I noticed this item first on www.dailykos.com…. The progressive United Church of Christ is beginning a cable and network TV ad campaign today that shows gay couples and minorities being turned away from a church by beefy bouncers. Then text reading "Jesus didn't turn people away. Neither do we" flashes across the screen. A narrator says, "No matter who you are or where you are on life's journey, you're welcome here." Executives at CBS and NBC, two of the networks on which the ads were scheduled to air, have decided not to broadcast UCC's ads because they deem them too controversial.
A UCC press release quotes the formal explanation from CBS: Because this commercial touches on the exclusion of gay couples and other minority groups by other individuals and organizations, and the fact the Executive Branch has recently proposed a Constitutional Amendment to define marriage as a union between a man and a woman, this spot is unacceptable for broadcast on the [CBS and UPN] networks.
In a time when the discussion of "values" is so ubiquitous, it is interesting to see the values of corporate media made so manifest.
You can sign Center for the American Progress's petition against CBS and NBC's decision not to air the ad.
You can also view the "controversial" ad at UCC's Web site.
Emily Udell is a writer for Angie’s List Magazine in Indianapolis. In 2009, she finished a stint drinking bourbon and covering breaking news for The Courier-Journal in Louisville, Ky. Her eclectic media career also includes time at the Associated Press, Punk Planet (R.I.P.), The Daily Southtown in southwest Chicago, and Radio Prague in the Czech Republic. She co-hosted and co-produced In These Times’ radio show “Fire on the Prairie” from 2003 to 2006.
