“The Parents Television
Council has heard back from more than 100 of
the national advertisers we contacted last
month. None of them – not a single
advertiser – said they would sponsor a
television program that makes reference to
excrement in the program’s title. The PTC’s
outreach will now shift from the national
stage to the local affiliate level,”
said PTC President Tim Winter.
“Our grassroots volunteers
are reaching out to local CBS affiliates in
their respective communities. PTC members
across the nation are also being asked to
help by logging the names of local
advertisers. Those local companies will then
be challenged publicly to defend their
decision to underwrite the delivery of
excrement into their customers’ living
rooms.
“Media reports suggest that
the program itself will not contain
problematic content or harsh language, so it
begs the question of why CBS is insisting on
keeping a four-letter word in the title.
They aren’t fooling anyone by relying on a
thin veil of symbols. And the network’s
designated panacea for indecency – the
v-chip – does nothing to block the program’s
title, nor does it provide a filter for its
ubiquitous promotion. The network’s decision
to use the ‘s-word’ in the title brings new
light to their legal challenges demanding
the right to air ‘fleeting’ profanity at any
time of the day. The title of this show is
the very opposite of fleeting.
“Americans, the real owners of the public
airwaves, deserve and expect better from
CBS. We will not rest until the voices of
citizens concerned about the rise of
profanity on TV are heard,” Winter
concluded.
