Family Hour

I am by no means a prude.

There is very little that makes me uncomfortable as a topic discussion. I can think of two issues that make me uneasy: children and women being abused. But even then, I can talk about them—though my opinion is simple: hang the abusers.

And while I do think we should be able to talk about anything, I do believe that there is a time and place for that discussion.

No one can dispute I'm a CBC junkie. I've talked about it on occasion, on this blog. I follow most of the CBC Ottawa folks on Twitter, and I've met more than a few. I've been on CBC Radio twice and my photos regularly appear during the evening weather reports. And my Bate Island Project video was featured on a segment of the dinner-hour news broadcast and was also shared on their Web site. 

I love CBC.

But I wasn't thrilled with a particular article on a favourite Saturday-morning program, Day 6. It wasn't the subject of this 18-minute segment that bothered me. And in voicing my disdain, I seemed to get in a bit of a Twitter back-and-forth with one of the people behind the show.

The segment was the second in what I believe is a three-part series on the porn industry. In this segment, host Brent Bambury (who I really liked when he was the host of our local afternoon show, All In A Day) explored the economics of today's porn industry and why it seems to be losing money, hard as that seems (pun intended) in this age of electronic access.

I had missed part one of this series because my wife and I went to the gym for a spin class and then went grocery shopping before getting home in time to tune into Because News, which we both absolutely adore. We need a good laugh at the news these days.

So, we were home for Day 6 this week, and DW had prepared pancakes, sausages, and coffee, with fresh raspberries and orange juice. Both teenage daughters were at the table/island in our wonderfully redesigned kitchen, and the radio was playing.

Brent Bambury introduced the segment, Porn-O-nomics, and my ears went up. After a couple of minutes, DW chimed in, "what the Hell is this? This is not an appropriate topic at this time of day."

We turned off the radio.

We. CBC junkies. Turned. Off. The. Radio.

There are only a couple of times when we've turned off the radio: when we haven't wanted to hear the bullshit coming out of the mouths of certain politicians, such as Stephen Harper, George W. Bush, Kelly Leitch, or Donald Trump. We give them a few minutes to spread their garbage, and then we turn the radio back on.

Sometimes, when I'm driving, if a CBC host plays country music, I'll turn the volume down and then slowly bring it up to see if the song is over.

But I never turn a program off. Never. Until Saturday.

It wasn't because I was offended by the topic. Personally, I don't get much out of porn. It's not my thing. But I respect those who are into it.

It's not even that I wanted to shelter my teenage girls from the subject. I'm not stupid: I'm sure they've had various discussions with their friends, have maybe even seen a bit of it.

What I objected to was the timing of this show. It was Saturday morning, during brunch. A large number of families have a late breakfast on the weekend, and I imagine a good percentage of them listen to the radio during this time.

I don't want to hear about the porn industry while I'm biting into a sausage.

Day 6 has some edgy pieces, such as when they talk about the wars and violence around the globe. Often, my kids will hear and they will engage. They are bright young women who want to know about what is going on in the world. And I've never sugar-coated the news from them.

I draw the line at porn.

At breakfast.

If this show wants to do an exposé (pun intended) on the sex industry and other racy stories, perhaps they should move to a later time slot, such as later in the afternoon or evening.

You know, when my kids are off doing other things and aren't sitting with DW and me at the breakfast table, listening.

Not when I'm having a nice family meal.

Part three of their series airs this Saturday. I think I'll go to the gym and do some grocery shopping between 10 and 11.

But I'll make sure to tune in to CBC for Because News. I like to play along and laugh.