It's OK! not to have the goss.

This morning I happened upon the editor of OK! magazine Claire Isaac doing a spot on 9am with David and Kim (channel 10).

Isaac was discussing the latest edition of the mag which features a one on one interview with Kyle Sandilands at home with his wife. She was saying what a lovely, kind-hearted person he is (vomit) and that he had just got back from the US.

She said that he spends a lot of time in the US because his wife Tamara has work over there ... umm ... according to The Daily Telegraph, Kyle himself is actually doing a TV show in the US with Brian McFadden - a simple Google search could have told her that - here's the story. Of course, that news broke after the magazine story was written so obviously Isaac can't be expected to know about it! Who researches a person they're going on national television to talk about? Ludicrous!

I would have thought The Daily Telegraph and OK! magazine would be good friends seeing as they both spin absolute crap.

A Sad Affair

Whilst I'm sure everyone is sick of hearing about Kyle Sandilands and the 2DayFM lie-detector stunt, I just saw (on the late channel 9 news) a 'story' about the so-called family of the young girl at the centre of the scandal featuring on A Current Affair and basically 'outing' the girl as a liar.

So I went to the ACA website and saw the video of the story - which I decided not to embed here because it is ludicrous and wrong in so many ways. Basically the girls bogan aunts and cousin (who all have fake names and their images distorted) call the 14-year-old girl a tramp and a liar. They insist that any sexual activities the girl has been involved in have been consensual. ACA then showed footage from the channel 9 program Missing Persons Unit which featured the girl and her mother (previous to the radio incident) when the girl had run away.

I have to ask ... What the hell is ACA doing? Last week when the story broke that the girl had chosen to withdraw her complaint to police I wondered; 'why do we need to know this?' and 'how is this in the public interest?' - but this ACA story takes the cake.

From what I can tell it seems ACA is wanting to clear Sandilands of any wrongdoing by trying to put the blame not only on the mother but on the (may I repeat) FOURTEEN YEAR OLD CHILD.

Here's the thing channel 9 - it doesn't matter if, how, with whom or under what circumstances the girl had sexual relations - Austereo and the producers and announcers of the 2DayFM breakfast program ARE TO BLAME for the innapropriate use of a child in an on-air stunt.

The public does not and never did need to know anything about this girl - so why is her privacy continually being breached?

It's difficult for me to be shocked by current affairs programs, but considering even Today Tonight chose to feign disguist at ACA's story - surely that indicates that it's out of line.

Idle Idol

So the ratings are in and the first episode of Australian Idol last night was beaten by Domestic Blitz (channel 9) and Dancing with the Stars (channel 7). It was only pipped at the post by DWS but it was still down from last years launch episode.

So have the public spoken? Are the ratings down purely because of Kyle Sandilands? Or is Australia just sick of over-edited, we-already-know-the-winner, let's-just-make-fun-of-people reality television? Will Australian Idol go the way of Big Brother? I guess we'll see in a few weeks when Sandilands is no longer a feature of the show.

Speaking of Kyle, he really showed what a great bloke he was on last nights episode by (a) leering at the young girls, (b) asking a contestant about their sex life - they were over 14 so that's ok, right? and (c) asking a lovely man who seemed to have an intellectual disability, "so how many sandwiches short are you?". I might say that I was shocked, but I really wasn't.

Idol last night was generally underwhelming. I don't know what's wrong with me but I just don't get any joy out of asshole producers making fun of people ... sure I was yelling at the TV "He is sooooooo shit!" - but that was mainly at the ones they actually let through to Sydney. There was one clearly tone-deaf man who sang Over the Rainbow who was interviewed before going in and was basically set up to look like an idiot. As was the overweight woman who, we were told, has her "fiance" (said in a condescending manner as though someone so unattractive could hardly have a fiance) to comfort her in her failure.

The web entries were torn to shreds - one of them was actually pretty good but was nevertheless ridiculed with Funniest Home Video style commentary.

I know, I know - the contestants are to blame - they put themselves out there to be ridiculed after all. But some are very young, some are very naive and some are very stupid. When did we become a society that loves watching people being taunted so cruelly? Their hopes dashed? their dreams crushed? I know that there are stupid people out there - I don't need to see them being made fun of on what is supposed to be family viewing.

Sandilands is only one part of the program that is offensive.

Of course I'll keep watching, because my sensibilities aren't so delicate *wink*.

Kyle Unfit? ... Shocking!

In an announcement today from Austereo publicity manager, Kate Whitby, the Kyle and Jackie O show has been suspended indefinitely;

"... following a great deal of consideration and having consulted Jackie O and all stakeholders, Austereo has formed the view that it is in the interest of all parties, for the Kyle and Jackie O show to go into recess until we have completed an across-the-networks review of the principals and protocols of our interaction with our audience. This review commenced last Wednesday, July 29."

It seems Kyle is 'unable to perform his duties'. - That's a laugh, considering his 'duties' up to this point seem to have been to behave like a self-obsessed wanker, I'd say he's currently excelling at his duties.

There has also been talk of channel 10 possibly dropping him from Australian Idol, the thing is, he would simply be replaced with someone else exactly like him. Just like if the Kyle and Jackie O show was never to be reinstated - I doubt its replacement would be anything of any higher quality than the crap we hear on any commercial station.

The best result we can hope for from this event is that the Broadcasting Codes of Practice are reassessed.

2Day FM - what price?

The Kyle and Jackie O breakfast show this morning hooked a 14-year-old girl up to a lie detector test and let her mother ask her questions about school, drugs and sex. The girl admitted on air (in some of the most excruciating radio ever heard) that she had been raped at the age of 12. Whilst Kyle's idiotic response was "Right ... And is that the only experience you have had?", Jackie O did try to save face with the offer of counseling and by quickly pulling the plug on the segment.

The segment can be heard here (without names).

Commercial radio is well known for its 'do anything, try anything' approach to win the ratings - Judith Lucy wrote an excellent article a few years ago for The Age about her short stint on Today FM in Sydney and the ludicrous ideas thrown around for competitions and segments;

The idea was 'celebrity sperm' and the concept was that you would get a celebrity to donate their sperm (the example they used was Guy Sebastian, because we all know how much self-proclaimed virgins like chucking their semen around), and the woman who won the competition would get to impregnate herself. I am not making this up.

The thing is, this child is not being properly cared for by her parent/guardian. Her mother stated on air that the girl had not received counseling and that the mother herself only became aware of the 'incident' a few months ago - this also insinuates that the alleged rape had not been reported and that there has so far been no follow up.

What kind of mother signs a disclaimer to hook her daughter up to a lie detector and talk about sex and drugs on the radio? What kind of radio station pays money - and surely there was money involved - to a woman of clearly low intelligence who has an obvious dysfunctional relationship with her child to basically fight with her daughter on air?

It all comes down to the issue of popular culture and the lower classes. The only people (besides self-obsessed egomaniacs) willing to lose their dignity on television or radio are low income earners or people who can't fully understand the consequences of their actions. Look at Big Brother - the house was basically full of bogans and half-wits, the people we see on Today Tonight and A Current Affair are always from low socio-economic areas - and therefore more willing to 'sell their story' for a quick buck.

So here we have a bogan mother selling her 14-year-old daughter to a commercial station to be humiliated on the airwaves. Do we expect much more?

The station (including Kyle and Jackie O) is at fault - under no circumstances should a minor have been put on air to talk about participating in illegal behaviour (drugs and underage drinking/sex). The mother is a complete f#cking idiot - but ultimately the fault lies with the station who should know better.

On the issue of the alleged rape and the child not being properly cared for - DOCS can figure that one out.


* Thanks to Jess McGuire at Defamer for a great post about the incident.