UCC Files FCC Petition against CBS, NBC for Ad Rejection
“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]” -- UCC
On Dec. 9, 2004, the United Church of Christ (UCC) filled two petitions with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in lieu of the recent rejection of a UCC-sponsored ad by two major broadcasting networks.
WFOR-TV, a CBS related station, and WJVT-TV, an NBC related station, were specifically targeted by the UCC, who charged the two networks of a failure to provide viewers “suitable access” to a full array of "social, political, esthetic, moral and other ideas and experiences."
According to the Dec. 9 press release, the two stations are being challenged because “there is substantial and material question" as to whether the stations' parent companies, Viacom, Inc., and the General Electric Company, have operated the stations in the public interest.
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The underlying issue for the UCC is the two networks’ refusal to air a controversial ad that endorses the UCC’s all-inclusive theology. The short ad, which can be viewed at www.stillspeaking.com, stirred debate because of its implication that God blesses homosexual unions. The two networks expressed their concern that at a time when the executive branch released a marriage amendment dealing with homosexual unions, the ad would be “too controversial.”
In a signed statement attached to the petition, the Rev. John H. Thomas, the UCC’s general minister and president, said this rejection of the ad is an attempt to mute the religious voice.
“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,” Thomas wrote.
Meanwhile, Andrew J. Schwartzman, President and CEO of Media Access Project, explained why broadcasters need to play paid advertisements: "Broadcasters agree to serve the needs of the communities where they are licensed in exchange for receiving free use of publicly owned airwaves. That means everyone, not just people their advertisers care about,” said Schwartzman.
Angela Campbell, Director of Georgetown University Law Center's Institute for Public Representation, agreed, according to the UCC’s press release.
"It is time for the FCC to re-examine whether some sort of public right of access is required under the Communications Act and the First Amendment,” said said to the UCC.
The two networks have not yet changed their mind on the ads, which began airing on Dec. 1.
The FCC filing was done on behalf of the UCC by lawyers from Media Access Project and the Institute for Public Representation at Georgetown University.
