How Brexit became a four letter word
Eilis O’Hanlon
BORIS Johnson reportedly used a vivid scatological metaphor to describe the UK Prime Minister’s latest Brexit plan. Speaking on BBC TV last Tuesday, one guest would only refer to the offending word as “something we don’t say on programmes this time of the morning”.
No such worries on Newstalk’s Pat Kenny Show, where the eponymous host used it twice last Monday in quick succession, prompting his guest, a journalist with the Financial Times ,to admit that he hadn’t known if he could say the word “turd” on air. Philip BoucherHayes also used it on last Monday’s Drivetime on RTE Radio One, then went further by asking: “Having finally gotten off the pot, will Boris Johnson choose to relieve himself ?” Not an image listeners surely wanted so close to dinner...
The question of vulgar language is a tricky one. There is no watershed on radio, and the RTE guide for presenters does allow a “need to reflect the authenticity of how people speak in public discourse”, whilst addingNtihgael tl a“iLn aw ge snoenr Hali, cioefnfedn as e ir vcei am languages houdl de sb tr eu amvo reid med in ”. eS sot,i isl ms aoy din i ag “turd” going toqoua ft aurr?aIuttdfoue gs int’ at taucrtnunaklklyl appear on any of the lists of banned words, and it is what Boris said, but I’d be lying if I said I wanted to hear it regularly.
Monday demonstrated the importance of radio when it comes to breaking news stories. Skipping back and forth between the stations gave a good sense of what was happening, though the quality of analysis did vary considerably. It remains a problem that, when it comes to Brexit, as with President Trump, Irish radio struggles to find guests who don’t regard supporters of either cause as mad or bad. The discussion about Boris Johnson on last Tuesday’s Today With Miriam O’Callaghan was more rounded. Journalist Sam Smyth spoke fondly of his own friendship with the former London mayor, going back to their time together as reporters in Northern Ireland, whilst also acknowledging that something had gone terribly awry to waste all that promise. The announcement that came in during last Tuesday’s show that Michael D Higgins had decided to stand for a second term as President also added some spice to proceedings. Sean O’Rourke must be regretting that he didn’t hang on for a few weeks before starting his sabbatical. Last week was the stuff of which news broadcasters’ dreams are made.
For all his other faults, Matt Cooper certainly seems to thrive on it. On ToWdaa y MI’ LNaOsWt Word, he asked Senator Ne Ha ale rd RyiBcuhc mk so ins donotf ht eh Re TSEeP al na aye dr’ suBntrielx it com Dem cei mt tbeer,w30h;o rt we. aies/p in lay Leo rn don, for the lat Se isx tN naetwi ons, sb Rutgbw ya isotonl3d Pila ty werounltdil be “inDaepcpemrobperi1a6 te; tfvo3 r .iem/p e latyoergo into gossip”.
S“iWmph ly? NTigh el ala t’s is won hy BB wCeiPhl av ye ry-o cur orenn,”t ly not Mat v tait la eb al se et dogvoie ow de rn saintuI red laln yd ..“Are you like Leo Varadkar now? You don’t like gossip?” Over on BBC Radio 3, more urgent questions were being posed as Tuesday’s Free Thinking celebrated the final week of Wimbledon by asking: “Are tennis players existentialists?” Spoiler alert: the answer, apparently, is yes. Why anyone should care remains unclear.