Foul-mouth aunty invades lounge rooms

The ABC was perfectly within its rights to screen the Australian Story on Legendary rock music promoter Michael Chugg last night.
Okay it was only eight at night and the F word was uttered at least 10 times in the first five minutes and there were a few "wankers" thrown in for good measure.
In fact the Australian Story's own home page proudly announces "the tirade will almost certainly set a new record for the most F-words aired on ABC TV at 8pm"
So why was the ABC setting a new F word record at 8pm when according to the Office of Literature Classification on which the ABC Code of Practice is based 8pm is still in a PG zone allowing only coarse language which is "mild and infrequent"?
Basically because it can.
The ABC , like its commercial counterparts, operates under a code that allows for exemptions in the screening of news and current affairs programming.
Put simply news, current affairs and information programs are not subject to classification and can be screened at any time.
So, yes the ABC was perfectly entitled to show Australian Story at 8pm no matter how many times Chugg used the F word.
But that doesn't mean it should have done it.
Sure there was a warning.
And it can also be argued that the language was not gratuitous. It was clearly trying to make a valid point. "Chugg is famous for his chain smoking and on-stage rants full of profanities – which feature in the colourful opening of tonight’s program," the Australian Story site announces.
Problem is that either the ABC thinks that children aren't or shouldn't be watching TV - or at least ABC TV - at 8pm or that the F word isn't a bad word any more.
Both are just not right.
The F word might be perfectly okay at the pub or in any gathering of adults but surely most of us still don't want to hear it from the mouths of our kids.
And if we don't want to hear our kids using it we shouldn't be showing it in a way that makes it seem perfectly normal in what is still family viewing time.
Yes, the ABC was perfectly within its rights to screen the Australian Story on Legendary rock music promoter Michael Chugg last night.
But it shouldn't have done it - at least not until after 8.30pm when the M classification zone begins.