We have written quite a few articles on how Canadians can handle words in context that make some audiences uncomfortable to hear.
U.S. news outlets found themselves in a similar scenario where some outlets went with "shithole" in response to Donald Trump's "shithole countries" reference to immigration into the United States.
We generally found that cable TV news was more likely to broadcast the phrase rather than over-the-air newscasts and newspapers. The sword of Damocles hangs over over-the-air TV outlets where the FCC could fine stations but not give guidance over whether a particular word, phrase, or pictures would spark a fine. This is why your PBS station would censor something even after 10 pm when they are allowed to broadcast such material uncensored.
Canada allows coarser language in programming as well as news. The United States is struggling with delivering such content in a news context.
We only have to go back to Saturday's Hockey Night in Canada telecast where the f-word was heard on the ice twice within 2 seconds. The incident happened at 14:04 left in the 3rd period in Montréal. Play-by-play announcer Jim Hughson is not fond of on-air swearing, "now, now, just because the linesman got in the way." Nobody freaked out over what happened. The game was aired on CBC and Rogers Sportsnet in Canada and the NHL Network in the United States.
The infamous "grab them by the pussy" quote, also from Trump, was not repeated as is by U.S. news outlets, especially cable news. When such a quote is censored, its vulgarity is lost, reducing the negative impact of the statement. He would have suffered more condemnation had U.S. news outlets been braver in conveying to their audience the severity of what he said.
U.S. news outlets already suffer enough from pressure not to run stories that would easily run in other countries. For example, most countries report on the Palestinian people but U.S. outlets will not cover them as people in news stories. Additional censorship is more upsetting in the "land of the free."
Here are some examples over the last few years where Canada had more "freedom of the press" than the United States.
Workin' Moms provides CBC with Canadian humour for adults
CTV will air Game of Thrones uncensored
Rob Ford: Liability to Toronto Argonauts
Melissa Leo, Ryan Kesler prove Canadians can handle TV swearing much better than Americans
Canadian news perspective features more freedom than U.S. news
Uncensored clip of Sally Field from Canada
Martin Luther King Jr. spoke of freedom in a different context during his time as a civil rights leader. Freedom is a concept that Americans talk about but Canadians are more likely to live in their daily lives. This isn't to say that Canada doesn't have problems with other freedoms, but in the ones that lead to "the pursuit of happiness," Canada is further ahead down that road.
Today is the day that Americans celebrate the spirit and words of Martin Luther King Jr. Let's hope this story is only one of many ways to reflect on freedom on this day.
video credit: YouTube/sydlord
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