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External LinksCJR report on MRC: "Propaganda Clothed as Critique" James Poniewozik's TIME story on the PTC Mediaweek report on complaints to FCC Parents Television Council website PTC report: "The Ratings Sham: TV Executives Hiding Behind a System That Doesn't Work". Cursor.orgMediaTransparency.org sponsor More stories by Bill Berkowitz PERC receives Templeton Freedom Award for promoting 'enviropreneurs' Media Transparency writersAndrew J. Weaver FundometerEvaluate any page on the World Wide Web against our databases of people, recipients, and funders of the conservative movement. |
ORIGINAL RESEARCHBill Berkowitz The Parents Television Council2004 was banner year for 'national clearing house for, and arbiter of, decency' on America's airwavesOn April 18, L. Brent Bozell, the founder and president of the Parents Television Council (PTC - website), Wearing his PTC hat (he also presides over the MRC, and is a founder of a PR outfit called the Conservative Communications Center), Bozell told Fox viewers that the study found that "the current ratings system and V-chip are failures." In a press release issued the same day, Bozell asserted that the "findings show the blatant hypocrisy of TV executives who claim that parents should rely on TV ratings and the V-chip to protect their children. Most television programs showing foul language, violence, and inappropriate sexual dialogue or situations do not use the appropriate content descriptors that would warn parents about the presence of offensive content." The year following Janet Jackson's nipple-baring "wardrobe malfunction" during the Super Bowl half-time show has been a banner one for the PTC. It was a year in which it has bombarded the Federal Communication Commission (FCC) with indecency complaints and has garnered for itself an ample amount of headlines and attention. Generating PublicityThe FCC was spurred into action again last year by PTC complaints after ABC aired a racy promo for its popular show "Desperate Housewives" on its "Monday Night Football" broadcast. The ad featured a barebacked Nicollette Sheridan, one of the stars of the series, leaping into the arms of Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver Terrell Owens. Eventually the promo was ruled not indecent by the FCC. The PTC "Almost single-handedly...has become a national clearing house for, and arbiter of, decency..." Time magazine pointed out in its March 28 cover story headlined, "Has TV Gone Too Far?" Time's James Poniewozik's story, headlined "The Decency Police," described the nearly round-the-clock frenetic activities at the PTC's Alexandria, Virginia, offices: The Parents Television Council believes that too much prime-time TV is indecent. So indecent that it never misses a show. In the group's Alexandria, Va., offices, five analysts sit at desks with a VCR, a TV and a computer. They tape every hour of prime-time network TV, and a lot of cable. CSI. The Apprentice. God help them, even Reba. And they watch. Every filthy second. This afternoon, PTC analyst Kristine Looney is sitting in her cubicle, whose bookshelf holds volumes by Ann Coulter and G. Gordon Liddy. Headphones over her ears, hand on the remote, she is watching the March 13 episode of Crossing Jordan. Suddenly, she hits the pause button. Why? "'Damn,'" she says. "And also they were talking about drugs." Looney, 25, transcribes the quote - "Damn. The second suitcase is still out there" - and it goes into the Entertainment Tracking System (ETS), the PTC's database on more than 100,000 hours of programming. "We track even those minor swears," says Looney's supervisor, Melissa Caldwell, "because it's a way of tracking trends." The ETS, in the words of PTC executive director Tim Winter, logs "every incident of sexual content, violence, profanity, disrespect for authority and other negative content." The ETS analysts don't monitor premium channels, which is just as well, because an episode of Deadwood Threesome," "Masturbation," "Obscene Gesture." With it, the group can detect patterns of sleaze and curses and spotlight advertisers who buy on naughty shows. It is a meticulously compiled, cross-referenced, multimegabyte Alexandria Library of smut. Generating ComplaintsAccording to an early December 2004 report in Mediaweek, the PTC has become a master at generating indecency complaints with the FCC. The story revealed that the organization was responsible for 99.8 percent of all the indecency complaints filed in 2003. In addition, 99.9 percent of complaints filed with the FCC (other than complaints about Jackson's breast) were brought by the PTC and its members. The PTC responded by charging the FCC with "faulty accounting practices," and called for a Congressional investigation. "While we're pleased that the FCC has calculated that PTC members have filed an overwhelming majority of indecency complaints in the last two years, the FCC's count is utterly deceptive," PTC's Bozell said. "The FCC is playing games with their accounting and is being deliberately dishonest with the American people over the number of complaints filed in the last few years. The PTC has documentation to show the FCC's dishonesty." Founded in 1995 "to ensure that children are not constantly assaulted by sex, violence and profanity on television and in other media," the Parents Television Council claims on its website that it is a "grassroots organization" with "nearly one million members across the United States." The PTC maintains that it works in consort with "television producers, broadcasters, networks and sponsors in an effort to stem the flow of harmful and negative messages targeted to children" and "also works with elected and appointed government officials to enforce broadcast decency standards." In addition the organization "produces critical research and publications documenting the dramatic increase in sex, violence and profanity in entertainment." Rating the showsWell-known for its "spare no nasty adjectives" campaigns against the television networks, PTC is also known for its annual survey called the "Top 10 Best and Worst Network TV Shows for Family Viewing." The 2003-2004 survey gave a hearty thumbs-up to a number of shows. "Joan of Arcadia" (CBS) was one of the favorites. Rumors that the show might be cancelled caused PTC to issue an "E-Alert" on April 26, aimed at saving the series. The Pax network (PAX-TV website), the "family friendly" television network founded by Paxon Communications' Lowell "Bud" Paxon, who was also a co-founder of the Home Shopping Network, is home to a number of Bozell favorites, including "Doc", a show about a country doctor transplanted to New York City. "Sue Thomas F. B. Eye," also on Pax, "Reba" on WB, "7th Heaven" - also on WB, "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" (ABC), "Everybody Loves Raymond" (CBS), and "American Idol" (Fox) all got nods of approval from the PTC. Recently ABC's "PrimeTime Live" reported hanky-panky and favoritism behind the scenes at Fox's cash cow "American Idol", threatening its family-friendly rating from the PTC. Also on the approved list are "American Dreams" (NBC), and "Bernie Mac" (Fox). The top 10 "Worst" shows, according to the PTC are "Everwood" (WB Network), "That '70s Show" (Fox), "Fear Factor (NBC), "Two and a Half Men" (CBS), "C.S.I. (Crime Scene Investigation)" (CBS), "The Surreal Life" (WB), "Girlfriends" (UPN), "Las Vegas" (NBC), "Will & Grace" (NBC), and "Cold Case" (CBS). The organization's Board of Directors includes Leon J. Weil, Chairman of the Board, Bozell, former pop star Pat Boone, Phillip Friedman, co-founder Recycled Paper Greetings, Inc., Robert D. Stuart, the former Chairman and CEO of Quaker Oats, and Dr. C. Delores Tucker, Founder and Chair of the National Congress of Black Women. While the PTC promotes the number of "actors, writers, producers, public policy activists, athletes, academicians and philanthropists" who sit on its Advisory Board, in reality, the Board is made up of mostly second tier celebrities including country singers Bill Ray Cyrus, Naomi Judd; former pop singer Boone; actors Connie Selleca (a recent addition), Jane Seymour and Dean Jones; comedian Tim Conway; former Oakland Raider football player, Jim Otto; film critic Michael Medved; and of course America's fallen morality-maven William Bennett. In its early years, the most notable name on the PTC roster was the multi-talented Steve Allen, who served as the group's National Honorary Chairman from 1997 until his death in 2000. Several years ago, when I first saw a PTC advertisement with Allen's name on it I was quite taken aback that the long-time anti-censorship crusader had hooked-up with Bozell, a well-known right wing activist and perennial liberal-basher, and had signed-on to the group's series of full-page advertisements that were placed in newspapers across the country lambasting television programmers and advertisers. The condemnatory ads attacked television programs for being laced with "filth, vulgarity, coarse humor, premarital sex, violence and killings." And, they solicited funds for the organization. Steve Allen was clearly a jewel in the PTC crown and the biggest celebrity spokesperson the group has ever been able to enlist. It isn't difficult to figure out what Bozell wanted with Allen -- having a big Hollywood name brought instant prestige. Allen, an innovative late night talk show host, was a musician and prolific songwriter, comedian, author of a number of books and a well-known defender of civil liberties. He was generally thought to be a cut above your basic television personality. Over the course of his television career, Allen distinguished himself as the first host to bring Bob Dylan to a national television audience. On February 25, 1964 Bob Dylan appeared on "The Steve Allen Show" and sang "The Lonesome Death of Hattie Caroll" -- a soulful and bitter "ripped from the headlines" song about the murder of Hattie Caroll, a black maid, by a young wealthy white man in Baltimore, who ultimately got off with barely a wrist-slap. Although the audience appeared underwhelmed by Dylan, Allen magnanimously, and presciently, said something to the effect that he was certain "we would be hearing a lot more from that young man." In addition, he brought the comedian and social commentator Lenny Bruce to his stage. Allen had great admiration and affection for the troubled Bruce, who for years was harassed and harangued by government officials over the use of "obscenity" in his act, until he died by a heroin overdose in 1966. Not only did Bruce appear on Allen's programs, in 1984 Allen hosted "A Toast To Lenny" in Los Angeles. Allen later said of Bruce: "Lenny always seemed to me to the first of the modern comedians...He commented on the world around, and, since he had the sensitivity of a philosopher, plus a superior intelligence, the things he said were always insightful." In interviews before his death, Allen maintained that he was thoroughly disgusted by what was passing for entertainment on television and the gratuitous use of swear words and he hoped the PTC would change that. In the half-decade since his death, I'm not sure Allen would recognize the media-scape that the PTC has helped produce. The Cloak of Bi-partisanshipIn his February 11, column ("Liberals of the world unite") posted at Townhall.com, Bozell claimed that while his personal politics were well-known (conservative), the PTC wasn't a conservative group, nor was it affiliated with any religious movement. He criticized conservative groups for not getting more involved in combating "the programming sewage flooding the airwaves." "...why is it that we think all conservatives naturally care about the degradation of the popular culture anyway? Flip through the recent issues of any number of conservative publications and show me how many articles were devoted to addressing the problem, never mind a solution. Scroll down your list of major conservative think tanks in Washington, D.C. (around the country, too), and tell me how many have this issue as a top three -- heck, I'll take a top 10 -- concern. What of our elected leaders? Beyond a couple in the Senate and a half-dozen in the House, there is nary a 'conservative' out there willing to risk an ounce of political capital decrying, beyond a throwaway line or two in a speech here and there, the sorry state of affairs in the popular culture. What of the 'libertarian' streak of this broad movement? It could not care less. Only among self-described social conservative groups is there passion on this issue, yet even here it's by no means unanimous." Bozell, who appears to revere his friendship with the late Steve Allen, urged liberals to sign on to his campaign against indecency on the airwaves. Indecency isn't a liberal or conservative issue, he said. While Bozell appears to don peace-making garb as president of PTC, he isn't nearly as conciliatory in his trash-the-liberal-media role with the Media Research Center (MRC). According to Media Transparency's Grant Data Matrix, between 2000 and 2003 PTC received about $95,000, mostly from the Hickory Foundation. Its 2004 Annual Report shows more than $4.6 million in "Total Revenue and Support." The report also acknowledges support from the Anschutz Foundation, the Lynde & Harry Bradley Foundation, the Hickory Foundation, the William E. Simon Foundation, all of whom are members of the "Founders Club," made up of donors of $5,000 or more, and from hundreds of individual donors as well. (During a 14-year period from 1990 to 2003, the Media Research Center -- which according to SourceWatch, has a $6 million annual budget and 60 staff members -- received more than $3.5 million, much of it coming from the Sarah Scaife, Lynde and Harry Bradley, Castle Rock and the Richard and Helen DeVos foundations.) The Future Belongs To...Attacking Pay Cable StationsThere are sure to be more PTC initiatives, campaigns and complaints coming down the pike. Frank Rich, in a recent New York Times column, pointed out that Kevin Martin, the new chairman of the FCC -- who replaced Michael Powell -- "had been endorsed by the Parents Television Council and other avatars of the religious right." Bozell told the Associated Press that Martin's record on indecency issues "shows his commitment to serving the public interest." The PTC is also involved with cable television: Bozell thinks the time is right to push cable operators into offering the public the opportunity to purchase the channels that they want -- so-called a-la-carte programming -- and not force the public to accept cable packages with stations that some may find objectionable. "We are at a rare moment when there seems to be bipartisan energy on both sides of the political aisle and both sides of the ideological divide." But "bipartisan energy" wasn't enough this time around. Business Week reported in early May that thus far "the cable biz has cannily fended off a first attack by the PTC" and other organizations, including Consumers Union, "by hiring Christian Right operative Ralph Reed...and encouraging religious broadcasters to voice their opposition." There is also a move afoot in Congress, spearheaded by Sen. Ted Stevens (R-Alaska) and Rep. Joe Barton, (R-Texas), to regulate content on pay cable channels (such as HBO or Showtime). Senator Stevens recently told a meeting of the National Association of Broadcasters that the FCC should be allowed to include cable channels and satellite channels in its campaign to stamp out indecency. sign in, or register to email stories or comment on them.
Reader CommentsI thank God the children of our country will no longer hear a character say, "Damn, I blew him away!" Instead they will hear "Gosh-a-rooty, I spread his innards all over the side boy with the double-ought buckshot in my sawed-off shotgun." I know, the PTC objects to violence. But the truth is they raise more hell over a nipples than they do corpse. --- Case Wagenvoord | 6-5-2005 | 11:26 am | homepage | email
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MORE ORIGINAL RESEARCHBill Berkowitz PERC receives Templeton Freedom Award for promoting 'enviropreneurs'Right Wing foundation-funded anti-environmental think tank grabbing a wider audience for 'free market environmentalism' On the 15th anniversary of Terry Anderson and Donald Leal's book "Free Market Environmentalism" -- the seminal book on the subject -- Anderson, the Executive Director of the Bozeman, Montana-based Property and Environment Research Center (PERC - formerly known as the Political Economy Research Center) spoke in late-January at an event sponsored by Squaw Valley Institute at the Resort at Squaw Creek in California. While it may have been just another opportunity to speak on "free market environmentalism" and not the kickoff of a "victory tour," nevertheless it comes at a time when PERC's ideas are taking root.
Bill Berkowitz Neil Bush of Saudi ArabiaDuring recent visit, President’s brother describes the country as a 'kind of tribal democracy' In late February, only a few days after Saudi Arabia beheaded four Sri Lankan robbers and then left their headless bodies on public display in the capital of Riyadh, Neil Bush, for the fourth time in the past six years, showed up for the country's Jeddah Economic Forum. The Guardian reported that Human Rights Watch "said the four men had no lawyers during their trial and sentencing, and were denied other basic legal rights." In an interview with Arab News, the Saudi English language paper, Bush described the country as "a kind of tribal democracy."
Bill Berkowitz Newt Gingrich's back door to the White HouseAmerican Enterprise Institute "Scholar" and former House Speaker blames media for poll showing 64 percent of the American people wouldn't vote for him under any circumstances Whatever it is that former House Speaker Newt Gingrich has come to represent in American politics, the guy is nothing less than fascinating. One day he's espousing populist rhetoric about the need to cut the costs of college tuition and the next day he's talking World War III. One day he's claiming that the "war on terror" may force the abridgement of fundamental first amendment rights and the next he's advancing a twenty-first century version of his Contract with America. At the same time he's publicly proclaiming how "stupid" it is that the race for the presidency has already started you know that he's trying to figure out how to out finesse Rudy, McCain and Romney for the nomination. And last week, when Fox News' Chris Wallace cited a poll showing that 64 percent of the public would never vote for him, he was quick to blame those results on how unfairly he was treated by the mainstream media back in the day.
Bill Berkowitz American Enterprise Institute takes lead in agitating against IranDespite wrongheaded predictions about the war on Iraq, neocons are on the frontlines advocating military conflict with Iran After doing such a bang up job with their advice and predictions about the outcome of the war on Iraq, would it surprise you to learn that America's neoconservatives are still in business? While at this time we are not yet seeing the same intense neocon invasion of our living rooms -- via cable television's news networks -- that we saw during the run-up to the invasion of Iraq, nevertheless, a host of policy analysts at conservative think tanks -- most notably the American Enterprise Institute -- are being heeded on Iran by those who count - folks inside the Bush Administration.
Bill Berkowitz After six years, opposition gaining on George W. Bush's Faith Based InitiativeUnmentioned in the president's State of the Union speech, the program nevertheless continues to recruit religious participants and hand out taxpayer money to religious groups With several domestic policy proposals unceremoniously folded into President Bush's recent State of the Union address, two pretty significant items failed to make the cut. Despite the president's egregiously tardy response to the event itself, it was nevertheless surprising that he didn't even mention Hurricane Katrina: He didn't offer up a progress report, words of hope to the victims, or come up with a proposal for moving the sluggish rebuilding effort forward. There were no "armies of compassion" ready to be unleashed, although it should be said that many in the religious community responded to the disaster much quicker than the Bush Administration. In the State of the Union address, however, there was no "compassionate conservatism" for the victims of Hurricane Katrina.
Bill Berkowitz Frank Luntz calls Republican leadership in Washington 'One giant whining windbag'On the outs with the GOP, legendary degrader of discourse is moving to California He doesn't make great art; nothing he does elevates the human spirit; he doesn't illuminate, he bamboozles. He has become expert in subterfuge, hidden meanings, word play and manipulation. Frank Luntz has been so good at what he does that those paying close attention gave it its own name: "Luntzspeak."
Bill Berkowitz Spooked by MoveOn.org, conservative movement seeks to emulate liberal powerhouseFueled with Silicon Valley money, TheVanguard.org will have Richard Poe, former editor of David Horowitz's FrontPage magazine as its editorial and creative director As Paul Weyrich, a founding father of the modern conservative movement and still a prominent actor in it, likes to say, he learned a great deal about movement building by closely observing what liberals were up to in the late 1960s and early 1970s.
Bill Berkowitz Ward Connerly's anti-affirmative action jihadFounder and Chair of the American Civil Rights Institute scouting five to nine states for new anti-affirmative action initiatives Fresh from his most recent victory -- in Michigan this past November -- Ward Connerly, the Black California-based maven of anti-affirmative action initiatives, appears to be preparing to take his jihad on the road. According to a mid-December report in the San Francisco Chronicle, Connerly said that he was "exploring moves into nine other states."
Bill Berkowitz Tom Tancredo's missionThe Republican congressman from Colorado will try to woo GOP voters with anti-immigration rhetoric and a boatload of Christian right politics These days, probably the most recognizable name in anti-immigration politics is Colorado Republican Congressman Tom Tancredo. Over the past year, Tancredo has gone from a little known congressman to a highly visible anti-immigration spokesperson. "Tancredo has thoroughly enmeshed himself in the anti-immigration movement and with the help of CNN talk show host Lou Dobbs, he has been given a national megaphone," Devin Burghart, the program director of the Building Democracy Initiative at the Center for New Community, a Chicago-based civil rights group, told Media Transparency.
Bill Berkowitz Institute on Religion and Democracy slams 'Leftist' National Council of ChurchesNew report from conservative foundation-funded IRD charges the NCC with being a political surrogate for MoveOn.org, People for the American Way and other liberal organizations If you prefer your religious battles sprinkled with demagoguery, sanctimoniousness, and simplistic attacks, the Institute on Religion and Democracy's (IRD) latest broadside against the National Council of Churches (NCC) certainly fits the bill.
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