The 4th Annual National Grassroots Conference
was a great success, with over 100 grassroots activists from around the
nation coming together to fight indecency and learn how to make an
impact in their community. The conference featured many highly regarded
media specialists, authors, community and religious leaders, and a
special appearance by Pat Boone.
Some of the things the speakers at the event talked
about:
Founder and Past President
L. Brent Bozell III opened the conference with an electrifying speech
commending PTC volunteers for their hard work and awarded North Jersey
Chapter Director Crystal Madison with the “L. Brent Bozell Activist of
the Year Award.” Bozell remarked that the PTC’s success lies in the
everyday volunteer who refuses to just change the channel. His speech
set the tone for the weekend.
McKay Hatch spoke about The No
Cussing Club. In 2007 he founded the group to challenge
people not to use profanity. Hatch dared his friends and classmates
to stop using foul and inappropriate language creating quite stir in
his community. The club currently has chapters in all 50 states and
24 countries worldwide. He has been featured on CBS, FOX News, NBC,
and more. All the more impressive since Hatch is only 15 years old!
His inspirational story proves that anyone can make a difference no
matter how young, old, or small you are. His motto, “Leave people
better than you found them!” is one that everyone should live by.
Special Advisor to the FCC, Penny
Nance, was the keynote speaker. The audience was treated to an
inside look into the FCC and learned about FCC complaints, fines,
and license renewals from the inside out.
Penny is a former board member of Concerned Women
for America and founded the Kids First Coalition.
Is there a direct correlation in the
media with increased violence, obesity, and sexualization in
children? Jeff McIntyre from American Psychological Association was
there to say YES! He discussed how it is that children who see a
lot of violence are more likely to view violence as an effective way
of settling conflicts and children who watch the most television are
more likely to be obese. McIntyre went on to discuss the APA’s task
force on the sexualization of girls. In a five year study, they
found that 85% of ad’s sexualized girls rather than boys and that
woman are seen more as objects or things, showing their body rather
than their face. The APA continues to work with Congress and federal
agencies to reduce the use of sexualized images of girls in all
forms of media and products.
A hilarious and inspiring speech was
delivered by Brent Hatch, author of
Raising a G-Rated Family in an
X-Rated World and winner (along with his wife) of the
“2001 California Parents of the Year Award.” His amusing parenting
stories showed the pitfalls all parents fall into from time to time
and he showed everyone how to teach their children to independently
make the best choices.
The organizer of the
Enough is Enough Campaign for
Corporate Responsibility, Rev Delman Coates is taking on
networks like BET that promote violence and stereotypical images of
minority communities. Coates’ tactic is to remove the corporate
backing and funding for programs that market destructive messages to
youth. Rev Coates has been leading a protest outside the home of BET
CEO Debra Lee for several months and built a great deal of momentum
for his effort when he protested at the BET Award Show.
Senator Leland Yee joined
conference attendees at dinner on Saturday to voice his support for
the PTC. He gave PTC activists direct credit for helping to
pass state legislation that prevents children from purchasing
violent video games. Senator Yee is an
outspoken activist for children, working families, consumer
protection, the environment and civil rights. His accolades
include being named “Legislator of the Year” by various groups
including the California Association of School Psychologists and
California School Nutrition Association and named “Person of the
Year” by GamePolitics.com, a leading video game news site.
Roberta Perry led a
communication workshop focused on getting your message across. Her
helpful tips and tools can make anyone into a dynamic and
charismatic public speaker. Perry’s love for public speaking
has taken her all over the world and has earned her numerous awards
and accolades.
One of the major highlights
of the conference was when PTC Advisory Board members Wendy
Borcherdt and Pat Boone spoke at the closing awards banquet.
Borcherdt gave a passionate and moving message about the unlimited
capabilities of volunteers; and Pat Boone gave an inspiring address
about the positive changes that he sees going on in Hollywood.
PTC staff led presentations and
workshops in providing insight into all PTC facets. President Tim
Winter gave an overview of the PTC and the direction it is heading
in the future. National Grassroots Director Gavin McKiernan gave
pointers on running successful grassroots campaign,
Kelly Oliver
provided hands on media
training, Director of Public Policy Dan Isett discussed current
bills on Capital Hill and Corporate Relations Director Glen Erikson
praised PTC members for taping local ads and gave the latest updates
on the best and worst advertisers on the affect that PTC activists
are having in the board room.
The Second
Annual L. Brent Bozell Activist of the Year award went to Crystal
Madison, director of the North Jersey Chapter. In the past year Crystal
stared down Rupert Murdoch and the board of NewsCorp while representing
the PTC at their shareholder meeting. Crystal noted that
there was regular humor about
prostitution, masturbation, and infidelity, adding that Bones recently
showed a maggot-infested dead body with its feet severed at prime time.
She pointedly asked "Is this entertainment, Mr Murdoch?" and also
wouldn’t just accept the line that some of these programs are on at 10pm
responding, “for half the country that is 9pm, do those people not
matter?” Crystal has been personally responsible for several national
advertisers promising to rethink their sponsorship decisions in light of
some of the content she brought to their attention.
Crystal has
an ongoing dialogue with her elected representatives and their offices
about issues important to her and the PTC.
Crystal was
in print several times this year with her editorials and letters and she
brought public awareness to the growing trend of airlines showing mature
content on their in flight video screens. She has been asked to do a
regular column in a local paper on PTC issues and maintains her own
blog. About her award Crystal said:
This award
means so much to me: At the very least, it solidifies my belief that
parents want to be involved and change can happen. At the most, it
reminds me of the new family I’ve made with the PTC. 2007 was an
exciting year for New Jersey. Established as a new chapter in January of
2007, I had 2 or 3 people who were peripherally involved that number has
grown exponentially. This past year I went from not being able to get a
call back from my local newspaper to working with elected officials in
trying to get Cable Choice passed. I’ve spoken at JP Morgan Chase and
NewsCorp shareholder meetings, the former resulting in the company’s
commitment to instill better media guidelines. I contacted Continental
airlines regarding their in-flight airline movies and (lack of) media
responsibility to families. More recently I’ve worked with Dunkin’
Brands in making sure their name is not used with salacious shows like
Law & Order: SVU, appeared on public radio and I am slated to have a
reappearing column in my local paper. All this is said not to highlight
my efforts so much as to highlight the growing involvement from fellow
parents and colleagues on the east coast.
Other
awards:
Michele Mac
Neal, LA Foothills Chapter Director won the Impact Award. Michele is
focused and is consistently bringing in new members and allies to the
PTC who have immediate impact. She and her members are regularly
contacting sponsors, meeting with elected representatives and adding
more and more members to the PTC. Michele has helped to work with and
recruit new chapter directors in neighboring communities to her chapter.
Phyllis
Plum of the Minnesota Chapter won the Ambassador Award for her work as a
PTC ambassador in her area. Phyllis has met with and spoken to
countless people in her community to let them know about the work of the
PTC. This past year Phyllis was also invited by the United States Dept.
of State to speak with a Hungarian Judge that was touring the United
States who had questions about how community standards work with
communications law and what they could do in Hungary to get parents more
involved with making the best media choices for their children.
The
Wikipedia Award went to Dayton Loyd the Central Illinois Chapter
Director. Loyd is a wealth of knowledge on many topics (including
military intelligence where he has worked for much of his career).
Dayton is someone other chapters and leaders turn to for advice and
ideas much like Wikipedia the internet encyclopedia.
The
Outreach award went to Jacksonville Director Zann Williams who worked
her contacts in the Jacksonville School District to eventually have them
agree to distribute PTC brochures to every family in the district
(that’s 120,000 PTC brochures!).
The 2006
chapter of the year award winner, Miryam Knigge is still doing great
things in Miami. This year she won the Membership Growth award for
adding hundreds of new members through various events this year.
Houston
Chapter Director George Hall got the Depth Award. George was able to
tap into the depth of interest and involvement in the Houston chapter by
pulling people off the bench to take on major rolls that in most area’s
are the sole responsibility of the chapter director including going to
speaking engagements and conducting radio interviews on behalf of the
chapter. George showed off the depth of his chapter in several ways
this past year.
Kelli
Turner, Nashville Chapter Director, won the inaugural L. Brent Bozell
award in 2007 and in 2008 won the Eagle Award. Kelli has gotten the PTC
a great deal of new members and public attention since she spoke at the
statewide Eagle Forum Convention.
Rich
Coleman and the Southeast Michigan Chapter were given the “Rated E”
award to reflect their leadership on the issue of violent video games.
The rating of E for a video game means that it is considered suitable
for children of all ages. Coleman has worked to make sure that children
are not exposed to games that are not for their age group. He worked
with Michigan Governor Granholm to pass legislation protecting children
from violent games and recently brought attention to and ultimately
stopped a “Halo” tournament planned at a local youth group. Halo is one
of the most violent video games ever produced and Rich made sure that
the community was aware of the dangers involved in encouraging children
to play such a game.
