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Adelaide radio station Nova 919 has apologised to a listener who complained about an allegedly homophobic segment which aired last year. In a letter sighted by MCV, general manager Paul Bartlett wrote, “Firstly I would like to apologise to you for any offence caused by the segment […] At Nova 919 it is never our intention to offend.” Bartlett went on to say: “Whilst we appreciate that some listeners may have found the Segment to be in poor taste and in hindsight [we] don’t think the Segment should have been limited to same sex encounters, we do not believe that the announcers intended the Segment to demean homosexual listeners.” Bartlett maintained, on the other hand, that Nova 919 did not believe they had breached the Commercial Radio Codes of Practice which forbid using language that would incite hatred against or vilify any particular group. “Nova 919 believes that the majority of its audience would regard the Segment as comedic and irreverent, and, at most, mildly derogative,” he wrote. John [not his real name] who made the complaint, told MCV it was a matter of how you interpreted the words of the Codes. “I do believe the segment was likely to regard homosexuals with strong or passionate dislike. I believe [the phone-in] responses are testament to this, as only hateful responses were received,” John said. “It is also insulting that they believe the broader adult audience would find this segment comical, I have yet to talk to anyone who laughed.” John said that as much as Nova may have complied with their legal responsibility, they had “fallen very short” of their ethical responsibility. “I have decided to refer [my complaint] to the Australian Communications and Media Authority,” he said.
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