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Parents Television Council - Because Our Children Are Watching

Press Release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 29, 2006

PTC Utah Chapter Files License Renewal Petition Against Salt Lake City CBS Affiliate

 

LOS ANGELES (August 29, 2006) – Several members of the Utah chapter of the Parents Television Council™ have filed petitions with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to revoke the broadcast license of KUTV-TV, the CBS owned-and-operated affiliate in Salt Lake City, Utah, for airing content that violated the broadcast decency law.

 

The CBS Without a Trace episode included graphic scenes of a teen orgy party and aired at 9:00 pm MT in Salt Lake City on KUTV-TV.  This resulted in a Notice of Apparent Liability by the FCC on March 15, 2006.  The network has also filed suit claiming that the Janet Jackson breast-baring incident was not indecent.

 

One PTC™ Utah chapter member, Andrea Gritton, described the reasons she decided to file a petition.  "Everyone in my community knows that KUTV-TV does some good in Utah and airs many quality shows, but they also identify CBS with the Janet Jackson Super Bowl incident.  Utah has well-known community standards of decency.  In fact, 26 local governments from all over Utah have passed resolutions calling on their citizens and businesses, and all public and private institutions, to adopt family-friendly and child-appropriate standards.  I believe in this local movement and believe that these standards were clearly violated during the Super Bowl and continue to be violated on shows like Without a Trace," she said.

 

L. Brent Bozell, president of the PTC, added, "The PTC's Utah grassroots chapter is calling on the FCC to revoke the broadcast license of KUTV-TV for violating community standards by airing a graphic teen orgy scene.  Broadcasters are accountable to the community they serve and must follow the law to use the public airwaves.  It's clear that in this case, one community feels that the owner of this station – CBS – has violated the terms of its broadcast license.  We commend our Utah chapter for taking initiative in helping to keep their community's airwaves free from graphic television content."

 

"The CBS network as a whole has refused to show regard for the decency law.  CBS corporately has filed a lawsuit to ensure its ‘right' to air indecent material.  And if this isn't bad enough, CBS was so irresponsible that it aired Without a Trace a second time – on the heels of its Consent Decree in which CBS admitted to violating indecency laws and promised to take immediate steps not to do it again.  Such behavior clearly demonstrates that CBS cannot be trusted with the public airwaves," Bozell concluded.

 

To schedule an interview with a PTC representative, please contact Kelly Oliver at (703) 683-5004, ext. 140.

The Parents Television Council™ (www.parentstv.org®) is a non-partisan education organization advocating responsible entertainment. It was founded in 1995 to ensure that children are not constantly assaulted by sex, violence and profanity on television and in other media. This national grassroots organization has over one million members across the United States, and works with television producers, broadcasters, networks and sponsors in an effort to stem the flow of harmful and negative messages targeted to children. The PTC also works with elected and appointed government officials to enforce broadcast decency standards. Most importantly, the PTC produces critical research and publications documenting the dramatic increase in sex, violence and profanity in entertainment. This information is provided free of charge so parents can make informed viewing choices for their own families.

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