24 August 2009

Government responds to Stop Swearing on TV petition
The Government believes that it is important that we have high standards across our broadcasting sector particularly in public service broadcasting. However, it is a long-standing principle that the Government does not interfere in programme matters, either on arrangements for scheduling or on content, as it is important to maintain the principle of freedom of expression which political interference could undermine. 

For this reason, Ofcom, the BBC Trust and S4C are independent of the Government and are responsible for safeguarding the public interest in broadcasting. They set out the rules and guidance with which broadcasters must comply.  Within this framework, it is the broadcasters' job to make judgements about what individual programmes should contain and the time at which they are broadcast.
No 10 Petitions Team  24/8/2009    View Petition


20 May 2009

A new poll published today shows that 73% of people find swearing on TV offensive. 

The poll, commissioned by mediawatch-uk, was conduced by ComRes who interviewed 1002 GB adults by telephone between 15 and 17 May 2009.

Significantly, the poll also found that 70% believe the regulator, OFCOM, should do more to reduce the amount of swearing on TV.  Despite Ofcom's own Communications Market research conducted over recent years, showing that the majority of people believe there is too much swearing on TV, the regulator very rarely upholds public complaints on this issue.

• 60% of people believe that swearing on TV encourages swearing in daily life and
  
• 53% believe that children are not effectively protected from swearing on TV.

Speaking today, John Beyer, director of mediawatch-uk, said:

"The results of this survey show once again that swearing on TV causes widespread offence and that OFCOM really is not doing enough to allay public concern.  We certainly welcome OFCOM's recent criticism of record-breaking programme, Ramsay's Great British Nightmare, but this action is too little too late."

Mr Beyer went on:

"Today is also the closing date of our online petition to the Prime Minister which after just 6 months has attracted 5,900 signatures.  We are hopeful that Gordon Brown, who has expressed personal concern about broadcasting standards, will now directly intervene in this situation and call upon broadcasters and film makers to seriously improve standards of literacy in their media productions."

Aware of the latest BBC survey Mr Beyer disputed the finding that people are "relaxed" about swearing on TV.  He said:

"It may be true that swearing ‘in context' is tolerable but for most people the main concern is with swearing that is entirely gratuitous and has no dramatic or any other context whatsoever. Moreover, the BBC's findings seem to contradict research carried out by the BBC for Panorama in February which found that

• 55% of people thought there was now too much swearing, while
  
• 68% thought language had worsened in the past five years." 

Mr Beyer said: "Rather than wasting licence fee payers money on unnecessary surveys, the BBC should be asking itself how swearing in programmes fulfils its Charter obligation to ‘sustain citizenship and civil society'.

Mr Beyer concluded: "The time really has come for broadcasters to act decisively on this matter by strengthening the regulations otherwise they know they risk alienating swathes of viewers. 

In the Digital Age when broadcasting standards matter more and more to viewers and listeners it really is no good ignoring public feeling against swearing on TV."

Notes to Editors

1. Methodology Note:  ComRes interviewed 1002 GB adults by telephone between 15th and 17th May 2009.  Data were weighted to be representative demographically of all GB adults.  ComRes is a member of the British Polling Council and abides by its rules.  Full data tables are available at ComRes

2. mediawatch-uk, founded in the 1960s by the late Mary Whitehouse CBE, campaigns for decency and accountability in the media.  It provides an independent voice for those concerned about taste and decency issues and has an established reputation for principled protest, informed comment and reliable research. 

We have responded in detail to the Byron Review, the DCMS consultation on the Audio Visual Media Services directive and to the DCMS consultation on Video Game Classification.  John Beyer recently had an article published in The House Magazine on this subject.  For more information please visit our website.

Further information on this subject here