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Church challenges
stations over ad
United
Church of Christ asks FCC
to deny licenses
The United Church of Christ is so
steamed that some TV stations won’t air its commercial that it’s
taken its case to the Federal Communications Commission. This comes
a week after the liberal Protestant church blasted CBS and NBC for
not accepting the same ad, which touts its tolerance for gays and
minorities.
The church yesterday filed two petitions with the FCC
asking the commission not to renew the licenses of two Miami TV
stations, CBS-owned WFOR-4 and NBC-owned WTVJ-6.
The Rev. John H. Thomas, the UCC’s general minister
and president, included a signed statement with the petition that
says:
“The religious, ethical and moral right of members of
UCC churches and other citizens to have access to diverse
programming has been harmed by the refusal of NBC and CBS to carry
[the ad], as well as by their failure to carry programming
reflecting the full range of religious expression in the United
States on their networks and on their owned-and-operated stations.”
At the heart of this debate is an ad that shows two
muscle-bound bouncers deciding who they want to let into a church.
The two say “not you” to some minorities, a gay couple, and a
man in a wheelchair before a message appears that reads, “Jesus
didn't turn people away. Neither do we.”
The CBS affiliate says it doesn’t accept advocacy
advertising, while the NBC affiliate says it doesn’t run ads that
deal with a public controversy.
In this case the CBS affiliate says it was never even
approached about the ad, while the NBC affiliate says the UCC ad was
rejected because it implies that other religions aren’t open to
everybody."
In its complaint the UCC says the stations should have
their license renewals denied because they aren’t allowing viewers
a full slate of social, political and moral ideas.
The same ad has been accepted by the CBS and NBC
affiliates in Portland, Ore., as well as cable networks ABC Family,
AMC, BET, Discovery Channel, Fox News, Hallmark, Nick at Night,
Travel Channel, TV Land, TNT and TBS. Also, Mission Broadcasting
has agreed to run the ads for free through January on its 14 stations
in Indiana, Illinois, Missouri, New York, Pennsylvania and Texas.
The UCC has almost 6,000 congregations and more than 1.3
million members, though one report has its membership declining by a
quarter during the past 15 years.
Some believe this ad campaign is part of a broader
statement against President George Bush’s stance against same-sex
marriages.
There's also some questions about the timing of the UCC's
protests.
The church apparently first ran the ad by
networks and was rejected nine months ago. It then recently returned
to the networks and resubmitted the ad, apparently knowing full well
it would be rejected a second time on the same grounds.
The UCC is not protesting ABC, even though it also
turned down the ad, saying it did not accept religious ads.
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Dec. 10, 2004
©
2004
Media Life
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