Censorship

Let’s imagine a scenario for this blog post. It’s almost Christmas as I write this, so we’ll give things a holiday theme ...

Here’s the situation: You’re watching a holiday movie with family and friends, and as you look over your shoulder, you witness the beginnings of your cat jumping onto the Christmas tree for the 13th time this month. The tree falls, a few ornaments break, and you’re about five seconds from letting a few curse words fly. BUT - before you say anything regrettable - you remember your environment, and then decide to go with a cheeky euphemism instead. It was self-censorship at its best!

In podcasting, we can sometimes have to deal with the topic of censorship as well - hopefully always in terms of being self-induced. So let’s talk about that: When does this happen and options of how to do it.

“ … certain material may not be consistent with the brand we are trying to create or the audience we are trying to reach.”

First - let’s be clear - this is not a post about freedom of speech. I’m talking about the fact that sometimes as content creators or editors, we have to decide on what to censor, because certain material may not be consistent with the brand we are trying to create or the audience we are trying to reach. Plus, depending on the podcast distribution platform you are using, they will have their own rules for using their product (aka - Terms of Service or similar legal jargon). If you want to use their services, then you will abide by their rules. Period.

For example, Apple Podcasts has their own do’s and don’ts listed for their artwork requirements. Every podcast needs its own artwork, so it’s a handy page to checkout. On that page - it states artwork may not contain “explicit material” or “references to illegal drugs, profanity, or violence.”

If you’re thinking of being clever and have the thought, “I’ll just blur out the naughty words, Jonathan,” you might want to read a little more on their page where it says “blurry, misaligned, mismatched or pixelated images” are not supposed to be used in podcast artwork either.

So where does that leave us? Well - for artwork - the Apple Podcasts guide I just mentioned is actually pretty useful. It gives us a template of what is ideal to ensure our podcast art is accepted for distribution. Since Apple more-or-less sets some of the industry standards, feel free to check out that link. Use the info to help drive decisions when trying to figure out what text or graphics are appropriate to convey your desired message. Now let’s talk about censoring the audio …

“ Remember - it’s your show - you can run it how you want. Kinda … ”

I should have said this earlier, but it helps to sort out what you WILL and WON’T censor before the need arises. That way - if you or your guest drops an unexpected colorful word, you’ll already know how to handle it.

For example - one of the podcasts I host has a fairly strict policy on editing out gratuitous cursing. The reason for this is due to the show having an association with a larger pre-existing organization, and that organization has their own policies and procedures that must be taken into consideration. I had this conversation with my superiors at work before I even published the first podcast episode, because I wanted to know what would be considered inappropriate to publish. Maybe some businesses are less caring about that sort of thing, but if anyone drops an F-bomb on this particular show, I will edit things accordingly.

However - it’s worth noting that I do not tell my guest(s) what they can and cannot say for this same show. I don’t want the guest to feel restricted. I know I can alter things in post-production (we’ll talk about that in a moment). Other people may just tell their guest upfront that they need to “keep it clean.” I choose not to, because I want my guests to feel as natural and comfortable as possible.

Remember - it’s your show - you can run it how you want. Kinda … more accurately you can run it how you want within the established guidelines of the services you use to publish your content.

“… always consider the context of the sentence you are affecting with your editorial choices.”

Let’s get into the actual options for censoring certain words in post-production. We are assuming the recording has already happened, and now you are wondering how to “clean things up.”

• Clean Cut: When in doubt, cut it out. Literally. Edit that word or phrase out of the final audio in a way that doesn’t impact the sentence it’s found in - and then move on. The goal is to just keep the sentence sounding natural.

• The Bleep: This can be done for comedic effect or just normal censorship on the word(s) in question. Which one it ends up being often depends on the timing and context of the “bleep” sound effect that is used. If your digital audio workstation (DAW) doesn’t have pre-programmed options, you can easily find some from a website that offers free or paid options. Check out the Marsh Audio Services FAQ page for some sites that might have the sounds you need. You may choose to have the bleep occur during the whole length of the word(s), or if you are wanting to get a little fancier, you can bleep the back half of the word. This lets the listener hear the initial letter of the word before the beep sound takes effect. It is a little more work in the DAW, but it can give people a little peek into what was actually said without revealing the whole word.

• The Clown Horn: You don’t actually have to use a clown horn … let’s just make that clear right now, ha. I just wanted to drive home the point that you can potentially use any sound effect you want to act as your “bleep” instead of the standard sounds we hear on televised programs or other public shows.

• Silence: Occasionally I hear people just silence the bad word in question. It’s a little awkward, but it still serves its purpose. I consider this method like eating at an overpriced restaurant … worth trying once to say you did it, but not usually what you want to go with for special occasions ... In all honesty though - experiment with it. See how using it changes the impact of a sentence. Make sure to only silence the intended word and don’t shorten or lengthen the space around the word in your DAW. This makes sure the timing of everything around it is still the same and helps people understand that something was omitted.

• The Mask: For those dabbling in video podcasts, you have additional considerations for using pixelations, blurring or other graphical effects to cover the person’s mouth in order to censor a word or words. This is used in combination with the techniques described above. It may not be necessary to add a graphical effect, but context is important when considering if it will add any kind of worthwhile effect to the podcast.

• All Natural: Hopefully this goes without saying, but just as a reminder, you can always leave those certain choice words unaltered - assuming that fits with your brand or other guidelines that may impact your show. If you go all natural, you’ll want to mark your episode as “explicit” so that people aren’t surprised by the content. If your podcast tends to always have adult language, you might want to just label your entire show as “explicit” via your podcast host, so you don’t have to do this for each individual episode.

Well, there you have it - a few considerations to keep in mind while determining what kind of censorship your audio projects may require. It’s amazing to me how often the entire tone of a comment or conversation can change with a creative censorship edit, so take care to always consider the context of the sentence you are affecting with your editorial choices.