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Bullying the media

On this page: Bullying NBC over Veggie Tales| Indecency complaints | In the News | Media Matters study shows TV dominance of religious right

Bullying NBC over Veggie Tales

Christian conservatives claim new NBC kids' show Veggie Tales got raw deal

NBC edits sectarian religious references from cartoon series

by JewsOnFirst.org, October 3, 2006

NBC drew protests recently from religious conservatives over edits the network made to a Saturday morning cartoon that exclude references to God.

The dispute began when Phil Vischer, the creator of VeggieTales, the popular kids' videos now airing as part of NBC's Saturday-morning kids programming block, said that the cuts he was asked to make by NBC on the show were to take out references to God and the Bible. Continue.

Fans Say Pressure Has Eased NBC Edits of 'VeggieTales'

By Chansin Bird, Religion News Service via Beliefnet, no date

Fans of VeggieTales, those lovable animated singing and talking vegetables, may notice a change in the episodes aired on NBC's Saturday morning cartoon lineup: There's less editing than originally feared.

"The last batch of episodes are airing with very little editing," VeggieTales creator Phil Vischer wrote in an e-mail to Religion News Service. "Not none whatsoever, but very nearly none whatsoever. Much less than earlier episodes." Continue.

NBC Has Eased Up Editing God Out of VeggieTales

Focus on the Family, November 17, 2006

According to Phil Vischer, one of the creators of the children's cartoon VeggieTales, NBC has backed of its insistence that the Saturday-morning network version be free of references to God and the Bible.

Big Idea, the creator of the hugely popular VeggieTales, teamed up with NBC to place the show in the Saturday cartoon lineup. But two weeks prior to its premier NBC told the show's producer the cartoon needed to be free of references to God and the Bible.

On his blog, Vischer noted he'd heard a rumor that NBC received 600,000 e-mail letters critical of the network censorship -- a rumor he said "I can't confirm or deny." Continue.

Indecency Complaints

Religious right and FCC chair go ballistic over court's reversal of FCC obscenity ruling

A collection of reports by JewsOnFirst.org, June 13, 2007

FCC Chairman Kevin Martin called the 2nd circuit appeals court "out of touch" after it threw out his agency's harsh anti-cursing regime. Religious right groups, which had enthusiastically campaigned for the ban, were vociferous in their dismay. Please click here.

Network Decisions Influenced by Threat of Higher Indecency Fines

Media watchers say that's how it's supposed to work.

Focus on the Family, February 9, 2007

An increase in maximum fines for broadcast indecency seems to be getting the attention of network television executives. Since Congress raised the maximum fine from $32,500 to $325,000 last year, Pat Trueman with the Alliance Defense Fund said he has noticed more care being taken by networks. Continue.

PTC Blasts FCC Ruling Exempting News Broadcasts From Indecency Laws

By Jeff Johnson, AgapePress, November 9, 2006

The Federal Communications Commission issued two rulings this week that are troubling pro-family advocates. The FCC determined that a profane word aired during a live television news interview does not constitute indecency, even though the same word would be considered indecent if broadcast during an entertainment program.

Dan Isett with the Parents Television Council (PTC) says the federal commissioners' inconsistency is disturbing. "They make the case, first, that they're not creating a so-called news exemptions to indecency regulation, and then [they] line out exactly how they're creating a news exemption for indecency regulation," he says. Continue.

Silly campaign against CBS enough to elicit bad words

By Monroe Anderson, The Chicago Sun-Times, September 3, 2006

The latest target of the American Family Association's holier-than-thou crusade is CBS. The network is commanding the wrath of the radical right-wing religious organization because on Sept. 10 it's airing an updated rendition of the Emmy and Peabody award-winning documentary, ''9/11.'' The association, which claims to be more than 3.5 million strong in its narrow-minded order of the righteously pious, has launched an e-mail campaign because, "not content with all the profanity already on TV, CBS has decided to air the profanity-laden unedited version of '9/11.' '' Continue.

FRC Praises Frist, Brownback On Broadcast Decency Bill

News Release, Family Research Council, May 19, 2006 - Friday

"Increasing the penalties for indecency will send a clear message to broadcasters: If you foul the public airwaves, you face the fine," says FRC's President Tony Perkins

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Family Research Council President Tony Perkins released the following statement after the U.S. Senate passed by unanimous consent S. 193, The Broadcast Decency Enforcement Act, which increases broadcast indecency fines from $32,500 to $325,000. The bill was sponsored by Senator Sam Brownback (R-KS) and shepherded through the Senate by Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-TN):

"Today's media giants -- like Viacom, which owns CBS and MTV -- view the current fines for indecency as an irrelevant cost of doing business. Passage of the Broadcast Decency Enforcement Act goes a long way in raising that cost for the networks that violate decency standards in a quest for higher ratings. Keeping the fines relevant to the bottom-line says to broadcasters and performers - Americans expect decency on the public airwaves. Continue

The Media Hears the Sermon

The Christian Right has notched some high-profile victories lately. But are companies bowing to pressure or just pleasing their customers?

By Bill Symonds, Business Week, December 14, 2005

The Christian Right would seem to have a lot to celebrate as Christmas approaches. In recent days, it has scored a number of significant victories over its perceived opponents in Corporate America. Many of the nation's biggest cable operators have just announced plans to offer a "family tier" of networks in response to the Christian Right's long-running campaign against "indecent" TV programming. Click here to read the report.

In the News

Does ABC Think There's No Heaven?

Network used editorial comment indicating disbelief in afterlife in story on 3,000th Iraqi war death.

Focus on the Family, January 5, 2007

Media watchdogs contend ABC hurled religious insults in its coverage of death number 3,000 in the Iraq war by suggesting a comforting reference to the afterlife was an error.

Dustin Donica, the 3,000th fallen soldier, left behind a MySpace page that his friends have used to post their condolences to his family. ABC News featured one comment from that page that read, "All my love and prayers go to your family, and I’ll see you again." But the network added the editorial remark "sic" after the comment -- indicating, "There was a mistake made here, but we didn't make it; the author did." Continue.

Messianic Jewish believer says nothing fair about Fairness Doctrine

Chad Groening, OneNewsNow.com (AgapePress), January 29, 2007

If the so-called "Fairness Doctrine" is reinstated, it would muzzle conservative talk radio -- or so says the leader of a pro-Israel ministry based in Minnesota. Jan Markell is concerned about legislation afoot on Capitol Hill that would bring back a policy rescinded by Ronald Reagan almost 20 years ago.

The head of a pro-Israel ministry says if Democrats on Capitol Hill are successful in bringing back the Fairness Doctrine, radio stations would be forced to put anti-Israel propaganda on the air, following her program.

Jan Markell, founder and director of Olive Tree Ministries, says she is deeply concerned about the efforts of New York Congressman Maurice Hinchey and Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders, who have introduced legislation designed to bring back the Fairness Doctrine that was rescinded by Ronald Reagan in 1987, before the rise of conservative talk radio. Continue

Pro-Family, Media Watchdogs Protest CBS's Sex-Charged Christmas Carol Parody

By Jim Brown and Jenni Parker, AgapePress, December 14, 2006

CBS Television is once again under fire from conservatives, this time over a sexually-charged rendition of a popular Christmas carol. A pro-family media analyst is denouncing the network over its airing of a song that uses the melody from a familiar Christian-themed holiday song to glorify sexual anarchy.

The Monday (December 11) episode of the network's popular sitcom Two and a Half Men featured actor Charlie Sheen singing a song about extramarital sex to the tune of "Joy to the World," a well-known hymn about the birth of Christ. In the parody song, Sheen boasts in anticipation about having sex on Christmas Eve on his second date with a woman. Continue.

NBC crosses out Madonna crucifixion

Reuters, CNN.com,, October 20, 2006

LOS ANGELES, California (Reuters) -- Under pressure from Christian conservative groups accusing pop star Madonna of sacrilege, NBC said Thursday it removed footage from her upcoming prime-time concert special of the singer performing while suspended on a giant cross.

Madonna had insisted that the mock crucifixion, a centerpiece of her "Confessions" world tour staged while she performed the hit song "Live to Tell," be included in the two-hour special set to air on NBC on November 22.

But socially conservative organizations organized a campaign urging NBC affiliate stations to refuse to carry the special if the crucifix stunt remained in the show. Continue.

NBC opts to cut crucifixion scene from Madonna concert

Baptist Press, October 23, 2006

Following pressure from Christian groups accusing NBC of a double standard, NBC has decided to cut the crucifixion scene from a November broadcast of a concert from Madonna’s "Confessions" tour, according to the Associated Press in an article also picked up by Billboard magazine Oct. 20.

NBC did not say why they decided to cut the scene, but a spokesperson said they will use images from other cameras while Madonna is mounted on a mirrored cross during the first part of the song "Live to Tell," AP reported. The network only said in a statement that the song has been revised for the broadcast special. Continue

AFA Calls on ABC, O'Donnell to Apologize for Comments

Church Report, September 18, 2006

NASHVILLE, Tenn. After "The View" co-host Rosie O’Donnell, who joined the show this season, compared "radical Christianity" to "radical Islam" during the Sept. 12 program, a prominent conservative group is asking Christians to contact ABC and request an apology and a reprimand.

"O'Donnell was saying there is no difference between the radical Muslims who kill in the name of Allah and Bible believing Christians who follow the teachings of Jesus," a statement from the American Family Association says. "Neither O'Donnell nor ABC apologized for the comments. Had she made similar comments about minorities or homosexuals, there would have been an apology and she would have probably been fired.” Click here

Guest Commentary: Hollywood -- Pushing Their Agenda and Mocking Christians

By Jason T. Christy, Agape Press, January 20, 2006

In his commentary on the Golden Globes awards, Christy writes: "After watching the awards show for a few minutes on Monday evening, it became evident that Hollywood executives were using this national exposure as a means of promoting their liberal, anti-American, pro-homosexual agenda." Click here for the article.

Media Matters study shows TV dominance of religious right

LEFT BEHIND: The Skewed Representation of Religion in Major News Media

Media Matters for America, May 2007

It would surprise few people, conservative or progressive, to learn that coverage of the intersection of religion and politics tends to oversimplify both. If this oversimplification occurred to the benefit or detriment of neither side of the political divide, then the weaknesses in coverage of religion would be of only academic interest. But as this study documents, coverage of religion not only overrepresents some voices and underrepresents others, it does so in a way that is consistently advantageous to conservatives. Continue.

Religious Wrong

National Public Radio, On the Media, June 01, 2007

Media coverage of the religion & politics nexus tends to spotlight the Religious Right. But a new Media Matters study suggests that by neglecting religious moderates and progressives, the media are helping the conservative cause. Study author Paul Waldman and religion writer Jeff Sharlet parse the findings. Continue.

The Religious Left is Left Out by the Commercial Media

A new study by Media Matters for America shows that when the topic is religion, the media looks disproportionately to hard-line right-wingers for comment.

Joshua Holland, AlterNet., May 30, 2007.

People can attach a thousand different meanings to words like "faith" and "values," yet when it comes to religion and politics, we've been conditioned to understand that they have a narrow and decidedly right-wing tilt. When pundits speak the phrase -- often in reverent tones -- we know they're not talking about the pacifism valued by Quakers, the environmental stewardship valued by Wiccans or the act of caring for the hungry, poor and sick that's valued by almost all faiths.

So after the 2004 election, when exit polls found that more people identified "moral values" as their most important issue than any other, it led to endless hand-wringing among liberals and Democrats about how they could win back "values voters" and a thousand columns about how progressive America is largely a secular, even God-hating America and would therefore always be a marginal part of the body politic. The electorate, we were told, was divided between pro-choice, gay-tolerant "blue," and anti-choice, gay-bashing "red."

Later, post-election surveys showed that gay marriage and abortion had in fact had little or no effect on the independent vote, the vote in battleground states, or the vote in states with anti-gay marriage initiatives on the ballot. It wasn't until an exit poll conducted by Zogby after last year's midterm elections found that the "moral issue" cited most by voters was the Iraq war that the particular piece of conventional wisdom was abandoned by many political junkies, but it persists today among too many reporters. Continue