Classic rock song censored
for its lyrics

   By Brian Lilley
   Toronto Sun.com
    January 12, 2011

OTTAWA - It may be classic rock but the song Money for Nothing by Dire Straits will either have to be edited or not played in its original form after a decision by the Canadian Broadcast Standards Council.

After a complaint from a listener to OZ-FM in Newfoundland who heard the song at 9:15 at night, the CBSC ruled that Money for Nothing, a radio staple since 1985, violates the code of ethics on several fronts due to the use of the word "faggot."

The songs second verse contains the offensive word three times.

"The little faggot with the earring and the makeup"

"Yeah, buddy, that’s his own hair"

"That little faggot’s got his own jet airplane"

"That little faggot, he’s a millionaire"

The decision here in Canada comes as Americans are embroiled in a debate over censoring the literary classic Huckleberry Finn.

The book by Mark Twain was a scathing examination of racism when it appeared in 1885 and makes frequent use of then common words such as "n-----" and "Injun" to refer to a Native American character. A publisher has proposed releasing a new version of the work replacing the words with "slave" and "Indian."

The CBSC, which has essentially banned the full-length version of Money for Nothing, is a self-governing regulatory body for Canada's private broadcasters. Decisions on content by the council are binding on members.

One classic rock station contacted by QMI Agency said that most likely they will stop playing the song now.

There is a shorter version of the song with the offensive words removed but classic rock buffs contacted by QMI Agency said changing the lyrics killed the song.

None of the radio personnel contacted would comment on the record for fear of the impact it could have if they appeared before the council.

Money for Nothing is not the first song the CBSC has censored. The decision on Money for Nothing references an earlier decision on the song Boyz in the Hood by Dynamite Hack, which was deemed to have lyrics which were too violent towards women.

One broadcast executive who asked not to be named said the council's decisions are all over the map, pointing out that similar words have been ruled acceptable in other cases.

Another executive said that while the CBSC comes down hard on what is considered offensive language in songs, similar language can be used in television.

A review of rulings posted on the CBSC website shows that several complaints on language, such as blatant swearing or the use of the name Jesus Christ as an expletive, have been ruled acceptable.

The CBSC rules on both radio and television broadcast complaints.

Rex Murphy: Mark Twain to be Purged!


http://www.torontosun.com/news/canada/2011/01/12/16865021.html

That is so ridiculous. The whole idea of the song revolves around the shallow, limited understanding and bias on the part of the furniture movers and store workers...their lack of appreciation of what goes in to making rock music. To change the words is foolish and only makes standards such as this blatant examples of PC gone way too far.

    Pia Shandel

After 25 years of cool Mark Knopfler anthem "Money For Nothing" all of a sudden the Canadian Broadcast Standards Council bans the song from Canadian airplay. Omigosh...I have been systematically poisoned for all these decades by this ironic and rythmic classic rock song...should I be doing a mind detox? Call Gwythneth Paltrow...she is clean inside and out!!! And sings, too!

http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?v=wall&ref=ts&id=563775439#!/PiaShandel
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Don C

Holy s**t. What the hell is going on. First Mark Twain now Dire Straits. Have we gone mad? What ever happened to Sticks and Stones? These people have my vote for an immediate Darwin intervention before they breed and spread. I guess the Pouges are next for Fairytale of New York.... get a life you miserable losers.

.

As if the radio industry isn't in enough trouble.....now they are going to let the CBSC dictate what songs they can and cannot play.

All the crap being played out there that passes off as music, and the limp-dix are picking on Dire Straits.....like said: get a life you miserable losers.

Took them long enough. The damn song has been on the radio since 1985.

Pure silliness.

This reminds me of Johnny Horton's classic "Battle of New Orleans," about 1960. The song refers to the "Bloody British," but was recorded again and referred to the "Bloody Rebels." That was to avoid offending the sensibilities of people in countries like Canada. Both versions were played, depending on the radio station. I have the song on an LP and it is the original version.

Boy, wait t'il they get to 90's gangsta rap. ??)

British food that inspired Mark Knoffler



Thanks to our good friend Don Crocker

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OMG  another branch of gov't justifying their existence. The speed and expediency on this file is scary. It's rivaling the catholic church for being relevant

K-97 Edmonton is going to play the extended version tomorrow night [Jan 14] at 8p.m. M.S.T  on a loop for one hour.

This is insane. Couldn't the energy being put into banning these things not be put to better, far more noble use?

@Freeneasy54

The CBSC is not a government agency..

Hope more stations take K97's position...this is not about hate mongering..this is about artistic freedoms and censorship. How long until a list comes out with the lyrics that are deemed to risque for the Canadian listener? To all those who have or are planning to play the "proper" version...grow a pair!

The CBSC and the one complaintant should realize that on the standard radio there are 2 knobs...one of these knobs will change the station and the other knob may actually turn the radio off if what is playing bothers them.

At least those knobs are useful...

from the
Edmonton Sun.com
   January 13, 2011

Edmonton’s classic rock station K-97 is taking a stand against a recent ruling by the Canadian Broadcast Standards Council (CBSC) to either edit or ban the song, Money for Nothing, by Dire Straits.

On Monday, the CBSC ruled the song, a radio staple since 1985, violates the code of ethics on several fronts due to the use of the word “faggot.” The second verse of the songs’ full length version contains the word three times.

The issue surfaced after a listener heard and complained about the song on a Newfoundland radio station.

Patrick Cardinal, operations manager for Edmonton Radio Group and Newcap Radio, said the words were taken out of context.

K-97 plans to make a bold statement about the ruling by playing the unedited song repeatedly from 8 p.m. to 9 p.m. on Friday to show support for freedom of speech and Canadian songwriters, Cardinal said.

“If you look at the context of the term, it’s an artistic portray of a bigoted person looking at the successes and riches of the music industry,” said Cardinal, who doesn’t plan to stop playing the unedited version of the song.

“In terms of our listeners, they absolutely support our right to play this song and the right to hear it in its entirety. If we get a CBSC complaint about this, we will vigilantly defend our right to play this song.”

Like K-97, many radio stations in Edmonton have been playing the song for years, but have been using the shorter version of the song that has the offensive words removed.

Jason Roberts with Edmonton’s EZ Rock said he can see why the CBSC would censor the song.

“I love the song, but I’m kind of riding the fence here. I can see why somebody would find it offensive,” said Roberts. “It’s 2011. Nobody uses that word anymore.”

Local radio veteran Marty Forbes has been in the industry for 40 years and said the CBSC is taking the issue too far.

“I think we are getting to the point where we better start throwing sweaters on all the nude statues in the world,” said Forbes. “I can understand the complaint...but it’s a little too late to draw a bunch of attention to it.”

Monday for Nothing is the first song the CBSC has censored. The CBSC rules on both radio and television broadcast complaints.

Most excellent, and totally tubular - - "Greatest Hits" stations rejoice in yet another 15 minutes of fame. Formatically speaking, of course. Hey, hopefully, another one opens soon  ;D

People know that this was a song about written about Motley Crue and their life of excess in the 80s, right??  Friggin' bleeding hearts of the world unite...

Quoted from Marty Forbes

Monday for Nothing is the first song the CBSC has censored. The CBSC rules on both radio and television broadcast complaints.

This is really getting stupid.

First, the CBSC doesn't censor anything.  It makes rullings on its own membership and its own rules.  The consequences are nothing close to a "ban" on the song like TMZ would have you believe.

Second, that is dead ass wrong.  There have been many rulings on songs.

"Highway Girl (Live)" - Tragically Hip:
http://www.cbsc.ca/english/decisions/2002/020123.php

"Locked In The Trunk Of A Car" - Tragically Hip:
http://www.cbsc.ca/english/decisions/2005/050511.php

"Cubically Contained" - Headsones:
http://www.cbsc.ca/english/decisions/2002/020924.php

Those are 3 from memory.  Any of those "banned"?

I have never seen so many inaccurate reports on a subject since I spent a week in the US and watched Fox News.  And no one seems to care, just jumping on a sensational topic.   Doesn't anyone check sources anymore?  And newspapers wonder why they are dying when we have to come to gossip boards for facts.

K-97 is going to play the song on a continuous loop for an hour tonight?  I see what they're trying to do but...why?  Do they honestly think the average listener is going to tune in to hear the same song played over and over again?  No...they'll listen once and then flip the station.  Trying to make a point is no reason to make bad radio.

Holy Crap!

Minutes after finishing typing the above, I see this CP story that has been picked up by newspapers everywhere.  A small quote:

"The ban applies to every Canadian radio station. But the independent watchdog organization only takes action if there is a complaint, so if another station were to play the unedited version of the song, action would only be taken if a listener took up the cause again".

That is absolutely not true!  Not every Canadian radio station in a member of the CBSC.  And again....nothing was "banned".

I guess I am the only one that finds this much more worrisome.  That isn't TMZ....that is the CP.  Ridiculous.

CBSC "Whoops"

      
       By Marty Forbes
          Marty's Musings
         Friday January 14, 2011

I'm sure if the Canadian Broadcast Standards Commission could ask for a "do over" in regards to their decision in regards to the Dire Straits "money for nothing" scenario this week they surely would.

Here's a song that has been played thousands and thousands of times around the world for a couple of decades and now "one" isolated complaint in a smaller market in Eastern Canada has ignited a censorship issue that is resonating all around the world and once again casts our Canadian broadcast system as being terribly "out of touch" with reality.

First off there is a very long list of songs which some would deem to contain potentially offensive language (or content) and if we are going to comb through twenty or thirty years of music and lodge complaints about those songs the CBSC is going to be very busy.

As I said in my Edmonton Sun article "are we going to start putting sweaters on nude statues around the world now?"

The problem is the CBSC system itself.

One single complaint goes to a volunteer panel who, after several months, debate and vote on the complaint. They then issue a decision which tells the station they simply have to apologize for the complaint therein bringing the complaint forefront to the entire industry as well as the stations listeners.

Social media, that wasn't around when the CBSC started, now fires that decision out at break neck speed to thousands of people within minutes of it's release.

In this particular case one complaint launched about eight or nine months ago has rippled not only across our fair country but throughout the "world" causing stations to either modify the song or, as we are seeing by many stations, to declare they will not edit the artists legendary work, thus setting up a scenario where the CBSC may have to address punishment to each particular station if "one" person complains in each of those markets.

Recently there has been some discussion at the CRTC level about giving our broadcast commissions the power to fine offending broadcasters for flagrant rule violations which sets up a whole other major debate too.

Look I'm not a prude and there are some things I'd prefer not to hear or see on our airwaves but over my career I found that dialogue and compromise with a listener who complains is usually the way to resolve these problems.

Most of the culpability of programming comes at the Management level and most Managers are sanctioned about what they can say or do in our Canadian system in fear that any conflict with the CBSC could cause them (or the company) grief down the road so our system of complaints really isn't an open forum and maybe it should be.

Ron Cohen is a nice, smart man, and as I said in the opening I will bet he wasn't ready for the firestorm this has caused but if this is the song/complaint that gets some dialogue going as to establishing a more efficient system to address "offensive" broadcast complaints then maybe this Money for Nothing complaint can turn in to Money for Something.

Then maybe after they get that fixed we can address a long overdue assessment of another issue that is long overdue...Can Con.

Sorry...can of worms!

Marty Forbes is the President of Radiowise Inc and reachable at mforbes07@shaw.ca

http://radiowiseinc.blogspot.com/2011/01/cbsc-whoops.html

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If owners keep offering to play 40% Can Con to obtain a new broadcast license the issue will never go away.  I love FCC model of spectrum auctions!  Every now and then a 100 or so new FM Construction Permits go up for auction and the highest bidder simply gets it.  End of story.

Quoted from Mr. Toads Wild Ride

K-97 is going to play the song on a continuous loop for an hour tonight?  I see what they're trying to do but...why?  Do they honestly think the average listener is going to tune in to hear the same song played over and over again?  No...they'll listen once and then flip the station.  Trying to make a point is no reason to make bad radio.

So far they've been mentioned on all the local TV newscasts, got all kinds of ink the papers, both national casts, national casts in the US, and after a quick google a couple of minutes ago, websites all over the world. Of course when all the CBSC complaints come in, they'll get a ton of press across the board as well. Cost? $0.00. Win.

Maybe its a good way to get rid of some of these classic rock stations. If there's 3 of them, let 2 of them play the song and get their liscense pulled and then there's only 1 left!
or if there's 2 of them, 1 plays it and again, there's only 1 classic rock station left. Actually, maybe every crappy radio station should get on the Dire Straits bandwagon...then they all get their liscense pulled and presto! no crappy radio stations!

Quoted from 103

So far they've been mentioned on all the local TV newscasts, got all kinds of ink the papers, both national casts, national casts in the US, and after a quick google a couple of minutes ago, websites all over the world. Of course when all the CBSC complaints come in, they'll get a ton of press across the board as well. Cost? $0.00. Win.

Didn't think about it that way but you have a good point.  I'm willing to admit when I'm wrong :)

Censors defiant in Dire Straits ban

By Althia Raj
Toronto Sun.com
January 15, 2011

OTTAWA - A censorship watchdog is being defiant after receiving a wave of criticism over its decision to ban the nation-wide broadcast of an uncut Dire Straits song containing the word "faggot."

Ronald Cohen, the national chair of the Canadian Broadcast Standards Council (CBSC), told QMI Agency he sees nothing wrong with the fact one person was able to stop every private radio station across Canada from playing the popular 1985 song 'Money for Nothing.'

"The number of complaints is irrelevant," Cohen said. "Everybody is on our back about it (but) I think it was absolutely the right decision. This was a word that has no place today on the airwaves."

Cohen is unconcerned that the public was shut out from CBSC's deliberations and sees no problems with the fact that neither broadcasters nor Canadians have any avenues to appeal the decision.

"If there was an appeal process, it would be cumbersome," he said.

Dire Straits' keyboardist Guy Fletcher joined a chorus of fans on his website Friday calling the ruling "outrageous" and the council's decision "hilarious" for having missed the point of the band's song about homophobia.

"WHAT a waste of paper," he wrote of the decision. "Canada will now be forced to ban all Rap music since the 'N' word is uttered in most recordings."

Ottawa radio talk show host Lowell Green has been cited several times by the CBSC.

"I was told that if I was going to use irony or sarcasm on the air, I must alert my listeners that was sarcasm," Green said of one case where he had to apologize on air fearing his radio station would lose its license.

"The fact that one person can make one complaint about one song that has been played for 25 years, I find astonishing -- especially when you consider that millions of people can sign a petition opposed to the HST and nobody pays attention to it," he added.

The B.C. Civil Liberties Association's David Eby called the CBSC's decision "very patronizing" and suggested the federal broadcast regulator, the CRTC, should take over its functions to ensure some public oversight.

"It is difficult for us to understand how this private body can have such a profound influence on what Canadians see and hear without any accountability," he said.

The CBSC has been the private broadcasters' self-regulator since 1990, when they decided they didn't want the federal regulator to oversee their content.

Although neither body has the power to levy fines or stop the broadcast of any songs (even those banned), the CRTC can revoke television or radio licenses or refuse to renew them when they are about to lapse.

"We are a sugar-coated society and it is too bad," said Darryl Choronzey, host of the TV program Going Fishing, who was the subject of a CBSC complaint for political bias.

"If somebody doesn't like it, they can turn the radio off or turn the TV off."

http://www.torontosun.com/entertainment/music/2011/01/14/16898831.html

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This may spell the beginning of the end of the CBSC.  They are supposed to represent the people....next they will ban Christmas Trees...

Quoted from Handicam

This may spell the beginning of the end of the CBSC.  They are supposed to represent the people....next they will ban Christmas Trees...

From Wiki:

A Yule log is a large wooden log which is burned in the hearth as a part of traditional Yule or Christmas celebrations in several European cultures. It can be a part of the Winter Solstice festival or the Twelve Days of Christmas, Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, or Twelfth Night.

The expression "Yule log" has also come to refer to log-shaped Christmas cakes, also known as "chocolate logs" or "Bûche de Noël". The Yule log is related to other Christmas and Yuletide traditions such as the Ashen faggot.[1]

Based on my religious beliefs and sexual orientation as a Jewish Hindi Muslim Aboriginal Bisexual Woman, I would like to protest the broadcast of the Shaw Yule Log. It should be renamed the Shaw Piece of Burning Holiday Wood.

Quoted from traveller

From Wiki:

A Yule log is a large wooden log which is burned in the hearth as a part of traditional Yule or Christmas celebrations in several European cultures. It can be a part of the Winter Solstice festival or the Twelve Days of Christmas, Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, or Twelfth Night.

The expression "Yule log" has also come to refer to log-shaped Christmas cakes, also known as "chocolate logs" or "Bûche de Noël". The Yule log is related to other Christmas and Yuletide traditions such as the Ashen faggot.[1]

Based on my religious beliefs and sexual orientation as a Jewish Hindi Muslim Aboriginal Bisexual Woman, I would like to protest the broadcast of the Shaw Yule Log. It should be renamed the Shaw Piece of Burning Holiday Wood.

I take offense to the term holiday.  I don't celebrate "holidays".

And that "wood" seems to be suggestive.

Quoted from traveller

From Wiki:

A Yule log is a large wooden log which is burned in the hearth as a part of traditional Yule or Christmas celebrations in several European cultures. It can be a part of the Winter Solstice festival or the Twelve Days of Christmas, Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, or Twelfth Night.

The expression "Yule log" has also come to refer to log-shaped Christmas cakes, also known as "chocolate logs" or "Bûche de Noël". The Yule log is related to other Christmas and Yuletide traditions such as the Ashen faggot.[1]

Based on my religious beliefs and sexual orientation as a Jewish Hindi Muslim Aboriginal Bisexual Woman, I would like to protest the broadcast of the Shaw Yule Log. It should be renamed the Shaw Piece of Burning Holiday Wood.

Sarcasm duly noted.  ;D

The next thing that someone will complain about is 'fairy tale ' books.

QRK,  don't give them any ideas! :P

Quoted from Mr. Toads Wild Ride

Didn't think about it that way but you have a good point.  I'm willing to admit when I'm wrong :)

:) We're cool Mr T. I'm not sayin' they planned it that way, I was just sayin'.....

Better take reruns of All in the Family off the air.  

Halifax radio station's 'Money for Nothing' marathon generates complaints

By The Canadian Press
Monday January 17, 2011

HALIFAX - A radio station in Halifax that defied a ruling against a Dire Straits hit by playing a "Money for Nothing" marathon said Monday it's heard from some listeners who've threatened to lodge complaints.

An unedited version of the song was played repeatedly on Q104 for an hour Friday in protest of a recent decision by the Canadian Broadcast Standards Council.

The independent watchdog ruled the 25-year-old song was unfit for Canadian radio because its lyrics include the word "faggot" three times. The ruling stemmed from a complaint filed by a listener of a station in St. John's, N.L.

J.C. Douglas, program director at Q104, said a few listeners have sent emails since the marathon saying they intend to file a complaint with the council, while other listeners told him they have already done so.

Others have written merely to say they're unhappy with the station's decision to continue playing the tune, which Douglas said airs every two or three days.

"It's a fairly straight-forward argument that's being made in most of these complaints — just that the word 'faggot' itself is damaging and hurtful and has no place on the airwaves," Douglas said in an interview.

"And we can't help but agree with that from a general standpoint. Our argument is completely contextual."

Douglas maintains the song, which was released in 1985, is written from the perspective of a bigot and needs to be considered as such.

"Every single word of this song comes from (the character's) point of view, so if you're not considering that context, then you're not actually listening to the song."

The "Money for Nothing" ban applies to every Canadian radio station.

Ron Cohen, national chairman of the CBSC, said Friday that the council wouldn't take action against any stations airing the unedited version of the song unless another listener complained. He did not immediately return calls Monday for comment.

Douglas said the council did not yet contact him regarding any complaints stemming from the marathon.

He said most of the feedback the station has received has been positive, adding that about a dozen people said they plan to contact the council and ask for a review of its decision.

The council does not have its own internal appeals mechanism. However, according to its website, the public can request that the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission review a council decision.

http://ca.news.yahoo.com/halifax-radio-stations-money-nothing-marathon-generates-complaints-20110117-123904-741.html

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No love for the Dire Straits

By Carson Jerema
    MacLeans.ca
     January 19th, 2011

Campus radio won't play 'Money for Nothing,' and it has nothing to do with offensive words

Unlike their commercial counterparts, campus radio stations are not subject to the ruling banning the original version of the Dire Straits’ 1985 hit, “Money for Nothing” over the word “faggot.” It is, however, unlikely that university disc jockeys will be taking advantage of their newfound monopoly as probably the only broadcasters in Canada permitted to air the song. The reason? Many campus stations already have a policy against playing “Money for Nothing.” And it has nothing to do with offensive words.

“Dire Straits is a band that is more suited to AOR and classic rock radio,” says Bryce Dunn, program coordinator at CiTR at the University of British Columbia. When asked if his station would play the song in light of the recent controversy, Dunn said, “Umm, no.” That goes for all versions not just the original.

On Friday, the University of Calgary station, CJSW, dedicated an afternoon talk show to the controversy surrounding the Canadian Broadcast Standards Council (CBSC) decision to censor the song. Although the offending word was used several times, “Money for Nothing” was not actually played. “No offence to the Dire Straits. We just don’t play them,” says station manager Chad Saunders.

When a late night program host at the University of Manitoba’s UMFM played the song following the ruling, he was sent an email from supervisors reminding him of the station’s policies against playing mainstream music. “We can’t condone the fact that he played a hit song on the air, as that falls outside our mandate,” Jared McKetiak, who runs UMFM, said.

There are two reasons why “Money for Nothing” and other mainstream songs will get little if any airplay on Canadian campuses. The first is regulatory. Licenses issued to campus radio stations by the Canadian Radio-Television Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) strictly limit how many “hit” songs they are permitted to play. Their broadcasts are suppose to be dedicated to independent and local artists.

Aside from licensing requirements, that limit but do not ban mainstream music, campus station managers are just not that interested in rockers from other decades. “After 25 years, does anyone really need to hear ‘Money For Nothing’ again anyways?” McKetiak asks. “We don’t need to be playing something like Bryan Adams.”

Kristiana Clemens, operations officer for CFRC at Queen’s University, says that while her staff does not “censor” programming, volunteers “are expected to be responsible and thoughtful in planning their programs and upholding the station’s broadcast license.” They are encouraged to “play artists and genres that are under-represented in mainstream media,” she says.

Despite having no interest in playing “Money for Nothing” the CBSC ruling isn’t being met with indifference among campus radio circles. “It is simply a quick fix by the CBSC to appease advertisers and listening audiences without actually taking steps to address the systemic homophobia,” Clemens said.

The U of C’s Saunders called the ruling “dangerous” adding that “the punchline to the joke is it has taken 25 years for a complaint to come through.”

http://oncampus.macleans.ca/education/2011/01/19/no-love-for-the-dire-straits/comment-page-1/