SILLY THINKING John Underwood - Miami Herald - quoted R.Digest 1/91
Some truly silly thinking is at work here. Silliest is the argument that arresting The 2 Live Crew only made them more popular. To say that cracking down on obscenity encourages people to buy it is to gauge the worth of rotten fruit by the number of flies it attracts.
More silly thinking: we Media knights have neglected to point out that there is no such thing as totally free speech in any free society. I cannot even joke about carrying a concealed weapon thru an airport security check. If my daughter tried to recite the Lord's Prayer in a public school, she could be disciplined. I cannot "express myself" by lying naked on the courthouse steps. But, of course, if we call it "entertainment", we can stretch the limits a little.
Still more silly thinking: if we "just ignore these things, they'll go away." We pretty much ignored the violence in movies and on television. Has it gone away? By the time the average child leaves high school, he or she will have watched some 14,000 murders enacted on television. Hundreds of studies have concluded that such violence cause aggressive behavior, including homicide.
AIDS IN HOLLYWOOD 3 TIMES HIGHER - AFA Journal June 1990 p.4
A comparative study made by Fox Entertainment News in conjunction with an entertainment industry task force suggested that the incidence of AIDS in Hollywood, where homosexuality is approved, is three times the national average for other industries.
BOOKS MORE VIOLENT/SEXUAL; LEAD TO MOVIES & TV (same source as above)
The study of best selling novels for the past 12 months from the New York Times Best Seller Lists shows that 25% of the books represent positive, prosocial trends in fiction, while 75% contains harmful levels of violence. The consumer group, the National Coalition on Television Violence (NCTV), says that many best selling novels are later made into Hollywood films and TV miniseries. Thus, today's novels signify future trends in popular culture.
In an earlier study, NCTV found that violent themes in best selling novels have increased from less than 20% of best sellers before 1950 to over 70% in the past 12 years.
Civilizations do not give out, they give in. They come apart not in a flash but by the inch. In a society where anything goes, everything eventually will. We can laugh and write funny columns about attempts to keep that disintegration from happening. We can ridicule the "do-gooders" and "morals police" who seek to save us from our own worst instincts. But in the end, the joke may well be on us.
GALLUP POLL ON RELIGIOUS REPORTING from Western Heights Christian Church Newsletter, Jan. 28, 1992
Religious events of great significance are not usually reported by the news media. Judy Widman, Editor/Director of Religious News Service and Stewart Hoover of Temple University decided to examine the situation. Is religious news not reported because of the lace of interest in religion by the people? Gallup surveyed 1100 people and with a margin or error of 3 % points it was found that: the vast majority of newspaper readers consider themselves to be religious people. Half of those surveyed expressed the view that in their lives religion is very important. Eighty one percent stated that religion is at least fairly important. When given nine "non-news" categories and asked which is "very important" to cover, 23% of those surveyed said that it is very important to cover religion, which ranks fourth in the list, just ahead of sports (20.9%). Education ranks first with 44%, followed by health (40.8%) and business (27.5). In terms of satisfaction with press coverage, 35.6% expressed the opinion that sports were excellently covered while only 12.2% felt the same way about religion. Translation: we need to tell our story.
HOLLYWOOD CHURCH-GOERS?... r.digest January 1994
Film critic Michael Medved plays a game at Hollywood parties. He asks Hollywood types how many people they think go to church or synagogue every week in America. "No one I know," they often reply with a laugh.
"Seriously," Medved insists, "guess." Usually they guess about 1%; the highest estimate he has heard is 10%. The correct answer during any given week is about 40%.
Although the cultural elite may not realize it, most Americans already realize what is sacred, and know it through religious traditions for which the year 2000 will not be the first millennium they have known.
AFA'S EFFORT BEGINNING TO BRING CHANGE TO NETWORK TELEVISION
afa journal 6/94
On April 18, USA Today reported that Saatcwi & Saatchi Advertising, one of the nation's largest agencies, is saying that in new programs scheduled for this fall "nudity & profanity are out."
"Significantly, out of the 109 pilot concepts under review, none pushes the envelope as ABC did with NYPD Blue," the paper said. The reason? Advertisers are beginning to set the tone.
"Networks are more concerned with maintaining relationships with their customers, viewers and advertisers than jumping on that particular bandwagon" (sponsoring shows like NYPD Blue) said Betsy Frank of Saatchi & Saatchi . Other reports say that ABC will force changes with NYPD Blue to make it more acceptable to advertisers.
The New York Daily News quoted ABC president Robert Iger as saying that NYPD Blue will lose money this year. "Big advertisers either object to the shows content or are scared away by the controversy generated by Mississippi preacher Rev. Donald Wildmon," the News said.
"Normally advertisers follow the ratings. Here the ratings are strong, but the problem is the demand from advertisers is less because of all the controversy." said Nell Faber, president of Nell Faber Media.
AFA's efforts have cost ABC so much money that Viewers for Quality Television, a tiny leftwing media group has thrown support behind ABC.