DUBLIN RADIO station FM104 has taken disciplinary action against one of its presenters after he allowed jokes described by the Broadcasting Complaints Commission (BCC) as "highly racist and derogatory" to be broadcast, writes Olivia Kelly.
The BCC upheld a complaint in relation to two jokes, aired during the Open Mic show presented last February by Ruairí Carroll.
One described black children in an offensive manner and another made light of paedophilia and child killing. The jokes were told by callers to the show.
However, the BCC noted that Carroll did nothing to prevent or discourage the jokes and "giggled" in reaction to them.
In relation to the racist joke, the caller, "Michelle", told Carroll that she did not know if she could tell the joke because it was a "little bit" controversial. She then proceeded to tell the joke, which was in the form of a question followed by a punch line.
The question setting up the joke was in itself offensive and the BCC said it was likely that the punchline would be "racist and unacceptable". However, Carroll did nothing to intervene and reacted to the subsequent punchline in a light-hearted manner and was "giggling" as he spoke.
His response was: "Ooh, very controversial, we're going to get in big trouble here. Good luck Michelle." The BCC noted that his reaction to the joke about paedophilia was similar.
The BCC found that the content of both jokes was likely to cause widespread offence. They were totally unsuitable for broadcast at any time in the schedule. In particular, "the joke about the black baby was totally derogatory and highly offensive".
The BCC welcomed the fact that the station had apologised for the broadcast and that disciplinary proceedings had been taken against Carroll.
The Irish Times sought a response yesterday from FM104 but it declined to comment.
The BCC also upheld a complaint made by an Offaly-based litter warden that radio station Midlands 103 attacked his reputation by broadcasting a claim that he had turned a blind eye when a local councillor had allowed his dog to foul the footpath in the warden's presence.
The claim had been sent in by text by a member of the public and the station had not done enough to establish its veracity. The details broadcast had also made the warden readily identifiable locally, the BCC said.
Today FM officially opened its new studios yesterday at Marconi House in Digges Lane, Dublin.