SINGAPORE 'SHOCK' RADIO

This is a country where most of Samantha's scenes are cut from Sex and The City and where David's character was absent from most of the first two seasons of Six Feet Under (it took us longer than most people to realize he was gay). So, as you may expect, 'shock radio' here isn't really that shocking.

Still, it has upset the authorities:

First, it was UnionWorks' WKRZ 91.3FM which landed in the soup in July last year. Part-time DJ Pete Leung had asked a female listener to simulate a sex act for him on air during a morning show. He was sacked and the station was fined $15,000 by the Media Development Authority (MDA).

Now, it's MediaCorp Radio's Perfect 10 which is feeling the heat.
It fired two DJs and suspended one recently after listeners complained about their lewd comments on the Morning Madness show.

The MDA is investigating and the station faces a fine of up to $50,000.
Is local English radio getting too raunchy for its own good, or were these just isolated incidents?

Aside from occasional cab rides, I never listen to local radio, but when I do hear morning drive shows, they are usually quite innocent. They may be puerile and tedious, but they are hardly offensive.

While I do object to the recent fines imposed on 'offensive' talk, a station does have the right to fire someone should he or she cause offense to listeners (though they should only sensibly do that if the 'offense' is deterring advertisers rather than attracting them).

This does rub against my libertarian instincts, but it's hard to get too upset about it.

Sure, my country of residence is fining stations for offensive talk - but I can't really get too mad about that while my country of birth is shutting down stations for the same thing.

So I'll refrain from criticizing the radio policies of Singapore's Media Development Authority (MDA) until the Canadian Radio and Television Commission (CRTC) decide to stop being audio broadcast fascists.