Jamaica’s Broadcasting Commission defends clampdown on vulgarity

February 15th, 2009

The Executive Director of Jamaica’s Broadcasting Commission, Cordel Green, has rejected accusations of double standards by the regulatory body in clamping down on vulgar lyrics in dancehall songs played on the electronic media, while overlooking the broadcasting of distasteful dancing during carnival.


“We regulate across the board and any content which is inappropriate will not be transmitted on radio or television and we will be issuing advisories to broadcasters on the appropriate coverage of carnival,” Green told The Sunday Gleaner when the newspaper raised the issue of double standards, expressed by members of the public during a march yesterday by groups supportive of the commission’s ban.


“There is no acceptance of close-up shots of scantily clad persons on television. There is no acceptance of the television sets being plastered with people engaged in gyration and simulation of sex,” Green explained. “The message we are sending out is that content that is not fit for the airwaves ought not to be placed there, whether it is carnival or a dance,” he added.