Ottawa, October 5, 1999 – The Atlantic and Quebec Regional Councils of the CBSC (Canadian Broadcast Standards Council) today released their joint decision concerning the Jerry Springer Show in the Nova Scotia and Quebec markets, where the daily program aired at 2 pm and 5 pm respectively. The complaints referred to many aspects of the show’s content, including the fact that it “sends the wrong message to our kids and depicts the violent traits that are picked up by young people” and, as another complainant put it, “What sort of values are we teaching to our children, ... solving problems with our fists?”
Although the Regional Councils did not find the subject material of the Springer Show in breach of any of the private broadcasters’ Codes, they observed:
Indeed, to the extent that the Councils are troubled by the subject matter, it results primarily from their concern that the broadcasting of such aberrant behaviour as generally characterizes the show has the effect of desensitizing the viewers (of any age) to the disregard of normative social behaviour.
The Councils acknowledged that, although the show was clearly not programming for children, they regretted “programming which so clearly violates that principle of the Violence Code is aired at a time of day when children could be expected to be watching.” The real problem for the Councils, though, was
the treatment of violence by the Springer Show. In each of the episodes viewed for the purpose of this decision, it is perfectly clear that the violent reaction of the invitees is anticipated by the host, sanctioned as an occurrence, and encouraged and even promoted by both the host and his audience. If it were otherwise, the bouncers would prevent the happening. They do not, nor are they encouraged to. The dialogue between the host and the guests is meant to wind the practitioners of weird social arts to the breaking point and to set them at each other's “throats” or other accessible parts of their bodies.
The Councils reviewed the relevant provisions of the CAB Violence Code and observed that Canada’s private broadcasters had chosen, in 1993, when they announced the Violence Code’s existence:
to de-emphasize violence, to ensure that it is not an unnecessary component of Canadian private television programming but also that it is not an emphasized or promoted value. Violence when necessary, but not necessarily violence. Since no such principles have been adopted by American broadcasting as a whole, Canadian broadcasters need to be especially vigilant when it comes to imported programming (where most of such problems seem to arise). Moreover, it should not be forgotten that these principles apply to programming at any time of the day or night.
The Councils concluded that the Jerry Springer Show episodes “sanctioned, promoted or glamorized violence” and that CIHF-TV and CKMI-TV were in violation of the CAB Violence Code for having broadcast them.
Canada’s private broadcasters have themselves created industry standards in the form of Codes on ethics, gender portrayal and television violence by which they expect the members of their profession will abide. In 1990, they also created the CBSC, which is the self-regulatory body with the responsibility of administering those professional broadcast Codes, as well as the Code dealing with journalistic practices first created by the Radio Television News Directors Association of Canada (RTNDA) in 1970. More than 430 radio and television stations and specialty services from across Canada are members of the Council.
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All CBSC decisions, Codes, links to members’ and other web sites, and related information are available on the World Wide Web at www.cbsc.ca. For more information, please contact the National Chair of the CBSC, Ron Cohen, at (###) ###-####.