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Bill Berkowitz
May 10, 2005

The Parents Television Council

2004 was banner year for 'national clearing house for, and arbiter of, decency' on America's airwaves

On April 18, L. Brent Bozell, the founder and president of the Parents Television Council (PTC - website), a subsidiary of his Media Research Center (MRC - website), appeared on the Fox News Channel's morning show, "Fox and Friends," to talk about the PTC's new report, "The Ratings Sham: TV Executives Hiding Behind a System That Doesn't Work".

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 Publicity

The 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 Complaints

According 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 shows

Well-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-partisanship

In 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 Stations

There 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.

Reader Comments

I 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