The agriculture and rural affairs show, Keepin' it Country, has not been scheduled on Belfield FM's semester two timetable following controversial comments made by the show's hosts last year.
Belfield FM requires students to submit an application to host a show at the start of every semester. Keepin’ it Country had run on Belfield FM every semester for the past 4 years.
The student-run show was taken off the station's broadcasting schedule for the final week in semester one after the publication of an article in The College Tribune. The article criticised the show's hosts for reading out, live on air, crude listener-submitted messages about women and in relation to the sexual experiences of named students.
Following the publication of the article, the management committee of the student-run radio station conducted a review into the conduct of the three-person show, finding that the students were in breach of their membership agreement. Belfield FM management told The University Observer at the time that they would act in accordance with the society's disciplinary policies.
Recorded episodes from semester one of the student-run show were subsequently removed from Belfield FM’s online mixcloud account.
A written apology posted by the hosts in early December stated that they were “sincerely apologetic to all who have been affected” by offensive comments made on air in relation to female students.
The students wrote that the comments “are not reflective of our personal viewpoints or that of the school of Agriculture and Food Science. We are aware that the comments made are not acceptable in the society in which we want to live in [sic], that promotes equality and respect for all.”
The hosts stated that a “change of attitude regarding respectfulness and equality for everyone” is needed.
The radio show was traditionally hosted weekly on Wednesdays from 7pm-8pm and broadcast live online from Belfield FM’s yellow pod in the student centre. Focusing predominantly on agricultural news and rural affairs, the show habitually concluded with a segment during which the hosts read out and discuss messages submitted to the show by listeners over a medley of dance music.