It was time to rub your eyes. A Christian campaigner for cleaning up the media, being interviewed by a mainstream 'alternative' comedian (if that's not a contradiction in terms!), without being portrayed as a complete wacko.
In 'Have I Got Bad Language for You', Frank Skinner's Panorama programme last night on language on TV, MediaWatch seemed to be completely in tune with the majority of viewers: that there was too much swearing on TV, that it had got worse, and that TV companies didn't pay enough attention to viewers opinions.
Other surprises too: Michael Grade and ITV as the vanguard for taste and decency (lets not get on to TV violence just yet...), and the overall tone of the programme was that things have got a bit out of hand.
Main worry: that Ofcom have no objective standards when it comes to language on TV. Everything they said seemed to start with 'it depends' - on 'context', which channel you're on (if an f-word falls on channel 5, does anybody hear?), what issue you're covering etc. That seemed very limp to me. Their only standard seemed to be public opinion, which changes all the time.
Stand out standup: Al Murray, the Pub Landlord, who made a point I've never heard from anyone before. If you're on TV, you are a guest in someone's home, and you should behave like a guest. You watch your language, and behavior, because if you just turn up in someone's house and swear your head off then you're not showing them respect. If everyone on TV just remembered that, we'd get somewhere.
whilst we're on the subject
Dave Walker asks if Gordon Ramsay is a Christian role model
yesterdays post on bad language and whether it's ok for Christians to swear.
Jonathan Ross is in trouble again.
update: A few more folks who saw Frank Skinner
the Bournemouth Echo.
Inspire magazine has some of the polling details, and quotes from last night. That was quick off the mark.
And Another Thing "In real life swearing is, by its very nature, hard to justify" (though he goes on to quote swearwords freely in the blog post!!)
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