The More FM breakfast show in Tauranga has this morning replayed a clip where the word 'poofter' was used by a host and caller, and is asking for listeners to vote on whether it should apologise. The Broadcasting Standards Authority cleared the station over the exchange,which you can listen to here. The BSA says the word was used to mean "wuss", rather than as a term of abuse directed at gay people. The hosts claim the station has received abusive mail, but did not read it out on air. The BSA decision has upset many gay people who believe More FM Tauranga should apologise. Filmmaker and writer Christopher Banks starteda Facebook group calling for the station to say sorry, which has attracted more then 200 members. A number of people, some of them apparently budding broadcasters themselves, have posted abuse on the page, such as "Ohh Winge Winge Fucking Winge...Get a real up ya hahaha...Its Adam and Eve if i am Correct!!" from Ryka Edge. Banks has been criticised for posting the email addresses of More FM management on the page, with some claiming it's a breach of privacy. However the addresses are freely available on the More FM website for people wishing to send the station feedback. Tourism Bay of Plenty General Manager Tim Burgessspoke out strongly when an episode of Shortland Street portrayed the city as being homophobic. In this instance, he believes it's up to More FM and its presenters whether they apologise. "But I'd prefer the destination wasn't dragged into the debate. This is quite different from the Shortland Street episode where they clearly identified Tauranga as being unwelcoming to gay visitors." Burgess says he does not think it's possible for a city to be homophobic, saying "It comes down to people. It always does." He sees comments on the Facebook page, such as one from Mess Schwarzenberg saying "well that's Tauranga, homophobia seems to be trendy over there," as disappointing. "It's using a stereotype to demean an entire geographic population. That's not really the ideal way to break down stereotypes. It's actually small minded."
Credit: GayNZ.com Daily News staff
First published: Monday, 16th August 2010 - 11:14am