OFCOM Rule no foul for Clarkson & TopGear
Discussion
Had a quick look and couldn't see if anyone posted this already....
Published: 08 December 2008 12:31, Broadcast.
The BBC broke no taste and decency rules in its broadcast of an episode of Top Gear in which Jeremy Clarkson joked about murdering prostitutes, Ofcom has ruled.
The regulator has rejected 339 complaints over an edition broadcast on 2 November in which Clarkson asked his fellow presenters: "What matters to lorry drivers? Murdering prostitutes? Fuel economy?"
In a subsequent sequence in which he drove a lorry, Clarkson said to camera: "This is a hard job and I'm not just saying this to win favour with lorry drivers: change gear; change gear; change gear; check your mirrors; murder a prostitute…"
The comments attracted enormous media uproar in the week following the furore over Jonathan Ross' and Russell Brand's phone call to Andrew Sachs and was condemned by both the English Collective of Prostitutes and the United Road Transport Union.
Ofcom accepted that the comments could have shocked some viewers but said Clarkson had used a deliberate exaggeration to make a joke.
It said the joke was broadly in keeping with viewers' expectations of the show and Clarkson's humour in general.
It added: "It is often the case that humour can cause offence. To restrict humour only to material which does not cause offence would be an unnecessary restriction of freedom of expression. However, in transmitting potentially offensive material, broadcasters must ensure that they apply generally accepted standards."
So that sorts that then!
Published: 08 December 2008 12:31, Broadcast.
The BBC broke no taste and decency rules in its broadcast of an episode of Top Gear in which Jeremy Clarkson joked about murdering prostitutes, Ofcom has ruled.
The regulator has rejected 339 complaints over an edition broadcast on 2 November in which Clarkson asked his fellow presenters: "What matters to lorry drivers? Murdering prostitutes? Fuel economy?"
In a subsequent sequence in which he drove a lorry, Clarkson said to camera: "This is a hard job and I'm not just saying this to win favour with lorry drivers: change gear; change gear; change gear; check your mirrors; murder a prostitute…"
The comments attracted enormous media uproar in the week following the furore over Jonathan Ross' and Russell Brand's phone call to Andrew Sachs and was condemned by both the English Collective of Prostitutes and the United Road Transport Union.
Ofcom accepted that the comments could have shocked some viewers but said Clarkson had used a deliberate exaggeration to make a joke.
It said the joke was broadly in keeping with viewers' expectations of the show and Clarkson's humour in general.
It added: "It is often the case that humour can cause offence. To restrict humour only to material which does not cause offence would be an unnecessary restriction of freedom of expression. However, in transmitting potentially offensive material, broadcasters must ensure that they apply generally accepted standards."
So that sorts that then!
Edited by RedLeicester on Monday 8th December 15:26
t, i've seen what TG is like with out JC and its like having a stripper with no rude bits.339 complaints (no doubt some of whom didn't even watch the show) out of c. 9 million viewers?
Is it really worth spending any time considering the opinions of 0.004% of the viewers?
What's next, taking into account the reaction of people who have a phobia of cars and happen to channel hop onto BBC during that hour on Sunday evening?
Is it really worth spending any time considering the opinions of 0.004% of the viewers?
What's next, taking into account the reaction of people who have a phobia of cars and happen to channel hop onto BBC during that hour on Sunday evening?
youngsyr said:
339 complaints (no doubt some of whom didn't even watch the show) out of c. 9 million viewers?
Is it really worth spending any time considering the opinions of 0.004% of the viewers?
What's next, taking into account the reaction of people who have a phobia of cars and happen to channel hop onto BBC during that hour on Sunday evening?
Quite.Is it really worth spending any time considering the opinions of 0.004% of the viewers?
What's next, taking into account the reaction of people who have a phobia of cars and happen to channel hop onto BBC during that hour on Sunday evening?
I do wonder how many of the 339 complainants are lorry drivers?
, although im not going to hold my breath.It's getting ridiculous now. Barely a week goes by without some comedian/presenter falling foul of the "Won't you think of the children" brigade.
How would these do-gooders have survived in the days of true trailblazers of comedy, Pete and Dud as Derek and Clive, Bill Hicks, Richard Pryor and the like?
How would these do-gooders have survived in the days of true trailblazers of comedy, Pete and Dud as Derek and Clive, Bill Hicks, Richard Pryor and the like?
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