CW Uses Jonas Bros. to
Push Graphic Material at
Kids
LOS ANGELES (February
10, 2009) – The
Parents Television
Council chided
the CW Network for using
the pop-sensation Jonas
Brothers to attract teen
and pre-teen viewers to
the channel’s shows,
such as “90210” and
“Privileged.” The Jonas
Brothers will “host”
episodes of these two CW
programs this evening,
from 8:00-10:00 pm
ET/PT.
Both of the shows the
Jonas Brothers will be
“hosting” have recently
contained offensive
sexual content involving
teens.
-
In
addition to the premiere
episode, which implied
an oral sex scene
between children,
“90210” currently
features an ongoing
storyline about a
promiscuous (and now
pregnant) teenage drug
addict. The show has
also shown a young
couple who, with the
connivance of the girl’s
grandmother, planned to
lose their virginity
together in the
grandmother’s summer
home.
-
“Privileged” has
included scenes of a
teenage girl and her
“Big Sister”-style
mentor watching
pornographic movies
together; when the
mentor attempted to
dissuade the teen from
having premarital sex,
the teen upbraided her
for being controlling
and out-of-touch.
“The Jonas Brothers have
established themselves
as superb role models
for children; and their
clean, family-friendly
image has created a bond
of trust with millions
of parents. But that
bond is now being
crassly exploited by the
CW Network to lure
unsuspecting teens and
pre-teens to the
network’s sex-soaked
fare,” said PTC
President Tim Winter.
“The CW Network’s
actions are deplorable,
though hardly
surprising, given their
overt attempts to market
age-inappropriate
material directly to
children. We are
calling on parents to be
acutely aware of CW’s
‘snake in the grass.’
And we are calling on
our public servants at
the FCC and FTC to
evaluate whether the CW
Network’s marketing
practices violate their
public interest
obligations as a
broadcaster,” Winter
concluded.
