South Africans love complaining. They complain about violence in violent shows, nudity in nude shows, and the unsympathetic nature of shock jocks.
The Broadcasting Complaints Commission of SA (BCCSA) has its hands full dealing with up to 2 000 unhappy viewers or listeners a year.
The body has to deal with all complaints formally lodged.
SABC2 recently found itself in contravention of the Broadcasting Code after airing an attempted suicide on popular soapie 7de Laan.
After he cheated on her, Felicity leaves Herman. He drinks heavily, goes to his shop and puts a gun to his head. Felicity shows up in the nick of time to stop him shooting himself.
She talks him off the ledge. Fast forward a few weeks and therapy sessions later, and the couple are back together.
But the happy ending was not enough to save the broadcaster from landing in hot water. The BCC tribunal found that the attempted suicide scene was too repetitive and graphic for the timeslot. It also found that the suicide helpline number displayed would be of little or no use for traumatised children.
The broadcaster was reprimanded and cautioned to be even more careful with material broadcast during family time.
Another topic that got South Africans hot under the collar was e-tv’s Naked News. The public was not impressed with the midnight show where women read the news bare-chested.
Degrading
Complainants charged that it was degrading to women. The tribunal, however, ruled that the “mere fact that the nudity makes no contribution to a better society is irrelevant in law”. Simply put, if people are suddenly confronted with nudity and find it offensive, they can switch channels or switch the television off.
It seems even airing promotional material lasting less than 20 seconds left some viewers fuming.
In 2006, parents said their six-year-old girl was afraid to sleep after the promo for vampire movie Blade Trinity was shown during a break in the 7pm news on e.tv. The parents felt it was extremely harmful to children to see the evil, violent faces of vampires with blood oozing out of their mouths.
But the tribunal says that generally, children are not part of the news bulletin audience and that it remains the responsibility of parents to give guidance to their children regarding material that they may see on television. The complaint wasn’t upheld.
WWE wrestling, known for its exaggerated body slams and opponents whacking each other with chairs and ladders, has received several complaints over the years about being too violent.
One man also found the scantily clad women wrestlers’ silicone enlarged breasts offensive.
One viewer was shocked at how one wrestler continued to batter “the supposedly semi-conscious” opponent.
But e.tv responded that later in the show the man looked more tired than injured after the beating he received.
The tribunal found that violence in wrestling programmes was actually the reason for the existence of the programmes. Complaints were dismissed.
And again it stated that it was the duty of parents to exercise control over children’s television viewing habits.
Then there’s Idols host and 5fm DJ that many love to hate, Gareth Cliff. He’s been accused of blasphemous, sexist and emotionally insensitive remarks on air.
Earlier this year, Cliff said on air that people trying to dance to dub step looked like epileptics. Even though four people claimed impairment of dignity, the tribunal found that at worst it could be seen as “exceptionally insensitive”.
Cliff was sternly warned to be more careful and responsible in future.
Last year, he was accused of hate speech based on gender. Cliff spoke to a 27-year-old caller involved in humanitarian work since age 22. He praised her because “most 22-year-olds are laying on their backs with their legs open”.
This remark was found to be “nothing more than an outrageous, probably ill-chosen, comparison”.
In 2007 Cliff was reported for a blasphemous rant which people felt was offensive to the religious convictions of Christians.
The BCCSA expressed its “displeasure with the orchestrated campaign” as it accepted complaints only from listeners or viewers who actually heard or saw the programme.
The tribunal found that Cliff’s views constituted criticism, not hate speech.
That year too, Cliff was accused of being unsympathetic and insensitive to a Bangladeshi man who lost all his belongings as a result of rioting. Cliff escaped unscathed.