Parents Television and Media Council
The group has also been critical of the TV Parental Guidelines system, often deeming the ratings given by broadcasters to be inaccurate in comparison to their own assessments of a program's content.It has mounted pressure campaigns against the producers, broadcasters, and sponsors of programming that they perceive to be indecent or harmful to children (such as those containing undue sexual content, profane language, and violence); these campaigns typically include the organized mass mailing of form letters and emails to advertising sponsors of unapproved programs, organized mass filing of complaints via the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) website complaint form, and direct threats of long, potentially costly FCC license challenges to local network affiliates planning to broadcast what the council considers harmful network programming.[17] The PTC also has an advisory board consisting of politicians and entertainers working to assist the council in their goal of protecting children against profanity and violence in the media.Notable members of the advisory board have included singer Pat Boone, former football player Mel Renfro, writer-producer Coleman Luck, country musician Billy Ray Cyrus, comedian and actor Tim Conway of CBS's The Carol Burnett Show, former U.S.Senator from Kansas and 2008 presidential candidate Sam Brownback, film critic Michael Medved, star of 1980s soap opera Dallas Susan Howard, and ION Television producer Gary Johnson.[20] Bahçeşehir University associate professor Christian Christiansen questioned the backgrounds of certain PTC advisory board members as not consistent with their stance on morality.[32] Richard Huff of the New York Daily News criticized the report for misinterpreting an episode of SpongeBob SquarePants, "Sailor Mouth", over its intent to satirize profanity implicitly.[36] Ian O'Doherty of The Irish Independent asked regarding the PTC's marriage depiction study: "After all, would you rather watch people having fun or would you rather watch a realistic depiction of marriage, which ... would simply be an hour of two people sullenly chewing their food, pausing occasionally only to throw each other filthies and occasionally grumbling under their breath how the biggest regret of their life was ever setting eyes on you and that their mother was right all along?[42] Starting with the 2005–2006 season, their list was based on their traffic light system as well as Nielsen Media Research ratings of viewership among children ages 2–17 of certain shows.[43] Popular shows that have frequently been praised as the most family-friendly programs on television include George Lopez,[44][45] 7th Heaven, Touched by an Angel, Home Improvement, Family Matters, Sabrina the Teenage Witch, Boy Meets World,[46] Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, American Idol, Dancing with the Stars, NBC Sunday Night Football, Deal or No Deal,[43] and Who Wants to Be a Millionaire.[42][46] On a weekly basis, the PTC publishes reviews of what they consider to be the best and worst television programming for family viewing, authored by the various entertainment analysts at the council.[48] Seth MacFarlane, creator of Family Guy, compared the PTC's frequent negative reviews of the series to "hate mail from Hitler" and "They're literally terrible human beings.[52] Popular television shows that have been awarded include 7th Heaven, American Idol, Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, Everybody Loves Raymond, George Lopez, JAG, Reba, Smallville, Touched by an Angel, The West Wing, The Wonderful World of Disney, and most recently, When Calls the Heart.[56] However, the PTC's complaints about profanity used by presenter Nicole Richie in the December 10, 2003, broadcast of the Billboard Music Awards led the FCC to conclude that the language violated decency law.[57] The PTC began attracting more attention after it filed around 65,000[58] complaints to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) about the Super Bowl XXXVIII halftime show, in which one of performer Janet Jackson's nipple shielded breasts, was exposed for 9/16ths of a second.[66] However, those complaints became moot when Viacom, then-owners of CBS, settled with the FCC for $3.5 million regarding all allegedly indecent programming broadcast in the years around 2003 and 2004, including the Big Brother 5 episode in question.At the end of January 2005, the FCC rejected a set of complaints that PTC filed between October 2001 and February 2004 for allegedly indecent programs such as NBC's Friends, the WB's Gilmore Girls, and Fox's The Simpsons.[78] On January 25, 2008, the FCC proposed an estimated $1.4 million fine against ABC for a scene of female nudity in the NYPD Blue episode "Nude Awakening" aired on February 25, 2003.[82] TV series that the PTC has targeted for FCC complaints in 2008 have included NBC's Today morning show and CBS primetime programs Big Brother 10, Survivor: Gabon, and Two and a Half Men.Profanity was the main concern for Today and Big Brother 10,[83][84] the extremely brief exposure of contestant Marcus Lehman's penis for Survivor: Gabon,[85] and a "lap-dance" scene for Two and a Half Men."[1][97] In January 2011, the PTC called on the United States Department of Justice and the Judiciary Committees of both houses of Congress to investigate whether MTV violated child pornography laws in casting teenaged actors in Skins, a remake of the British TV series of the same name.[98] The Los Angeles Times responded in an editorial: "...looking for government remedies is ineffective and unwise; we suspect the network's editors are smart enough to skirt prosecution.[114] The PTC would be satirized in WWF programming by The Right to Censor, a group of heels led by Steven Richards who objected to rowdy, risqué, and "hardcore" activities.[122] The PTC also criticized WE tv's Sex Box, deeming it "an affront to families, toxic to advertisers, and a clear demonstration of a badly-broken business model that forces every cable/satellite subscriber to pay for unwanted and unwatched cable networks."[123] Defunct Newspapers Journals TV channels Websites Other Congressional caucuses Economics Gun rights Identity politics Nativist Religion Watchdog groups Youth/student groups Miscellaneous Other On its website, PTC states that its mission is to "promote and restore responsibility and decency to the entertainment industry in answer to America's demand for positive, family-oriented television programming."[133] In response to a V-Chip advertising campaign in the summer of 2006, Bozell proposed instead that cable companies either apply FCC-style broadcast television standards or offer choice in ordering channels.[136] Frequently, the council has criticized programs on BET, Comedy Central, E!, FX, MTV,[137] Spike, TNT, and VH1 because they claim some of the content aired on those channels is inappropriate for younger viewers.[141] In August 2013, the PTC released a statement criticizing MTV for the airing of a performance by Miley Cyrus during its Video Music Awards and urged Congress to pass the Television Consumer Freedom Act.They can all suck my dick as far as I'm concerned.Kurt Sutter, creator of Sons of Anarchy responded to Bozell's article that attacked the season 6 premiere of his show due to it including a school shooting scene, calling the PTC "a hate club" and Bozell an "idiot" as well as "a pathetic fucking douchebag and I bet your own kids fucking hate you.”[149] In January 2005, Bahçeşehir University associate professor Christian Christiansen questioned the backgrounds of certain PTC Advisory Board members, contending they are not consistent with their stance on morality.[21] Christiansen's observations were as follows: L. Brent Bozell III as 'National Finance Chairman for the 1992 "Buchanan for President" campaign' of "neo-fascist Pat Buchanan"; Susan Howard's portrayal of adulterous Donna Culver Krebbs on TV series Dallas, which series "was soaked in scantily-clad women, emotional cruelty, violence, alcoholism, and marital infidelity"; Coleman Luck as 'writer and producer' ... 'on Otherworld, The Equalizer, Gabriel's Fire, Matrix, and The Burning Zone [which] ... included a fair amount of death and violence'; William Bennett as "a popular guest at a number of Las Vegas casinos"; Bruce Jarchow appearing in "less family-friendly products... such as The Puppet Masters, Mad Dog and Glory and Married... with Children; Billy Ray Cyrus, who starred in Mulholland Drive made by filmmaker David Lynch; and John Carvelli, 'who, in 1987, "took part in a fact-finding mission in Nicaragua and Honduras with the National Conservative Foundation during the Nicaraguan civil war.
TV Parental GuidelinesL. Brent Bozell IIIAdvocacy groupfamily valuesentertainment industryAlexandriaVirginiaLos AngelesPresidentPresident emeritusconservativefamily-friendlynon-partisanpartisansocially conservativemusic videosvideo gamespurchase channels on an individual basisindecentform lettersFederal Communications Commissionnetwork affiliatesSteve AllenMedia Research CenterCharlton HestonMichael Medved1995–1996 television seasonU.S. CongressJoe LiebermanLamar S. SmithThe Tonight ShowThe New York TimesAlly McBealDawson's CreekFriendsSpin Citypolitical action committeeMetro-Goldwyn-MayerpoliticiansentertainersPat BooneMel RenfrocountryBilly Ray CyrusTim ConwayThe Carol Burnett ShowU.S. SenatorKansas2008 presidentialSam BrownbackDallasSusan HowardION TelevisionC. Delores TuckerCivil Rights Movementgangsta rapBahçeşehir Universityprime-time televisionAdvertising Agetelevision during the 1990sprime timeTeen TitansCartoon NetworkNew York Daily NewsSpongeBob SquarePantsSailor Mouth2005–06 television seasonreality showsextramarital sexThe Irish Independentviolence against womenprofanityFamily Viewing Hourbleeped out1995–96 season1996-97 seasonNielsen Media ResearchGeorge Lopez7th HeavenTouched by an AngelHome ImprovementFamily MattersSabrina the Teenage WitchBoy Meets WorldAmerican IdolDancing with the StarsNBC Sunday Night FootballDeal or No DealWho Wants to Be a MillionaireAmerican Dad!South ParkTwo and a Half MenGrey's AnatomyThe Drew Carey ShowFamily GuyThe O.C.That '70s ShowWill and GraceSeth MacFarlaneAcademy AwardsSo You Think You Can DancelanguageviolenceEverybody Loves RaymondSmallvilleThe West WingThe Wonderful World of DisneyWhen Calls the HeartSky AngelChristianCleanFlicksGolden Globe AwardsNicole RichieSuper Bowl XXXVIII halftime showJanet JacksonMichael PowellEric Formanmasturbating2004–2005 television seasonFather of the PrideBig Brother 5ViacomLife As We Know ItWithout a TraceGilmore GirlsThe Simpsons