Investigation report no. BI-181
Broadcaster / Consolidated Broadcasting System (WA) Pty LtdStation / Hit 92.9
Type of service / Commercial radio
Name of program / Hamish & Andy
Dates of broadcasts / 16 March 2016 and surrounding dates (11,14,15,17 and 18 March 2016)
Relevant code of practice / Code 1.1(c)(i) of the Commercial Radio Australia Codes of Practice & Guidelines September 2013
Date finalised / 27 June 2016
Decision / No breach of Code 1.1(c)(i) [proscribed matter, misuse of alcohol]
Background
The Australian Communications and Media Authority (the ACMA) has conducted an investigation under section 170 of the Broadcasting Services Act 1992 (the BSA) into‘Wet Lap’ competition segmentsofHamish & Andybroadcast on Hit92.9 by Consolidated Broadcasting Systems (WA) Pty Ltd(the Licensee).
The segments were broadcaston 16 March 2016 and surrounding dates (11, 14, 15, 17 and 18 March 2016).The ACMA commenced the investigation in March 2016 after receiving correspondence alleging that:
[…]A competition that seeks to cash in from promoting the combination of two critical risk behaviours that result in people being killed or seriously injured on our roads is irresponsible in the extreme. The poor judgement displayed in this commercially motivated promotional activity is exacerbated given the demography of the targeted audience. The target audience of young men, are in the highest ‘at risk’ category for fatal and serious injury crashes.
As a consequences of the predilection of Thirsty Camel to broadcast to air the Hamish and Andy “Wet Lap” competition, they conflict with the Commercial Radio Code of Practice and Guidelines 2013 that seeks to achieve a responsibly standard of broadcasting […]
The segmentshave been investigated against code 1.1(c)(i) of the Commercial Radio Australia Codes of Practice & Guidelines September 2013 (the Codes).
The program
Hamish & Andy isan afternoon drive show broadcast nationally on Southern Cross Austereo’s Hit Network between 4.00 pm and 6.00 pm, Monday to Friday.
The ‘Wet Lap’ competitionwassponsored by Thirsty Camel and was broadcast on a number of days.It involved a passenger in a v8 supercar balancing three glasses of alcohol while the car was being driven by a professional driver. The contestants won money for the amount of alcohol that remained in the glasses after one lap of the race track.
The segmentbroadcast on16 March 2016ran for approximately 12 minutes. Itinvolved the contestant passenger balancing three pints of Sambuca while being driven for a lap of the race track. It featuredinterviews with the contestant and the professional driver, as well as unscripted commentary from the presenters.
A full transcript of the ‘Wet Lap’ segment broadcast on 16 March 2016 is at Attachment A.
Assessmentand submissions
When assessing content, the ACMA considers the meaning conveyed by the material, including the natural, ordinary meaning of the language, context, tenor, toneand any inferences that may be drawn. This is assessed according to the understanding of an ‘ordinary reasonable’ listener or viewer.
Australian courts have considered an ‘ordinary reasonable’ listener or viewer to be:
A person of fair average intelligence, who is neither perverse, nor morbid or suspicious of mind, nor avid for scandal. That person does not live in an ivory tower, but can and does read between the lines in the light of that person’s general knowledge and experience of worldly affairs.[1]
Once the ACMA has ascertained the meaning of the material that was broadcast, it then assesses compliance with the Codes.
The investigation takes into account matters raised by the correspondent (at Attachment B) and submissions from the broadcaster (at Attachment C). Other sources are identified below.
Relevant Codeprovision
Code of practice 1: Programs unsuitable for broadcast
Purpose
The purpose of this Code is to prevent the broadcast of programs which are unsuitable having regard to prevailing community standards and attitudes.
Proscribed Matter
1.1A licensee must not broadcast a program which in all of the circumstances:
[…]
(c)presents as desirable:
(i)the misuse of alcoholic liquor […]
Finding
The Licensee did not breach code 1.1(c)(i) of the Codes.
Reasons
The correspondent submitted that the ‘Wet Lap’ competition broadcast during the Hamish & Andy program on Hit 92.9 in Perth breached the Codes for alleged misuse of alcohol. The correspondent stated that the competition promoted two critical risk driving behaviours (alcohol and speed) in a program broadcast to a target audience of young men.
The Licensee submitted:
[…]
There was no consumption whatsoever of any alcoholic beverage at any stage during any of the Wet Lap Broadcasts. At no time did the professional driver, the competition finalists (who we note were only passengers in the vehicle) or the announcers:
a)consume any alcohol; or
b)drive while consuming or after consuming any alcohol.
[…]
Further, even if the “misuse of alcohol” could be said to extend to any sort of irresponsible or offensive behaviour related to the presence of alcohol, which for clarity we believe would be straining the meaning of the Code, SCA still considers that there would be no breach. This view is based on the following:
a)The car was at all times driven by a professional driver on a private race track, with both the driver and the contestant passengers wearing full driving suits and helmets.
b)The professional driver had no contact with any alcoholic beverage at any time
a)The aim of the activity was for each contestant to try and conserve as much liquid as possible (i.e. the aim was not to spill the drinks).
b)The activity was repeatedly said to be testing balance, and the car was simply the means by which balance was tested.
c)The above factors were reinforced to listeners by our announcers, Hamish and Andy, throughout the Wet Lap Broadcasts, along with the message that they did not condone or promote drink driving.
To assess compliance in this case, the ACMA has addressed the following questions:
Was there alcohol involved?
Was the alcohol misused?
If so, did the segment present as desirable the misuse of alcoholic liquor?
16 March 2016 broadcast
Was there alcohol involved?
There is no contention the segment contained the presence of alcohol in the ‘Wet Lap’ competition. The contestant was required to balance three pints of Sambuca, as a passenger, while being driven around a race track for one lap.
Was the alcohol misused?
In considering whether alcohol was misused for the purposes of the Codes, the ACMA has had regard to the segment as a whole.
The ACMA has found in a number of previous investigations that the term ‘the misuse of alcoholic liquor’ primarily connotes the excessive consumption of alcohol.[2]However,the term is also capable of capturing other behaviours such as drink driving.
In this instance, while alcohol was used in the competition, it was used as a prop to test a contestant’smanual dexterityand their ability to balance three pints of Sambuca in a fast moving vehicle. In this context:
the contestant was a passenger at all times
there wereno references to anyone consuming alcohol or being inebriated
the competition was conducted in a controlled environment and the vehicle was driven by a professional driver on a private racetrack.
Taken as a whole, the ordinary reasonable listener would have understood the competition as a staged stunt that did not involve consumption of alcohol by the contestant or the driver.
The ACMA is satisfied that the segment did not involve the misuse of alcohol as contemplated in the Codes.
If so, did the segment present as desirable the misuse of alcoholic liquor?
As the segment did not involve the misuse of alcohol, it is not necessary to consider whether it presented as desirable the misuse of alcoholic liquor.
However, it is noted that, to the extent that there was an association made with the consumption of alcohol, the segment did not advocate or encourage its consumption or promote driving under the influence of alcohol. The use of alcohol in the segment was highly controlled.
While the segment, combining as it did driving, speed and alcohol,was poorly judged and some listenerswould no doubt have found the competition to be in poor taste,the ACMA considers that, as it did not present the relevant misuse of alcoholic liquor as desirable, the segment broadcast on 16 March 2016, did not breach code 1.1(c)(i) of the Codes.
Other broadcasts
The ACMA has reviewed the broadcasts of 11, 14, 15, 17 and 18 March 2016 featuring the competition and is satisfied that they were of a similar nature to the relevant segment broadcast on 16 March 2016.
The segment broadcast on 11 March 2016included a discussion about hypothetical strategies for the competition. The presenters aired a suggestion from a caller to ‘take a little sip of alcohol’from each pintas it would give the contestant less spillage and a better grip on the pints.
To the extent that there was an association made with its consumption, alcohol was not misused because:
from the outset, the presenters framed the competition around a passenger balancing glasses of alcoholto testtheir skills in juggling glasses that are filled with liquid
in keeping with the light-hearted nature of the program, the strategysuggested by the caller wasnot intended to be taken seriously and did not form part of the competition
at no time did the presentersstate that it was desirable to consume alcohol while driving or as a passenger.
Therefore,the segment did not present as desirable the misuse of alcoholic liquor.
Accordingly, Hit92.9 did no breach code 1.1(c)(i) of the Codes.
Attachment A
Transcript of the ‘Wet Lap’ segment on Hamish & Andy, broadcast on Hit92.9 on 16 March 2016
Andy Lee:Good afternoon everyone, Hamish and Andy back to drive you home and hey, we are going to kick off the show with something we have been laughing about all day.
Hamish Blake: Oh I can’t wait, to…for people to see the video of this but it would be up as soon as we get through the next…next few minutes of radio, uh, it is our wet lap thanks to Thirsty Camel. Thirsty Camel came to us and said ‘hey listen, could you guys think of a sport that could somehow tie Thirsty Camel?’ What about this… what about, it’s very difficult to carry three pints of drinks.
Andy Lee:It is.
Hamish Blake: Could we get people to hold three pints of drinks and speed around a race track in a v8 supercar, do one lap as a passenger…
Andy Lee: As a passenger.
Hamish Blake:…and however much liquid remains in the three pints at the end, for every millilitre they save that’s five dollars? Well today we have our first hot … wet lap Ando.
Andy Lee:It was incredible the strategy behind sitting in a passenger seat trying to hold three pints.
Hamish Blake: Easy to talk about.
Andy Lee: Yeah.
Hamish Blake: But the nerves, when you’re passing those pints through them, that mesh window … passing them into the lap of someone, there’s a genuine fear in their eyes.
Andy Lee: The results after this. Hamish and Andy we’re driving you home.
Thirsty Camel Wet Lap - Part 1
Andy Lee: Hamish and Andy driving you home, we’re thanking Thirsty Camel for thirsty people and also we’re thanking them for this next bit. You can find your local at thirstycamel.com.au and quench your thirst.
Hamish Blake: We invented a new sport for Thirsty Camel Ando, it’s uh called wet … uh … wet laps?
Andy Lee: It is. It’s wet lap. Look today it was one man, three pints of black Sambuca; he was the passenger in a V8 supercar, driven by a V8 supercar driver, for one lap around a circuit.
Hamish Blake: Now thinking about (a) how difficult it is to have three pints even in a bar situation where you just have to dodge the shoulders and arms of people. When you add 250 k’s an hour and G forces that becomes a very difficult three pints to hang onto.
Andy Lee: It was so exciting…I had no idea how the guys would go. I thought about it all night.
Hamish Blake:It was a great experiment because it was like, they could come in with full pints or they … Lachie might end up at the end of this lap with absolutely nothing. It was very hard to tell, but whatever … however many mils he kept in those three pints, each millilitre was worth five dollars a mil.
Andy Lee: To determine how much money they made. Eight and a half grand up for grabs if they managed to keep all the liquid in all three pints perfectly in.
Hamish Blake: Highly impossible [laughing].
Andy Lee: Highly impossible is a way of putting it. Hame lets go to the track now.
[Music]
Andy Lee:We’re here with Jesse Dixon whose going to be driving the V8 supercar, you’ve had one test lap
Jesse Dixon: Yeah, we’ve done one lap. The tracks good…um… sun’s out so …ah … yeah.
Andy Lee:No speed humps. No potholes.
Jesse Dixon:[laughter] Yeah.
Andy Lee:Ok it’s pretty flat.
Hamish Blake: Jess, you are gonna be… it’s going to be exciting today. A heavy mix of premium unleaded Sambuca uh and all sorts of alcohol in the air.
Jesse Dixon:The Sambuca’s the big worry I think … umm the left half of the suit’s going to be black after the first corner, but uh yeah it’s going to be uh interesting cocktail.
Hamish Blake:Suppose you could take it home and wring it out and have a party.
Jesse Dixon:Yeah have a party. That’s it. Let’s do it.
Andy Lee:Jesse, what’s spill corner? I mean are they all spill corners?
Jesse Dixon:Yeah they are I think. The breaking zone in turn one can be pretty crazy. The direction change in two and three over the bump… I think they’re stuffed either way.
Andy Lee:Ok ok and what about even take off?
Jesse Dixon:Yeah that’s pretty impressive so...
Andy Lee: So how how…
Hamish Blake:What’s the zero to a hundred um stats on the…on the…the old girl?
Jesse Dixon:Sort of …sort of 5 seconds. So we’d do a bit of a skid on take off and...
Hamish Blake:Right.
Jesse Dixon:See if we can get it spilled straight away.
Hamish Blake:So if Andy and I were sprinting alongside the car, we’d only be able to hold you for four seconds?
Jesse Dixon: Yeah. Maybe four and a half…yeah.
Andy Lee:Jesse, here’s a, I think there is a gentleman’s agreement between all of us … I feel like once you come past that final turn…
Jesse Dixon:Yeah.
Andy Lee:Don’t come in and slam on the brakes for one last kick in the pants.
Hamish Blake:That’s the only bit we will allow like a slow speed.
Jesse Dixon:Ok.
Andy Lee: If you could…if you could just …bring ‘em in slowly and we’ll see what they’ve done.
Jesse Dixon:No last minute little jerk?
Hamish Blake:No, no… give them time for their tears of defeat to fill up their cup for a few extra dollars.
[Laughter]
Jesse Dixon:Yeah, that’s it, that’s it.
Andy Lee:Alright. Good luck out there.
Jesse Dixon:Thanks mate.
Andy Lee: Cheers.
[Car revving noise]
Hamish Blake:Lachie, welcome to the bottle shop. You’re our first customer.
Andy Lee: Come on in.
Hamish Blake:How are you feeling Lach?
Contestant:Oh…yeah not too bad. I was uh quietly confident.
Hamish Blake:Yep.
Contestant:Before talking to uh… the actual driver…
Hamish Blake:Jesse.
Contestant:Yeah Jesse. That was a bad idea.
Andy Lee:Yep.
Contestant: Not so confident anymore.
Hamish Blake:So you’ve just taken the top off the Sambuca.
Contestant:Yeah sorry…
Hamish Blake:You get that liquorishy, black jelly bean whiff.
Contestant:Smell yeah.
Andy Lee: And it makes you… makes you… it makes you excited doesn’t it?It makes you think of schoolies.
[Laughter]
Andy Lee:But it makes me excited as well.
Hamish Blake:Can I throw a last minute suggestion to you?
Contestant:Yes.
Hamish Blake:You’re quite a bearded man.
Contestant:I do have a beard.
Hamish Blake:Would it be crazy to dip your beard in?
Contestant: I was actually going to … well… ringing the beard out at the end of the lap to get a few extra dollars.
Hamish Blake:Because it is five dollars per millilitre.
Contestant:Yeah.
Hamish Blake: I’m looking at that beard going…a six hundred dollar beard.
[laughter]
Andy Lee:Lach, one twist in this whole game is … you’re going to have to be in the car strapped in really tight.
Contestant:Yep.
Andy Lee:Arms free. Someone’s going to have to pass you the dinks.
Contestant:Right.
Andy Lee:Hamish or myself? You can choose one or the other. They’re going to be trusted with taking it from the bar over here. To the car and handing them through the window.
Hamish Blake:Three pints of Sambuca filled up to the brim and you’ve already done one here.
Contestant:Yep.
Hamish Blake:There’s going to be a few drips here and there. I mean I just… I actually think … getting it across to the car… you’re going to…
Contestant:Right.
Hamish Blake:…be losing valuable dollars anyway.
Contestant:Well you’re filling me with confidence so I think I’m going to go with Andy on this one.