMA Chair Nerida O’Loughlin said.

“Even having two program censors employed by the broadcaster in place following previous ACMA enforcement action, this has not stopped occurrences of unsuitable content going to air.”

The controversial radio program has found itself in hot water. Picture – Supplied

The investigation also found Double T Radio, the licensee of the program in Melbourne, had further breached the code for failing to respond to listener complaints within 30 days of receiving them.

Ms O’Loughlin said complaints were an “essential part of Australia’s co-regulatory broadcasting system as they provide a reliable avenue for the public to put their concerns directly to the broadcaster”.

“Failing to respond to complaints in the required time frame undermines the effectiveness of the co-regulatory system.”

The morning radio show was found to have violated the code of standards on two occasions.

On February 7, ACMA confirmed it had launched two investigations over a range of content that may have violated the program’s compliance of the code.

In November, the media regulator told a Senate Estimates hearing between July and November last year, ACMA received 59 complaints about the radio program.

Greens senator Sarah Hanson-Young launched into ACMA’s response to the complaints, demanding why an investigation was yet to be initiated into the morning radio program.

The media regulator explained the complaints were initially dealt with by the license holder.

When challenged to read out some of the content broadcast on the radio program, which Ms Hanson-Young said included “jokes about people being gay”, as well as “jokes about people not being white” and “violent language about women and sex and … vulgar detail about sex acts”, Ms O’Loughlin declined.

“I would prefer not to read it out,” the media regulator said at the time.