NEWS: SCOTTISH INTERNET RADIO STATION INVESTIGATED FOR INCITEMENT TO RELIGIOUS HATRED by GRANT GODDARD

www.grantgoddard.co.uk July 2005

'Calton Radio', a Scottish internet radio station broadcasting loyalist and antiCatholic propaganda, is being investigated by police to determine if it is breaching a new law banning incitement to religious hatred. The station was launched by the Calton Protestant Defenders Lodge in Glasgow in February and already claims to have 130,000 listeners. Its music playlist reportedly includes songs ridiculing the Pope and celebrating terrorist organisations.

Donald Gorrie, the Liberal Democrat MSP who introduced the legislation outlawing religious hatred, commented: The people behind this radio station appear to be attempting to import a lot of the culture of Northern Ireland to Scotland and that is something we can do without. I am glad that this matter has been drawn to the attention of the police. Detective chief inspector Robert Hamilton of the National Hi-Tech Crime Unit, said: We have been made aware of this radio station and will be making investigations. A spokesman for Calton Radio denied that the station promoted religious intolerance: We are ordinary people, not Nazis, who want to express our British culture and heritage. Jack McConnell [Scotlands First Minister] likes to talk about One Scotland Many Cultures. He will have to realise that the loyalist community is one of those cultures and our radio station is here to reflect that.

[First published in 'The Radio Magazine' as 'Scottish Station Investigated', #692, 13 July 2005]

Grant Goddard is a media analyst / radio specialist / radio consultant with thirty years of experience in the broadcasting industry, having held senior management and consultancy roles within the commercial media sector in the United Kingdom, Europe and Asia. Details at http://www.grantgoddard.co.uk

News: Scottish Internet Radio Station Investigated For Incitement To Religious Hatred 2005 Grant Goddard

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