Heat on 2GB Increases

Late night 2GB host Brian Wilshire has been forced to make an on-air apology to the Lebanese community, after claiming that inbreeding within the community is common, `the result of which is uneducationable (sic) people … and very low IQ'.

Evidently not a problem for Mr Wilshire.

Meanwhile, attention remains focused on his breakfast colleague Alan Jones in regards the comments he made on the initial race riots at Cronulla Beach. I've said it before and I'll say it again - I've listened to more talkback radio than I care to contemplate, and the rubbish I've heard come out of the mouths of the likes of Chris Smith and Philip Clark not only defies belief, it more than qualifies under our new sedition laws as `urging violence or unrest within the community'. I have attempted to lodge complaints in the ACMA before, but this is a trickier process than the likes of David Flint would have you believe. Complaints cannot be about principles - that is, I can't say `That's racist, I don't like it'. Only a person who can argue that they have been directly impacted by what has been said can legitimately complain. The case held against 2UE's John Laws and Steve Price for inflammatory comments on homosexuals - held by a gay man - is a good illustrative point.

Taking on 2GB in a legal challenge would be a pretty daunting prospect. Facing a motormouth like Jones in court, who has all his lines about being simpy a voicebox for the people well rehearsed, would not be easy. However, perhaps now that there is some real momentum, the Lebanese Muslim community may mount some sort of challenge. What may result is a much needed examination of the machinations of talkback radio - the illusion of what John Laws calls `dial-in democracy' (an illusion demolished by no less than his 2UE colleague Mike Carlton in Crikey this week).

Don't get me wrong - I'm not in favour of censorship of talkback. What I am in favour of is transparency. There is no more dangerous thing than the illusion of democracy.