New TV Outrage - A New Low For TV:

Parent Television Council ^ | Parent Television Council

[Dr. Frank fan]

I can't understand why some around here are so enamored with Rupert Murdoch.

I can't understand why you think there are people around here or anywhere else who are "enamored" with Rupert Murdoch.

[plusone]

Used to be that you didn't have to cringe when you flipped past the channels. Now it's like some kind of freak show carnival. When they bring pedophiles to prime time, will you also just tell people to 'turn it off'? We can't always bow to market forces, we can't surrender completely our community standards to some billionaire board of directors who get to define 'pop culture'.

[StupidQuestions]

Married women constitute a very important demographic group to advertisers. If you were correct about the ratings for the premium channel program, commercial channel programmers would likely notice it. TV seeks to maximize audience. If vulgarity attracts a large audience, more programs will be vulgar. The Fox programmers are not trying to drive the culture but react to it.

It is part of Free Enterprise. It is the marketplace at work!

[Eowyn-of-Rohan]

There is also a little button on the front of the TV - and the remote control - labled, "Off". Works for me everytime. LVM

That is the lamest argument of all, and always the ones who use it are so smug. Why can't you grasp that the problem occurs BEFORE YOU TURN THE CHANNEL? "Oh sorry kids, pretend you didn't see or hear that-- here, I changed the channel to Barney"

YOUR ARGUMENT IS A CHEAP COP OUT. And this doesn't just go for KIDS either. It goes for anyone, no matter young, middle or old age, who have a RIGHT TO BE FREE FROM this crap. It does NOT have to be mainlined into every household on public airwaves (or cable for that matter) in order to uphold your freedom of the "press" (which this is not) argument. People can get this crap and all other related crap at a special, dingy little bookstore like they USED to.

[ffusco]

That's discrimination! If a man had sex with a mare- well there'd be one disapointed horse! Not to mantion trying to get out of the barn gracefully.

[peteram]

Yeah, it's interesting however that the Fox Television Network continues to push the envelope of good taste with crude programming, while the Fox News Channel can be so balanced - even somewhat conservative at times. Makes you wonder where Mr. Murdoch is in his political philosophy.

[webber]

"It has really become a very serious issue in the last few years. I grew up watching CHiPs, Knight Rider, (not the most innocent shows but still fairly clean) etc. Now, kids are watching Jerry Springer, and vile sitcoms and reality shows."

Not only that, but if nobody complains to the FCC or advertisers about such filth, they will think they have the green light to continue, and eventually this is all you will see on TV. Is that what they really want? An Expensive TV that they bought that they can't turn on?

It boggles my mind that they don't realize that if you don't "push the camel's nose out of the tent, it will enter completely.

[Eowyn-of-Rohan]

NO, the REAL disease is the mainstreaming of porn and perversion into everyones home via TV internet etc. You have the right to look at and do what you want so long as you don't squash the rights of others. We should go back to the days of dirty little rooms where people who crave this kind of crap can have all they want and leave the rest of us alone. This country has turned into a cesspoool. We have a right to be FREE FROM garbage. The damage is done sometimes before the channel can be turned. Our TV stations used to have a code of ethics--perhaps you are too young to remember that. We need to get back to the media taking some responsibility (and #1 they can get rid of that syphlitic dirtball Howard Stern and his sick piggish friends)

[webber]

"We threw our TV away years ago. I recommend you either do the same or switch the channel."

I see, so it's okay to have abortions, it's just that if YOU don't want to have one, then don't have one.

[MediaMole]

By the way, was Murdock behind "Queer as folk"? That was a sick series.

It's on Showtime, which is owned by Viacom -- the same people who own Simon and Schuster, which published "lying history."

[Hyacinth Bucket]

"The Fox programmers are not trying to drive the culture but react to it."

Oh really, do you know the kind of people who produce these shows? These are the white collar scum of society. They have always wanted to re-shape society according to their miserable lifestyles and then make money too in the process. Of course, people will watch the shows because as human beings we're curious.

Show business people will always push the envelope whether people wanted this or not. There would be controversy for a while until eventually this becomes the norm. Then, they push the line some more.

[Fraulein]

but I don't think I'm the stallion she's looking for

LOL!

[ffusco]

If I had kids I would be just as appalled, trouble is that TV and Radio are free- so you are free not to watch it. Or turn off the set after 8pm.

Free media needs viewers to have an audience for commercials- they need racy crap to get viewers since they are competing with cable - which is almost all R rated nowadays.

[kcar]

The right to be free from garbage? I don't remember that one being enumerated. I do remember we have the right to property, (.e.g., to earn money and pay for things of our choosing), but the freeware of TV (as opposed to the equipment) has always been paid for by advertisers, who basically follow the tastes of the viewers that tune in, and they do tend to have all kinds of demographic info re: who does. So when it's free it's basically worth every penny (popular tastes prevail). And the recipient has no right to expect anything of much value at all.
Turn it off - turn to FoxNews only. Whatever. Regulating others tastes is a waste of valuable lifespan.

[ffusco]

No one said its ok to have an abortion, but our society deemed that it's a personal decision years ago. Many women have decided that it's their body and it will be difficult to take away their "right" now that they have claimed it.
Fortunately many more people are responsible and never need to make that choice, but on a personal level aren't you worried about other people, perhaps not as moral as you making decisions for everone else? That worries me more than some smut on TV.

[webber]

Adolf Hitler would have just loved to have read some of these posts. Just don't read about the holocuast if it bothers you. Don't try to stop the behavior of other people, if a Nation want to declare a certain immigrant population as non-human, then that's their business. If you don't like it, don't live there. If some people want Black Slaves, who are you to tell me I can't have one just because you don't believe in slavery. Move to a state that don't have slaves. If we want to imprison American Citizens because they look different, and have shown no hostility to America or other Americans, who are you to say they can't especially when it has become Gov't policy. Just don't read about it. Just live your life and shut up. RIGHT?

[StupidQuestions]

These people live and die by ratings. Sponsors want ratings and demographics. The idea is to make money. If they don't get the numbers, they are out of work.

Yes, I do know them. Do you? Their jobs depend on ratings, not on social manipulation. Rupert Murdoch is interested in making a profit. Is there anything wrong with that? Don't we believe in Capitalism and allowing markets to operate? That is what's going on here.

If a show gets good numbers on Showtime or HBO it will influence commercial television. It has to. It is a natural process of the free market.

[mhking]

There's an On/Off switch, and you as parent have control over what your children ultimately watch.

[Eowyn-of-Rohan]

I do not have kids. I do, however have nieces and nephews. I have no idea how you arrived at the conclusion "TV is free so you are free not to watch it" since when and HOW do those 2 statements connect? Just because the word "free" is in both statements? otherwise NO, I should not have to turn the set off at 8pm. Smut should not rule. OK? And smut dealers and perverts and addicts should not rule either.

[ffusco]

Who told you to shut up?Go write letters, more power to you. Your on a TV crusade- fine with me.


Re Hitler: When someone forces you to watch TV at gunpoint it will carry more weight as an argument. also slavery and genocide are fundamentally wrong to anybody with a soul.