It hasn’t been the best month for BBC Radio 1, even though newspaper reports say there’s been an increase in listener figures and presenters' pay packets have become a lot heavier, there’s been some bad news too.
Accusations of racism and homophobia in Chris Moyles’ show currently abound and just recently, David Cameron suggested that the ending of Tim Westwood’s hip-hop show was the answer to knife crime.
Last week David Cameron, leader of the Conservatives made a big boo-boo when he accused Tim Westwood of encouraging violent crime on his show.
In an interview about "yoof" crime he reportedly remarked: "I would say to Radio 1, do you realise that some of the stuff you play on Saturday nights encourages people to carry guns and knives?"
But come on Cameron, are stabbings really a modern phenomenon, did it all start with the launch of Tim Westwood’s show? Where’s the connection between hearing hip-hop beats and firing bullets? Cameron, what on earth have you been eating for breakfast - Cheerio’s with a splash of crazy?
Speaking to The Guardian, rap star Lethal Bizzle dubbed David Cameron a "donut" after his ludicrous statement. Yes, that’s the small ring-shaped cake made of rich, light dough fried in deep fat that we love eating. Well said.
The Tory leader should stick with what he’s good at – riding bicycles and waving as seen on TV news reports each week. He may only be one of the few party leaders with a full head of hair but that does not make him an expert on youth culture.
Cameron please take note of the following reasons why knife crime is prevalent amongst young people – lack of education, lack of strong parental figures, lack of funding from the government, tension between the police and inner city communities, and the list goes on but certainly does not end with Westwood’s evening show.
I mean when was the last time you saw a reconstruction on Crimewatch with villains bopping around to a bit of 2PAC or reciting some classic Scarface?
It’s unfair that whenever there’s talk of stabbings the argument automatically drifts onto young people and "urban" culture and "urban" music, like "urban" is a dirty word.
So, Cameron you’re wrong about Westwood - you're way off the rails. In this case, I don’t think the BBC deserves the criticism. But I’m afraid BBC you may have lost me as a listener on another issue…
This week Chris Moyles was branded homophobic after he described a ringtone that he didn’t like as "gay". The BBC bigwigs defended the DJ saying, "the use of word gay to mean ‘lame’ or ‘rubbish’ is widespread among young people". Ahem.
So, the argument has automatically drifted onto young people again. Why couldn’t the BBC just apologise for what they said instead of using young people as a scapegoat? And just last month the DJ was also accused of racism by Halle Berry, a guest on his show, after Moyles did an impression of a "big fat black guy" with a gun. She didn’t find it funny. And she isn’t the only one.
This article was produced by Annabel McLeod, 19. It was published on the Reach for the Sky website.
